{"id":18174,"date":"2020-05-21T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=18174"},"modified":"2021-12-20T04:46:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T12:46:47","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-reno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2020\/05\/21\/roll-of-the-dice-reno\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Reno"},"content":{"rendered":"

“[On] his last solo record, Devils & Dust<\/em>, there\u2019s a song about the man in the hotel room with the hooker and stuff. My artistic side said, ‘That is so brave.’ Then, just thinking right from the heart, I was like, ‘What are you writing about that shit for? Are you fucking crazy?’\u00a0 –Patti Scialfa to Austin Scaggs, Rolling Stone, September 2007<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If you can get past lyrics that earned Bruce his first “contains adult imagery” explicit CD warning label, you’ll find one of Bruce’s most beautiful songs and easily his most poignant.<\/p>\n

“Reno” has ranked among my top ten Springsteen songs since the first time I heard it, and it’s one of only three of Bruce’s songs that reduce me to tears each and every time I hear it. (“My Father’s House<\/a>” and “Moonlight Motel<\/a>” are the other two, the latter of which is close to the same song as “Reno.”)<\/p>\n

Everything about “Reno” is perfect–on the album track, at least. Bruce’s live performances of the song, while admirable, have never matched the studio recording, because the music and studio production are inseparable from Bruce’s powerful lyrics.<\/p>\n

Let’s take a close listen.<\/p>\n