Tunnel of Love (album)

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Tunnel of Love
Studio album by Bruce Springsteen
Released October 9, 1987
Recorded January - July 1987
Genre Rock
Length 46:25
Label Columbia
Producer Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Live/1975-85
(1986)		 Tunnel of Love
(1987)		 Chimes of Freedom (EP)
(1988)
Singles from Tunnel of Love
  1. "Brilliant Disguise"
    Released: September 21, 1987
  2. "Tunnel of Love"
    Released: November 30, 1987
  3. "One Step Up"
    Released: February 27, 1988
  4. "Tougher Than the Rest"
    Released: June 4, 1988
  5. "Spare Parts"
    Released: September 12, 1988
Brilliant Disguise
Brilliant Disguise (1987)
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Tunnel of Love is the eighth studio album by Bruce Springsteen released in 1987.

In 1998, Q magazine readers voted Tunnel of Love the 91st greatest album of all time.

In 1989, the album was ranked #25 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 greatest albums of the 1980s". In 2003, the same magazine ranked it at number 475 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Contents

History [edit]

The album, the last of Springsteen's work that was created in the Side 1/2 format of an LP, is one of Springsteen's least performed set of songs. The New York Times' Jon Pareles wrote that Tunnel of Love "turned inward, pondering love gone wrong. His first marriage, to the actress Julianne Phillips fell apart; he also decided to part ways with the E Street Band."[1] "Brilliant Disguise" has been called "a heart wrenching song about never being really able to know someone,"[2] and "a song about the doubts and struggles of married life."[3]

Members of the E Street Band were used sparingly on the album; Springsteen recorded most of the parts himself, often with drum machines and synthesizers. Although 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[4] and 2002's The Rising was advertised as "his first studio album with the E Street Band since 'Born in the USA'" in 1984.

On the B-sides of vinyl and cassette singles, outtakes like "Lucky Man", "Two for the Road" and a vintage 1979 track, "Roulette" were included. On the mini-album 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 the Bob Dylan cover, "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" just falling short.

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.[citation needed]

Music videos [edit]

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 locations 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 was nominated for four MTV Awards, including Video of the Year and, paradoxically, Best Editing.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars link
Robert Christgau (A) link
Rolling Stone 5/5 stars link

Track listing [edit]

All songs written and composed by Bruce Springsteen. 

Side one
No. Title Length
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. Title Length
1. "Tunnel of Love"   5:12
2. "Two Faces"   3:03
3. "Brilliant Disguise"   4:17
4. "One Step Up"   4:22
5. "When You're Alone"   3:24
6. "Valentine's Day"   5:10

Personnel [edit]

The E Street Band [edit]

Additional musician [edit]

  • James Wood – harmonica on "Spare Parts"

Production [edit]

Charts [edit]

Peak positions [edit]

Chart (1987–88) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[5] 5
Austrian Albums Chart[6] 6
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[7] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[8] 4
French SNEP Albums Chart[9] 5
Italian Albums Chart[10] 1
Japanese Oricon LP Chart[11] 3
New Zealand Albums Chart[12] 6
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[13] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[14] 1
Swiss Albums Chart[15] 2
UK Albums Chart[16] 1
U.S. Billboard 200[17] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart[18] 3

Year-end charts [edit]

Chart (1987) Position
Australian Albums Chart[5] 63
Canadian Albums Chart[19] 16
French Albums Chart[20] 35
Italian Albums Chart[10] 18
UK Albums Chart[21] 49
Chart (1988) Position
Swiss Albums Chart[22] 14
U.S. Billboard Year-End[23] 16

Certifications [edit]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[24] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[25] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[26] Gold 40,716[26]
France (SNEP)[27] 2× Gold 201,700[28]
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 250,000^
Japan (Oricon Charts) 128,400[11]
Netherlands (NVPI)[30] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Sweden (GLF)[31] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[32] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[33] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References [edit]

  1. ^ Holden, Stephen (8 August 1992). "POP MUSIC; When the Boss Fell to Earth, He Hit Paradise". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
  2. ^ Pareles, Jon (14 July 2002). "MUSIC; His Kind of Heroes, His Kind of Songs". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
  3. ^ Cavicchi, Daniel (1998). Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning Among Springsteen Fans. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, via Google Books limited preview. p. 32. ISBN 0-19-511833-2. 
  4. ^ "Bruce Springsteen's 'The Rising' Set for July 30 release on Columbia Records". Shore Fire Media. 2002-06-03. Retrieved 2007-12-13. 
  5. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. 
  6. ^ "austriancharts.at Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  7. ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-06
  8. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  9. ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-04-06. Note: user must select 'Bruce SPRINGSTEEN' from drop-down
  10. ^ a b "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1987" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  11. ^ a b Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9. 
  12. ^ "charts.org.nz Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  13. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 2012-04-07. 
  14. ^ "swedishcharts.com Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2012-04-07. 
  15. ^ "Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  16. ^ "Chart Stats: Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  17. ^ "allmusic ((( Tunnel of Love > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  18. ^ "Album Search: Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 2011-10-31. 
  19. ^ "Top 100 Albums of '87". RPM. 1987-12-26. Retrieved 2010-12-06. 
  20. ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1987 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  21. ^ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  22. ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1988" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2012-01-11. 
  23. ^ "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1988". billboard.biz. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  24. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  25. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". Music Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  26. ^ a b "Finnish album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  27. ^ "French album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in French). InfoDisc.  Select BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and click OK
  28. ^ "Les Albums Double Or". infodisc.fr (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  29. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bruce Springsteen; 'Tunnel of Love')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 2012-04-04. 
  30. ^ "Dutch album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 2011-10-06. 
  31. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved 2012-04-06. 
  32. ^ "British album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-04-06.  Enter Tunnel of Love in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  33. ^ "American album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Tunnel of Love". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2012-04-04.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links [edit]

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Studio albums
Live albums
Box sets
Other albums
Singles
Video releases
Tours
Related articles
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