Tunnel of Love (album)

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For other uses, see Tunnel of love.

Tunnel of Love
TunnelOfLove1987.JPG
Studio album by
Bruce Springsteen
ReleasedOctober 9, 1987[1]
RecordedJanuary–July 1987
Studio
GenreRock, pop rock
Length46:25
LabelColumbia
Producer
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Live/1975–85
(1986) 		Tunnel of Love
(1987) 		Chimes of Freedom
(1988)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Live/1975–85
(1986) 		Tunnel of Love
(1987) 		Chimes of Freedom
(1988)
Singles from Tunnel of Love
  1. "Brilliant Disguise"
    Released: September 17, 1987
  2. "Tunnel of Love"
    Released: November 1987
  3. "One Step Up"
    Released: February 27, 1988 (US only)
  4. "Tougher Than the Rest"
    Released: June 23, 1988 (Europe only)
  5. "Spare Parts"
    Released: October 18, 1988 (Europe only)

Tunnel of Love is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on October 9, 1987. Although members of the E Street Band occasionally performed on the album, Springsteen recorded most of the parts himself, often with drum machines and synthesizers. While the album's liner notes list the E Street Band members under that name, Shore Fire Media, Springsteen's public relations firm, does not count it as an E Street Band album[2] and 2002's The Rising was advertised as his first studio album with the E Street Band since Born in the USA. The album won Best Rock Vocal Performance, Solo at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

In 1989, the album was ranked #25 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties"[3] while in 2012, Rolling Stone ranked it at #467 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[4] "Brilliant Disguise", "Tunnel of Love", "One Step Up", "Tougher Than the Rest", and "Spare Parts" were all released as singles.

Background[]

The New York Times writer Jon Pareles said that Springsteen "turned inward" on this album, writing about "love gone wrong" in response to changes in his personal life, especially his crumbling marriage to Julianne Phillips, and his decision to leave the E Street Band.[5] Pareles said that most of the songs on the album were about the difficulty of mature love rather than Springsteen's earlier arena rock anthems to the working man. Tunnel of Love songs were described as "midtempo ballads or pop-rock hymns".[6] "Brilliant Disguise" has been called "a heart-wrenching song about never being really able to know someone".[7]

On the B-sides of vinyl and cassette singles, outtakes like "Lucky Man", "Two for the Road" and a 1979 track, "Roulette" were included. On the EP that accompanied the 1988 tour, Springsteen included album cut "Tougher Than the Rest", but included another River outtake, "Be True" a rearranged, acoustic "Born To Run", and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom".

Commercially the album went triple Platinum in the US, with "Brilliant Disguise" being one of his biggest hit singles, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, "Tunnel of Love" also making the top 10, reaching #9, and "One Step Up" reaching the top 20 at #13.[8] The 1988 Springsteen and E Street Band Tunnel of Love Express tour would showcase the album's songs, sometimes in arrangements courtesy of the Miami Horns.[9]

Amusement park tunnel of love memorabilia was provided by the National Amusement Park Historical Association to be used on the record sleeve of the Tunnel of Love single.[10] A cover of "All That Heaven Will Allow" was a minor hit single for country band the Mavericks in 1995.[11]

Music videos[]

Irish filmmaker Meiert Avis directed the music videos for "Brilliant Disguise", "One Step Up", "Tougher Than the Rest", and "Tunnel of Love". The videos were shot on location in New Jersey, including Asbury Park. The intensely personal "Brilliant Disguise" video broke new ground on MTV, being a single shot without edits. The video of the title track was nominated for five MTV Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year and, paradoxically, Best Editing.

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic5/5 stars[12]
Chicago Tribune4/4 stars[13]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music4/5 stars[14]
MusicHound Rock4/5[15]
Pitchfork9.5/10[16]
Q4/5 stars[17]
Rolling Stone5/5 stars[18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide5/5 stars[19]
Tom HullA[20]
The Village VoiceA[21]

In a contemporary review for Playboy, music critic Robert Christgau wrote that, apart from the humorous opening track and the clichéd track that follows, Tunnel of Love is "convincing, original stuff—it zeroes in on fear of commitment as a pathology and battles it."[22] He particularly praised the album's introspective second half in his consumer guide for The Village Voice, saying that it showed Springsteen's decency and ability for self-examination.[21] Rolling Stone magazine's Steve Pond said that Tunnel of Love is "a varied, modestly scaled, modern-sounding pop album" rather than a rock and roll album and felt that its unromantic tales of love are similar to Springsteen's socially conscious work about broken promises and dreams in America:

On Tunnel of Love, Springsteen is writing about the promises people make to each other and the way they renege on those promises, about the romantic dreams we're brought up with and the internal demons that stifle those dreams. The battleground has moved from the streets to the sheets, but the battle hasn't changed significantly.[23]

In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll, Tunnel of Love finished second in the voting for the year's best album.[24] Christgau, the poll's creator, named it the third best album of the year in his own list.[25] In 1989, the album was ranked #25 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties"[3] while in 2003, the same magazine ranked it at #467 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[4] In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Tunnel of Love the 91st greatest album of all time.[26][27]

Writing for America Magazine, Catholic priest and sociologist Andrew Greeley argued that this album exemplifies the American Catholic imagination.[28] In a 2014 article for Grantland, Steven Hyden said Tunnel of Love remained Springsteen's "most underrated record" among fans but in his own opinion, Springsteen's best lyrically. "You really shouldn't be allowed to hear this record until you've been married for a few years", Hyden wrote, "though at that point it might strike a little too close to home. If Ingmar Bergman had been born in Freehold and cut his artistic teeth at the Stone Pony, he would've made this record in place of Scenes From a Marriage. Totally '80s production aside ... this album represents the heaviest blues of Springsteen's career. The songs are about men and women who flirt, have sex, fall in love, get married, get bored, have sex with other people, and wind up stuck in the middle of that dark night from the second disc of The River."[29]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Bruce Springsteen.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Ain't Got You"2:11
2."Tougher Than the Rest"4:35
3."All That Heaven Will Allow"2:39
4."Spare Parts"3:44
5."Cautious Man"3:58
6."Walk Like a Man"3:45
Side two
No.TitleLength
7."Tunnel of Love"5:12
8."Two Faces"3:03
9."Brilliant Disguise"4:17
10."One Step Up"4:22
11."When You're Alone"3:24
12."Valentine's Day"5:10
Total length:46:25

Unreleased outtakes[]

While more than 80 songs were said to have been recorded for Springsteen's previous album, only 19 are known to have been recorded for Tunnel of Love, with 12 making the album's final cut. "Lucky Man" and "Two For the Road" were released as B-sides, and later on the Tracks along with other outtakes such as "The Honeymooners," "The Wish" and "When You Need Me." "Part Man, Part Monkey" was also recorded during these sessions and played live on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour. Although that version remains unreleased, it would be re-recorded during future album sessions and eventually released. "Walking Through Midnight" is the only other unreleased song which was co-written by Southside Johnny who recorded the song for his own album, 1988's Slow Dance.

  • "Part Man, Part Monkey"
  • "Walking Through Midnight"

Personnel[]

Musicians

  • Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, bass guitar, keyboards, harmonica, percussion, drum machine, sound effects on "Tunnel of Love"
  • Roy Bittan – acoustic piano on "Brilliant Disguise", synthesizers on "Tunnel of Love"
  • Clarence Clemons – backing vocals on "When You're Alone"
  • Danny Federici – Hammond organ on "Tougher Than the Rest", "Spare Parts" and "Brilliant Disguise"
  • Nils Lofgren – guitar solo on "Tunnel of Love", backing vocals on "When You're Alone"
  • Patti Scialfa – backing vocals on "Tunnel of Love", "One Step Up" and "When You're Alone"
  • Garry Tallent – bass guitar on "Spare Parts"
  • Max Weinberg – drums on "All That Heaven Will Allow", "Two Faces" and "When You're Alone"; percussion on "Tougher Than the Rest", "Spare Parts", "Walk Like a Man", "Tunnel of Love", and "Brilliant Disguise"
  • James Wood – harmonica on "Spare Parts"

Technical

Charts[]

Certifications and sales[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[48] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[49] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[50] Gold 40,716[50]
France (SNEP)[52] 2× Gold 201,700[51]
Germany (BVMI)[53] Gold 250,000^
Italy — 400,000[54]
Japan — 128,400[35]
Netherlands (NVPI)[55] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[56] Platinum 15,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[57] Platinum 100,000[57]
Portugal (AFP)[58] Gold 20,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[59] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Sweden (GLF)[60] Platinum 100,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[61] Platinum 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[62] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[63] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References[]

  1. ^ "Tunnel of Love".
  2. ^ "Bruce Springsteen's 'The Rising' Set for July 30 release on Columbia Records". Shore Fire Media. June 3, 2002. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "100 BEST ALBUMS OF THE EIGHTIES". Rolling Stone.
  4. ^ a b "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Pareles, Jon (July 14, 2002). "MUSIC; His Kind of Heroes, His Kind of Songs". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2007.
  6. ^ Pareles, Jon (February 27, 1988). "Pop: Springsteen Starts First Tour in 2 Years". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  7. ^ Cavicchi, Daniel (1998). Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning Among Springsteen Fans. New York, Oxford. p. 32. ISBN 0-19-511833-2.
  8. ^ "Bruce Springsteen - Chart history | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "Brucebase - 1988". brucebase.wikidot.com.
  10. ^ "About Us - National Amusement Park Historical Association". www.napha.org.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. ISBN 978-0-89820-177-2.
  12. ^ Ruhlamnn, William. "Tunnel of Love – Bruce Springsteen". AllMusic. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  13. ^ Kot, Greg (August 23, 1992). "The Recorded History of Springsteen". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  14. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Bruce Springsteen". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  15. ^ Graff, Gary (1996). "Bruce Springsteen". In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787610372.
  16. ^ Sodomsky, Sam (May 19, 2018). "Bruce Springsteen: The Album Collection Vol. 2, 1987–1996". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  17. ^ "Bruce Springsteen: Tunnel of Love". Q. London: 124. March 2000.
  18. ^ Pond, Steve (October 3, 1987). "Bruce Springsteen: Tunnel of Love". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 8, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  19. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Bruce Springsteen". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). pp. 771–2. ISBN 0743201698.
  20. ^ Hull, Tom (October 29, 2016). "Streamnotes (October 2016)". Tom Hull - on the Web. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (December 1, 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  22. ^ Christgau, Robert (February 1988). "Playboy Music". Playboy. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  23. ^ Rolling Stone review
  24. ^ "The 1987 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. March 1, 1988. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  25. ^ Christgau, Robert (March 1, 1988). "Pazz & Jop 1987: Dean's List". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Greatest Music Albums".
  27. ^ "Rocklist.net...Q Magazine Lists".
  28. ^ Andrew Greeley on the Catholic Imagination of Bruce Springsteen | America Magazine
  29. ^ Hyden, Steven (January 7, 2014). "Overrated, Underrated, or Properly Rated: Bruce Springsteen". Grantland. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  30. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
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  32. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Archived April 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved April 6, 2012
  33. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  34. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste - Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on May 6, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2012.Note: user must select 'Bruce SPRINGSTEEN' from drop-down
  35. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
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  37. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  38. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  39. ^ "swedishcharts.com Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  40. ^ "Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  41. ^ "The Official Charts Company: Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 6, 2012.
  42. ^ "allmusic ((( Tunnel of Love > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
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  44. ^ "Top 100 Albums of '87". RPM. December 26, 1987. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
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  47. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  48. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2017 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  49. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". Music Canada. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  50. ^ a b "Bruce Springsteen" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  51. ^ "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  52. ^ "French album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in French). InfoDisc. Select BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and click OK. 
  53. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bruce Springsteen; 'Tunnel of Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  54. ^ "Il Boss ha ceduto Bruce appare in tv". La Stampa (in Italian). April 30, 1992. p. 50. Retrieved February 15, 2021. Il suo disco più venduto in Italia è «Born in the Usa» con 450 mila copie, al secondo posto c'è «Tunnel of love» con 400 mila. Sono state 500 mila le prenotazioni per i due nuovi album
  55. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved October 6, 2011. Enter Tunnel of Love in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  56. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
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  58. ^ Pinheiro De Almeida, Luis (January 14, 1989). "Platinum in Portugal" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 2. p. 11. Retrieved July 26, 2020 – via World Radio History.
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  63. ^ "American album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 4, 2012.

External links[]

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