'Nebraska' V. 'Pac-Man Fever'

I spent much of yesterday immersed in two highly divergent albums from 1982: Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen, and Pac-Man Fever by Buckner & Garcia.

Nebraska is stark and evocative. A brilliant album. One of Springsteen’s finest moments.

But let’s focus on Pac-Man Fever.

Jerry Buckner, half of the duo that created Pac-Man Fever, released a 30th anniversary edition of the album in 2012. His partner, Gary Garcia, was in on the early stages of the project, but sadly, he died before it was completed. The 2012 release opens with a spoken intro by Buckner and closes with a recording of Garcia discussing the album shortly before his passing.

In between, all the songs from the album appear in their original form, followed by the same song featuring Buckner’s real-time commentary. Buckner’s thoughts on the album are detailed and insightful. Without going overboard with overwrought metaphors or philosophical platitudes, Buckner’s descriptions of the creative work that went into recording Pac-Man Fever are fascinating.

Buckner & Garcia weren’t Bowie & Springsteen, laboring over Low and Nebraska, but the creative process B&G used is ultimately just as interesting as what the Boss and the Thin White Duke did. I am happy Jerry Buckner decided to describe and celebrate how he and Gary Garcia created their own memorable pop culture moment.

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