Bruce Springsteen – "Roulette" (1988)

I hear all the talk

But I don’t know what you’re sayin’

Today’s featured record was inspired by the partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979.  

Bruce Springsteen recorded “Roulette” in 1979, intending to include it on his The River album, but he changed his mind.  It was finally released as a B-side in 1988.

The song’s “no nukes” stance seems quaint in a time when global warming is public environmental enemy #1.  But the record’s greatest failing is artistic, not political.  

The Boss should have simply erased the “Roulette” tape instead of resurrecting the track nearly a decade after it was recorded.  Because it’s a really hot mess, with unusually incoherent lyrics.  

It’s a fairly generic Springsteen effort – somewhat reminiscent of “Born to Run,” but lacking that record’s many virtues.

I’m guessing Bruce knew “Roulette” was a stinker and tried to cover that fact up by playing really loud and fast.  He must have been exhausted at the end of the recording session – I can envision him lying down and putting a cool washcloth on his forehead to recover.

Click here to listen to “Roulette.”

Click here to buy the record from Amazon.