“What Love Can Do” is a reminder that while love can’t solve society’s ills, it can give us the strength to face them. It’s more timely now than when Bruce wrote it.
Category: Roll of the Dice
“Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own” is a fun, poppy outtake from the River sessions–guaranteed to make you smile (unless you’re a parent to a teenage girl, in which case you’ll wince).
Part myth, part strut, and all magic: it’s the story of Bad Scooter and the E Street Band.
Sister song to “Reno” and cousin to “Further On (Up the Road),” “Maria’s Bed” is a carefree jaunt with surprising depth and hidden poignancy–it’s one of Bruce’s best 21st-century songs.
“Everybody Wants My Baby” was on its way to being an edgy uptempo rocker before it went missing in action. Listen to a pretty well-formed demo inside.
“Oh No No No” is an unfinished attempt at a he-said/she-said. Too bad we lack the music to pair with these unpublished lyrics, so we could see what Bruce was aiming for.
“The Big Payback” is a Nebraska-era B-side obscurity, as tight, taut, and sinister as anything on the album it didn’t make but a whole lot more fun to sing.
“Where the Bands Are” is power pop perfection, showcasing the E Street Band at their most joyous.
“Jackson Cage” is a case of a theme in search of a song. It took a while for Bruce to find it, but find it he did. Let’s trace this underrated song’s winding path inside.
“Factory” ranks among the best of Bruce’s early song-writing, with lyrical economy and an instrumental track both spare and ornate–it’s a marvel of restraint and emotional bravery.