Tunnel of Love (album)

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 "Brilliant Disguise" Released: September 21, 1987 "Tunnel of Love" Released: November 30, 1987 "One Step Up" Released: February 27, 1988 "Tougher Than the Rest" Released: June 4, 1988 "Spare Parts" Released: September 12, 1988

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.

History

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." "Brilliant Disguise" has been called "a heart wrenching song about never being really able to know someone," and "a song about the doubts and struggles of married life."

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 and The Rising was advertised as "his first studio album with the E Street Band since 'Born in the USA'".

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

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	link
Robert Christgau	(A) link
Rolling Stone	link

Track listing

All songs written 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

The E Street Band

• Roy Bittan – piano on "Brilliant Disguise", synthesizers on "Tunnel of Love"
• Clarence Clemons – vocals on "When You're Alone"
• Danny Federici – organ on "Tougher Than the Rest", "Spare Parts", "Two Faces", and "Brilliant Disguise"
• Nils Lofgren – guitar solo on "Tunnel of Love", vocals on "When You're Alone"
• Patti Scialfa – vocals on "Tunnel of Love", "One Step Up" and "When You're Alone"
• Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, sound effects, harmonica
• Garry Tallent – bass guitar on "Spare Parts"
• Max Weinberg – drums on "All That Heaven Will Allow", "Two Faces" and "When You're Alone"; percussion on "Tougher Than the Rest", "Spare Parts", "Walk Like a Man", "Tunnel of Love", and "Brilliant Disguise"

Additional musician

• James Wood – harmonica on "Spare Parts"

Production

• Bob Clearmountain – mixing
• Jay Healy – mixing assistant
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Mark McKenna – mixing assistant
• Roger Talkov – engineer

Chart positions

Year	Chart	Position
1987	The Billboard 200	1

External links

• Album lyrics and audio samples

Preceded by Bad by Michael Jackson	Billboard 200 number-one album November 7 – November 13, 1987	Succeeded by Dirty Dancing (soundtrack) by Various artists
Preceded by Bad by Michael Jackson	UK number one album October 17, 1987 – October 23, 1987	Succeeded by ...Nothing Like the Sun by Sting