Nebraska [Black Smoke Vinyl]

Released on September 30, 1982, Bruce Springsteen’s sixth studio album, Nebraska, came in a stark sleeve, dominated by David Michael Kennedy’s black-and-white photograph of a perfectly flat highway stretching down a barren wintertime plain. It sold enough copies to earn a Gold Record award, and if some listeners were mystified, or even disappointed, by the gloomy music, critics doubled down on their praise for Springsteen’s writerly skill and artistic daring. Other artists were inspired by the work; generations of subsequent musicians, ranging from Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello to pop country singer Kelly Clarkson, cited Nebraska as a crucial influence on their careers. Forty years later, the power of Nebraska is undiminished.