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Originally
released on Columbia Records in 1982, Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska
broke new ground in the world of music. Releasing demo versions, recorded
with only acoustic or electric guitar, harmonica, and vocals, as his
sixth album, Springsteen created an American classic; both an embodiment
of the sincerity and spirit of the "common man" and a testimony to
the unvarnished power of his song-writing. As legend has it, Bruce
delivered the original songs to Columbia, recorded on a 4-track recorder,
and insisted that the songs be released "as is." Despite its bleak
subject matter, Nebraska was both a tremendous artistic and commercial
success (this latter accomplishment somewhat overshadowed by the spectacular
reception of Born in the U.S.A., released two years later).
In November of 2000, Sub Pop Records released a tribute to Nebraska having gathered a collection of songs by artists inspired and influenced by this work. Producer Jim Sampas (who has also produced Kerouac -kicks joy darkness (a spoken word tribute with music), (Rykodisc), and was the music supervisor of John McNaughton's (Wild Things, Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer) latest film Condo Painting (USA Films)) specifically requested that these artists record their chosen track using only four tracks, in the spirit of the original. And, in the spirit of Bruce Springsteen, Sub Pop Records is donating a portion of the worldwide sales of this record to the Nobel Prize-winning organization Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). MSF is an independent international medical relief agency that aids victims of armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and others who lack healthcare due to geographic remoteness or ethnic marginalization. Each year MSF sends more than 2000 doctors, nurses, other medical professionals and logisticians to provide medical aid in more than 80 countries. For donations or for more information on this organization, please contact MSF at http://www.msf.org. |
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