I'm glad someone liked it. Bruce takes a beating for his solo stuff without the E Street Band. So many people hate the Tom Joad album, but when he playes the same tracks with the band they love it. Ditto for Nebraska. I really like this album. It's not as hopeless and desperate as Tom Joad and sonically it sounds gorgeous. I have several version of The Hitter from the 96 tour (which is when he wrote it) and I really like this version. I think that people that listen to the solo stuff pay more attention to the lyrics and meaning than people do singing along to familiar stuff in a stadium. Bruce does have a lot to say - whether or not you agree with him is another story. One thing that comes across to me from this record - he is still on the side of people that need hope to survive.

Kathleen