While most purists will argue in favor of "Born To Run," 1987's "Tunnel Of Love" is Bruce Springsteen's best album. While it doesn't define his signature sound or image the way his 1975 magnum opus does to this day, it features the most mature, thoughtful and touching writing of his career, an intimate and often heartbreaking look at the ins and outs of relationships.
By 1987, Bruce had it all: money, fame, and a seemingly happy marriage. But inside, things were beginning to fray; his deep seated insecurities and depression were beginning to manifest, as he began to have doubts about the future of his marriage and the direction of his career. Within two years, he had divorced his first wife and broken up the E Street Band, opening up a new period of his career.
What makes "Tunnel Of Love" such a challenging yet rewarding listen is the honesty and intimacy that Bruce tackles such issues; songs like the title song, "Brilliant Disguise" and "One Step Up" shows a Bruce that is fragile, vulnerable, and lacking in confidence, a stark contrast to the hyper-masculine Rambo type that got inflated for the Born In The U.S.A. era. "Brilliant Disguise" in particular may be the best song Bruce has ever written from a purely lyrical standpoint: every line is an accurate, devastating look at a relationship in turmoil due to a lack of trust in both one's self as well as their partner, ending with maybe the most soul piercing line of his oeuvre:
"Tonight our bed is cold
I'm lost in the darkness of our love
God have the mercy on the man who doubts what he's sure of."
The album's title track takes a familiar image of love, the carnival ride that gives it its name, and twists it so that it's other interpretation - a dark, unpredictable vortex with twists and turns along the way - becomes the focal point of the song. It's a clever bit of writing, and it also ends with another fantastic set of lines that will stick with you once the album is over:
"Ought to be easy, ought to be simple enough
Man meets a woman and they fall in love
But the house is haunted and the ride is rough.
You've got to learn to live with you can't rise above."
While a dark cloud looms over much of the album, particularly the latter half, Bruce also explores the more joyful, innocent areas of romance. "Tougher Than The Rest" is a fantastic love song about commitment and strength and accepting your lover at face value, boasting a shimmering arrangement and one of Bruce's most intimate vocals. "Walk Like A Man" is one of the most personal Bruce songs ever wrote, recalling his wedding day and how his father must've felt watching his son take the same trip he took some 40 or so years ago. "Cautious Man" is about how letting go of these fears can only be done by confronting them head-on, and "When You're Alone" is so simple yet so profound in its point blank portrayal of when love dies:
"Nobody knows where love goes
But when it goes, it's gone."
It closes with the underrated gem "Valentine's Day." With its crisp, swaying arrangement, plaintive Bruce vocals and a lyric that wraps up all the album's theme and ends it on an ostensibly hopeful note.
"Tunnel Of Love" is not an album that's mean to grab you the way "Born In The U.S.A." was; it's not easily accessible, and you may not be able to fully appreciate if you haven't been in at least one full fledged relationship in your life. Conversely, if you have experienced much of the emotions present, you may find it a difficult listen, as it such a viscerally written album. Despite all this, it remains a watershed moment in Bruce's career, closing the door on his wild and innocent days with a newfound growth and outlook on life and love that he could never have achieved in 1975 or even 1982. It would manifest itself over the course of his next several albums, and ensured would Bruce remain both relevant and interesting well into the 1990s'.
