Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska

Interview: Jim Sampas discusses "Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska" to be released soon


Jim Sampas, where were you when Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" first came out?



Mr. JIM SAMPAS (Producer): I was living in Lowell, Massachusetts. I would have been about 17 years old, and I actually bought it I think either that day or the day after it came out. I didn't know what to make of it at first. I thought it was very strange really, I mean, not like anything else he had ever done. And it's almost as if it's a documentary, just a realness that I think fits the stories.



(Soundbite of "Nebraska")



Mr. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: (Singing) I saw her standin' on her front lawn just a twirlin' her baton.



HANSEN: In 1982, after five albums of big, powerful arena-sized rock 'n' roll, Bruce Springsteen made a dramatic change. The Boss sat and played solo acoustic guitar in his New Jersey bedroom and recorded himself onto a four-track tape machine. That demo tape, when mastered to vinyl, became "Nebraska." This dark and spare album was a challenge to Springsteen's many longtime fans, but in the almost two decades since its release, it has influenced a new generation of singers and songwriters. Producer Jim Sampas called some of those devotees together to contribute to a new CD. Such artists as Ani DiFranco, Aimee Mann, Los Lobos, Ben Harper and others, can now be heard on "Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska," which comes out this Tuesday on the Sub Pop label.



(Soundbite of "Nebraska")



Ms. CHRISSIE HYNDE: (Singing) I saw her standin' on her front lawn and she was twirlin' her baton.



Mr. SAMPAS: I sort of wanted to show that Bruce Springsteen is still relevant. I feel that this album is one that I imagined had influenced many, and I found out that that was, in fact, so. And I wanted to show that there are artists out there who can still stay in a very spare format. Some of them, as you know, recorded on four-track and some of them actually recorded on four-track cassette, as Bruce Springsteen did. And...



HANSEN: You're kidding. Did you ask them to do that?



Mr. SAMPAS: Absolutely. That's what I--I asked everybody to record on four-track cassette, and some recorded on four-track and some recorded on four-track cassette. I wanted to show that we don't necessarily have to do the sort of overblown production, 48 tracks and 24 tracks and full orchestras and everything else that goes on in pop songs today. In the same sense, obviously, I wanted to show off the songs, if you will. These songs are, by far, I think, some of the greatest songs that came out of the '80s, and I wanted to, you know, show off the songs and see where they would go with new people recording them.



(Soundbite of "State Trooper")



Ms. DEANA CARTER: (Singing) New Jersey Turnpike, ridin' on a wet night 'neath the refinery's glow out where the great black rivers flow.



HANSEN: Do you find that the songs actually did go in new directions when covered by the different artists?



Mr. SAMPAS: Yes, absolutely. For instance, Deana Carter's version of "State Trooper." She's known for her country music, but it's not at all what you would expect. It's very--as much as it is spare, as the original is spare, she creates a soundscape in the background that is almost alternative, if you will.



(Soundbite of "State Trooper")



Ms. CARTER: (Singing) Hey, somebody out there, listen to my last prayer. Hi ho silver-o, deliver me from nowhere.



Mr. SAMPAS: That's one that comes to mind. Another one is Hank Williams III's version of "Atlantic City." I think, I mean, he took it in a completely different direction.



HANSEN: Absolutely.



Mr. SAMPAS: Yeah.



HANSEN: I mean, he turned it almost into a jug band tune, you know?



Mr. SAMPAS: He certainly did.



(Soundbite of "Atlantic City")



Mr. HANK WILLIAMS III: (Singing) Well, they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night. Now they blew up his house, too. Down on the Boardwalk they're gettin' ready for a fight. Gonna see what them racket boys can do.



Mr. SAMPAS: And the funny thing about that is, as you might know, Bruce Springsteen is listening to Folkways recordings for the first time in his life, and he's actually listening to Hank Williams III's grandfather when he's creating this album.



HANSEN: A lot of females on this, and it's kind of surprising to hear some of these songs coming out of the mouths of women. I mean, don't you think it's a little odd, you know, when a woman sings "Highway Patrolman"? You've got Dar Williams singing it, such a haunting rendition.



Mr. SAMPAS: Right. And it's such a masculine song, isn't it?



HANSEN: Yeah.



(Soundbite of "Highway Patrolman")



Ms. DAR WILLIAMS: (Singing) My name is Joe Roberts. I work for the state. I'm a sergeant out of Perrineville, barracks number eight.



Mr. SAMPAS: Yeah, there is as strange element there, but the other thing is that right now there are so many brilliant young women singer-songwriters that I wanted to also, you know, show how relevant they are today. And I actually think that there are more talented women singer-songwriters out there today than there are male singer-songwriters. I'm not sure why that is, but that's how I feel.



(Soundbite of "Nebraska")



Ms. HYNDE: (Singing) Sheriff, when the man pulls that switch, sir, and snaps my poor head back, you make sure my pretty baby is sittin' right there on my lap.



HANSEN: It's pretty scary to hear--you have Chrissie Hynde singing the words that Bruce Springsteen wrote about that mass murderer, Charlie Starkweather, and having, you know, those words coming out of Chrissie Hynde's mouth, I mean...



Mr. SAMPAS: Yeah, it is very, very haunting, isn't it?



HANSEN: Yeah.



Mr. SAMPAS: And that song really shows off what Bruce Springsteen was trying to convey, not necessarily a guy who had reservations about what he did or felt guilty, but just basically told the facts. That's why I say it comes off--the whole album comes off as almost like a documentary, because they're so real. The characters don't ask for forgiveness. That's what makes them so real, I think.



(Soundbite of "Nebraska")



Ms. HYNDE: (Singing) They wanted to know why I did what I did. I guess there's just a meanness in this world.



(Soundbite of "I'm On Fire")



Mr. JOHNNY CASH: (Singing) Hey, little girl, is your daddy home? Did he go away and leave you all alone. Mmm, I've got a bad desire. I'm on fire.



HANSEN: Tell us about the bonus tracks. What was Johnny Cash's reaction when you asked him to do this song?



Mr. SAMPAS: Well, the way that happened was I presented the idea of having bonus tracks that were recorded around the same time as the original "Nebraska."



HANSEN: Mm-hmm.



Mr. SAMPAS: The song that I presented to him was "Born in the USA"...



HANSEN: Ha.



Mr. SAMPAS: ...the acoustic version. And it just didn't do anything for him. And his son, John Carter Cash, who is familiar with the album "Born in the USA," suggested "I'm On Fire." And I said, `Well, that's a great choice.' And I was very excited. I mean, having Johnny Cash on your album is sort of like having God on your album, you know?



(Soundbite of "I'm On Fire")



Mr. CASH: (Singing) It's like someone took a knife, edgy and dull, dug a six-inch valley in the middle of my skull. At night, I wake up with the sheets soaking wet, a freight train running through the middle of my head, and only you can cool my desire. Oh, I'm on fire. Oh, I'm on fire.



HANSEN: What's Bruce Springsteen's reaction to the project?



Mr. SAMPAS: You know, he hasn't heard it yet, but I think that he liked the concept, because he's been very receptive, you know, when we have requests, they go right through very quickly. So we're very thankful for his support. And, you know, I'm really wondering what he will think of it. I mean, that's a kind of scary proposition in and of itself, isn't it?



HANSEN: Uh-huh.



Mr. SAMPAS: I think.



HANSEN: Jim Sampas is producer of "Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska." The CD will be released this Tuesday on the Sub Pop label, and a portion of the proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders. This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Liane Hansen.



(Soundbite of "I'm On Fire")



Mr. CASH: (Singing) Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm-hmm.



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