Human Touch

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Human Touch
Studio album by Bruce Springsteen
Released March 31, 1992
Recorded September 1989 - March 1991
at A&M Studios
Genre Rock
Length 58:49
Label Columbia
Producer Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Roy Bittan
Bruce Springsteen chronology

Chimes of Freedom
(1988)		 Human Touch
(1992)		 Lucky Town
(1992)
Singles from Human Touch
  1. "Human Touch"
    Released: March 21, 1992
  2. "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)"
    Released: July 1992

Human Touch is the ninth studio album by Bruce Springsteen. The album was released on March 31 1992. The album was co-released on the same day as Lucky Town. It was the more popular of the two, and it peaked at number two on the Billboard 200, with "Human Touch" (paired with Lucky Town's "Better Days") peaking at number one on the Album Rock Tracks chart and #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Background

Not long after Springsteen broke up the E Street Band in October 1989, pianist Roy Bittan played Springsteen three instrumental songs he had written, "Roll of the Dice", "Real World", and "Trouble in Paradise".[1] Springsteen later added words to the songs, and liked them to the point where he began writing and recording more songs.[1] With the E Street Band- with the exception of Bittan, who played the keyboards and co-produced the album- gone, Springsteen assembled a band of studio musicians in Los Angeles, mostly using the services of Randy Jackson on bass guitar and Jeff Porcaro on drums.[1] A wide variety of background vocalists were used, including Sam Moore, Bobby Hatfield, and Bobby King. Overall, at least 25 or so songs were recorded, but the exact number is unknown.[1]

The album was originally set for a spring-summer 1991 release date, that being pushed back from early 1991, but was once again halted when Springsteen began recording Lucky Town later that year.[1] Springsteen ultimately decided to release Human Touch and Lucky Town on the same day, with Human Touch coming into the world on March 31, 1992- more than 2 years after starting the project.[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Chicago Tribune [3]
Robert Christgau [4]
Entertainment Weekly B-[5]
Rolling Stone [6]
Piero Scaruffi (4.5/10)[7]

Human Touch's release was met with a generally mixed critical reception. Allmusic described the album as "generic pop" and "his first that didn't at least aspire to greatness."[2] Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars and noted that the songs "explore the movement from disenchanted isolation to a willingness to risk love and its attendant traumas again." The review also stated that the title track "stands among Springsteen's best work." Piero Scaruffi was negative in his review of the album, pointing to the ill-conceived experiments and the E Street Band's departure as being its main faults.[7]

The album is generally disliked by Springsteen fans and in 2012 was ranked last among Springsteen's albums by the online magazine Nerve. Regarding the bad reputation of Human Touch and Lucky Town among his fans Springsteen said: "I tried it [writing happy songs] in the early '90s and it didn't work; the public didn't like it."[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen except where noted.

No. Title Length
1. "Human Touch"   6:31
2. "Soul Driver"   4:39
3. "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)"   2:28
4. "Cross My Heart" (Springsteen, Sonny Boy Williamson) 3:51
5. "Gloria's Eyes"   3:46
6. "With Every Wish"   4:39
7. "Roll of the Dice" (Springsteen, Roy Bittan) 4:17
8. "Real World" (Springsteen, Roy Bittan) 5:26
9. "All or Nothin' at All"   3:23
10. "Man's Job"   4:37
11. "I Wish I Were Blind"   4:48
12. "The Long Goodbye"   3:30
13. "Real Man"   4:33
14. "Pony Boy"   2:14

Personnel

  • Bruce Springsteen – guitar and lead vocals, bass on "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)"
  • Randy Jackson – bass
  • Jeff Porcaro – drums/percussion
  • Roy Bittan – keyboards
  • Sam Moore – backing vocals on "Soul Driver", "Roll of the Dice, "Real World" and "Man's Job"
  • Patti Scialfa – harmony vocals on "Human Touch" and "Pony Boy"
  • David Sancious – Hammond organ on "Soul Driver" and "Real Man"
  • Bobby King – backing vocals on "Roll of the Dice" and "Man's Job"
  • Tim Pierce – second guitar on "Soul Driver" and "Roll of the Dice"
  • Michael Fisher – percussion on "Soul Driver"
  • Bobby Hatfield – harmony vocals on "I Wish I Were Blind"

Singles

Year Single Peak Chart Positions[9][10]
US US Main US AC UK IRE GER SWI AUT NOR SWE NZ AUS NL
1992 "Human Touch"[A] 16 1 8 11 4 15 4 19 1 4 12 17 3
"57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" 68 6 — 32 26 — — — 9 32 - — 39

Singles were released in both U.S. and UK/Europe, unless otherwise indicated:

  • A^ Charted as double A-Side with "Better Days" when released in the United States.

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1992) Position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[11] 3
Austrian Albums Chart[12] 1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[13] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[14] 3
French SNEP Albums Chart[15] 3
German Media Control Albums Chart[16] 3
Italian Albums Chart[17] 1
Japanese Oricon Albums Chart[18] 4
New Zealand Albums Chart[19] 5
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart[20] 1
Swedish Albums Chart[21] 1
Swiss Albums Chart[22] 1
UK Albums Chart[23] 1
U.S. Billboard 200 [24] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1992) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[25] 21
French Albums Chart[26] 51
Italian Albums Chart[17] 16
Swiss Albums Chart[27] 19
UK Albums Chart[28] 67
U.S. Billboard Year-End[29] 48

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[30] Platinum 70,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[31] Gold 25,000x
Canada (Music Canada)[32] 2× Platinum 200,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[33] Gold 35,627[33]
Germany (BVMI)[34] Gold 250,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[35] Gold 116,000[36]
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[38] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[40] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch/Lucky Town - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. 1992-03-31. Retrieved 2014-01-28. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Human Touch at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Kot, Greg (August 23, 1992). "The Recorded History of Springsteen". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2013. 
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Human Touch". Robert Christgau. 
  5. ↑ Browne, David (April 3, 1992). "Human Touch Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2012. 
  6. ↑ DeCurtis, Anthony (April 3, 1992). "Human Touch | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 17, 2012. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "Bruce Springsteen". pieroscaruffi.com. Retrieved September 10, 2013. 
  8. ↑ "Ranked: Bruce Springsteen Albums from Worst to Best". Nerve.com. March 5, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Artist Chart History (Singles) - Bruce Springsteen". Allmusic. Retrieved December 15, 2008. 
  10. ↑ "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. Retrieved January 27, 2009. 
  11. ↑ "australian-charts.com Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 4, 2012. 
  12. ↑ "austriancharts.at Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  13. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-06
  14. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  15. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved April 6, 2012. Note: user must select 'Bruce SPRINGSTEEN' from drop-down
  16. ↑ "Album Search: Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved October 31, 2011. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Hit Parade Italia - Gli album più venduti del 1992" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  18. ↑ "マドンナ、洋楽女性初の快挙 アルバム2作同時初登場TOP10" [Madonna's two albums simultaneously enter the top-10]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012. 
  19. ↑ "charts.org.nz Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  20. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved April 7, 2012. 
  21. ↑ "swedishcharts.com Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved April 7, 2012. 
  22. ↑ "Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  23. ↑ "Chart Stats: Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  24. ↑ "allmusic ((( Human Touch > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1992" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 11, 2012. 
  26. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1992 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  27. ↑ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1992" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 11, 2012. 
  28. ↑ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  29. ↑ "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1992". billboard.biz. Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  30. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  31. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved April 4, 2012.  Enter Bruce Springsteen in the field Interpret. Enter Human Touch in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  32. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". Music Canada. Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 The first web page presents the sales figures, the second presents the certification limits:
  34. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Bruce Springsteen; 'Human Touch')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 4, 2012. 
  35. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – ブルース・スプリングスティーン – ヒューマン・タッチ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. 
  36. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9. 
  37. ↑ "Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1991–1995". Solo Exitos 1959–2002 Ano A Ano. 
  38. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved April 6, 2012. 
  39. ↑ "British album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 6, 2012.  Enter Human Touch in the field Search. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Click Go
  40. ↑ "American album certifications – Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 4, 2012.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Studio albums
Live albums
Box sets
Other albums
Singles
Promo singles/Other charted songs
Video releases
Tours
Related articles
  • Book
  • Category
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