Yes, the thick voice is something that is struggle with but every album I’ve approached, and there’s been a few, has left me cold. I haven’t kept a single one.
I haven’t found my entry point so that I just get it. The music either sounds soupy or schmaltzy (Born To Run). Plodding or dull (Nebraska, Tom Joad). I hear Meat Loaf and I hear Xmas sax.
I think it might also be that I’m not American and I just can’t identify with some of the stories, but that juxtaposes my love for all sorts of other American musicians (Tom Waits for example).
I’m not sure I can explain it.