by Warren Zanes
First published 2023
Warren Zanes opens his investigation into Bruce Springsteen's career with Nebraska, the 1982 album that emerged when everyone expected Born in the U.S.A. Instead of following up the massive success of The River with another crowd pleaser, Springsteen retreated to his bedroom with a four track recorder and cassette tapes. He created something raw and unfinished that he now calls his best work. Zanes spoke with Springsteen himself and more than a dozen artists including Rosanne Cash and Steven Van Zandt about their reactions to the album. He traces the cultural influences that shaped the songs, from Terrence Malick's Badlands to Flannery O'Connor's short stories. The book reveals how Nebraska reflected both the country's troubled mood and Springsteen's personal crisis, marking the beginning of a mental breakdown he would not discuss publicly for decades. Zanes shows how this bedroom recording predicted the home recording revolution and became the key to understanding Springsteen as both artist and man.
Genres: biography, american-fiction, 20th-century, music
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-crisis, raw-unfinished
Period: 1982
320 pages · Hardcover · Crown