Today's Song You Should Know: Bruce Springsteen - 'Man's Job'

In the canon of Bruce Springsteen albums, 1992 "Human Touch" is one of the few his fans tend to dismiss with scorn. Maybe it's because it's the first project he did without his longtime E-Street Band and/or maybe it was because Springsteen opted to release it the same day as "Lucky Town," a second new album. But part of the problem is also that the album's arrangements and production seem tentative and not quite fleshed out.

Then lone single from the album "Human Touch" eeked its way into the Top 20 and the album track "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" has made a frequent appearance in Springsteen's live sets in the decades since its release. But the two albums (and the subsequent tour) are today just footnotes in the long legacy of the Boss.

And yet if you were lucky enough to see that "Human Touch/Lucky Town" tour, you saw hints of what Springsteen's sound might have been with a band other than the E-Streeters. The shows had a soulful, looser feel and some of the songs that didn't quite work on the album became fleshed out winners during the tour. 

My favorite from that time period is "Man's Job." Curtis King was a great addition to Springsteen's sound and he's repeatedly said in interviews that he wishes he could have continued to work with King, who retired from the road to return to his Gospel music roots. "Man's Job" features vocals from Springsteen and King that almost approach a classic "shout and answer" soul style and the band in the performance below is just about perfect. It's a very different style for Springsteen, but seeing these shows makes me wish he had pursued it a little longer.