Maps of Music

Only the Strong Survive (2022)

Where the lyrics of Only the Strong Survive take you, and where it was really made.

Bruce Springsteen made this R&B cover album right after his Letter to You sessions, and by 2023 a volume 2 was reported as already underway.

Key places

Power Station at BerkleeNYC, a registered recording site (2022)

Recording site Power Station Studio — This New York studio is registered as a recording location for the album. The text itself names a New Jersey studio as the main recording site. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Stone Hill Studio, a New Jersey recording site (2022)

Recording site Stone Hill (Springsteen's home recording studio) — This New Jersey studio is registered as a recording location for the album. The text places the main sessions at the Thrill Hill Recording studio in New Jersey. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 21st studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen
• Released November 11, 2022 through Columbia Records
• A cover album of R&B and soul songs
• Springsteen's second cover album, after We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006)
• Announced September 29, 2022 together with the single "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)", a cover of a Frank Wilson song
• Singles "Nightshift", "Don't Play That Song" and "Turn Back the Hands of Time" followed through October and November 2022
• Title is an eponymous reference to the first track, a cover of Jerry Butler's original "Only the Strong Survive"

Background

• Mid-September 2022: Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner revealed that Springsteen planned to release a new album before the end of the year
• Springsteen said he wanted to make an album where he just sang
• He aimed to do justice to the great American songbook of the 1960s and 1970s
• Recorded following his sessions for Letter to You (2020)

Recording

• Recorded at Thrill Hill Recording studio in New Jersey
• Produced by Ron Aniello, who played all the instruments except Springsteen's guitar and piano
• Horns played by the E Street Horns
• Includes two duets with Sam Moore
• Rob Lebret handled mixing and engineering; Bob Ludwig did mastering; Jon Landau is credited as executive producer
• Andres Bermudez is credited with engineering on tracks 2 and 12

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey; grew up in Freehold, New Jersey.
• Inspired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, began playing with local bands in the 1960s, including the Castiles, Steel Mill and the Bruce Springsteen Band.
• Formed the band that became the E Street Band in October 1972; the name came into use in September 1974.
• Signed to Columbia Records in 1972 by John Hammond; debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. released January 1973.

Members

• Performs solo and with the E Street Band, his backing band since 1972.
• Long-time members include Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, Steven Van Zandt, Roy Bittan, Max Weinberg and Patti Scialfa.
• Clemons died June 18, 2011; Federici died in 2008.

Career

• Born to Run (1975) brought worldwide fame; Born in the U.S.A. (1984) became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• Won an Academy Award in 1994 for "Streets of Philadelphia"; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
• Has sold more than 140 million records worldwide; holds 20 Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award.
• The 2023–2025 tour with the E Street Band was among the highest-grossing tours in history.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic: 74 out of 100, based on seventeen critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception
• NME (Erica Campbell): Springsteen revives these classics as celebration, with 15 heartfelt tributes rather than shallow reimaginings
• Rolling Stone (Jonathan Bernstein): calls it a shame that no soul-steeped musicians from Springsteen's past appear apart from the horn players and a Sam Moore cameo, but says his voice shines and sparkles
• Clash (Emma Harrison): an astute sonic journey through a genre that has always resonated with The Boss
• PopMatters (Michael Elliott): his love for the music is jubilant and infectious, though at times he sounds rushed as the song overpowers him
• musicOMH (John Murphy): the record works best when it dives into less familiar territory
• The Telegraph (Neil McCormick): reminds listeners how much R&B filtered into the rock sound he later developed
• AllMusic (Stephen Thomas Erlewine): the song choices show deep knowledge and good taste
• Pitchfork (Sam Sodomsky): the album has character and energy, and Springsteen has never sounded so lighthearted on record

Reappraisal

• Several critics praised the song selection and the joy of the performances, while others noted the static arrangements and occasional strain in the lead vocal

Records

• Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards
• Released through Columbia Records on November 11, 2022

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title is an eponymous reference to the first track, a cover of Jerry Butler's original "Only the Strong Survive".
• Springsteen promoted the release with four appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon from November 14 to 16, 2022, plus a Thanksgiving episode on November 24, 2022.
• In a November 2022 interview, Springsteen said he had plans for a volume 2 and that the album was probably three-quarters recorded.
• On June 15, 2023, former E Street Band member David Sancious, who left the band in 1974, said he was set to appear on a follow-up and that Springsteen had completed 18 songs for it.
• Sancious said he expected to tour with Springsteen in support of the album in 2024.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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