Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The songs on "Human Touch" were written by Springsteen as exercises to help him cope with writer's block. It shows. If Springsteen held himself to his usual high standards, only half of these songs would've been released. Also, many of the songs sound overproduced - too many bells and whistles thrown in and not enough focus on the vocals and guitars.
That being said, lyrically, "Real World" is one of Springsteen's best songs. It follows the characters and narrative that have been in place since his earliest albums, bringing them to adulthood. Take this verse, for example,
Well tonight I just wanna shout
I feel my soul waist deep and sinkin'
Into this black river of doubt
I just wanna rise and walk along the riverside
And when the morning comes baby I don't wanna hide
I'll stand right at your side with my arms open wide
It has some of the attributes typical to a Springsteen song - the river; the shout; the narrator wanting more, but finding it not possible because of other forces. Instead of dealing with the adolescent fantasies of Springsteen's first three albums, or the disillusionment of becoming an adult in his subsequent works, the narrator in this song is mature, his outlook on life is informed and realistic (hence the song's title), and knows he can't go it alone.
"I Wish I Were Blind," "Man's Job," "Human Touch," and "With Every Wish" are also excellent songs. "Roll of the Dice" is one of those songs that doesn't work too well on the album, but is great live. The rest of the album is mediocre by Springsteen's high standards. Despite what Springsteen has said about "Human Touch" being a different album than "Lucky Town," which was released the same day, he would've been better of paring down some of the songs and releasing the best pieces as one album.
If you'd like a good mix of the two albums, check out "In Concert: MTV Plugged." Springsteen's other band does a great job on the best songs from "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town" on that album. If you need every Springsteen album, then buy this one too. It's not a bad CD (you probably own worse), but Springsteen has done a lot better.
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