Born in the USA was released.
Not my favourite album, but one I have probably played more than any other.
40 Years Ago Today
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
Musings on the byways of popular culture
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Born in the USA was released.
Not my favourite album, but one I have probably played more than any other.
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This became my favourite track:
Yes, best track on one of my least favourite Springsteen albums.
Seconded
And this live version is pretty darned good.
I think it’s a great album, but I do prefer 2 or 3 others of his.
I feel that many long term Bruceophiles are prone to dismiss the album mainly because it marks the dividing point between Springsteen the simple cult hero and Springsteen the international super-mega-star. Before it, I found I would regularly need to explain who he was to civilians and even some casual rock fans. After it, absolutely everyone and their dog knew about him. Plus, that silly Rambo style head wrap he sported for a while at that time was not a cool look. So the album gets palmed off as bombastic and rather lumpen, and the point at which he was no longer known just to us, the all knowing cognoscenti.
Truth is, it’s nowhere near his best work but still pretty damn good. You’d have to be made of stone not to enjoy the humour of “Glory Days” or the pathos of “My Hometown”, and I still think if Prince had written “I’m On Fire” it would be considered amongst his very sexiest songs.
“I’m On Fire” played at 45rpm sounds like a Dolly Parton track.
Fair point. Better than sounding like Alvin and The Chipmunks, I suppose.
Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind hearing Dolly Parton covering it. I reckon she could do a good job with it.
Also my favourite, though it tends to get dismissed by many.
It also acted as balm some months later as I strongly identified with the song’s protagonist, especially as the woman in question was with me when I bought the album.
I loved that the time but haven’t played it many a year.
Down bound Train immediately enters my memory so I assume that must be my favourite track!
40 years ago I was in the middle of finals. At the end (9th) we all had a post exams blow out in the afternoon then went to see Siouxie and the Banshees at the Brixton academy, followed by more partying over the weekend. At the end of the next week I had a week at Stonehenge, which was REALLY fun. It made the Glastonbury I went to the following week seem very tame, and I’ve never been to Glastonbury since. Though Bruce was not on my radar, a later GF liked him, so I saw the “Born in the USA” tour in Newcastle. It was entertaining stuff.
Saw him July 4th 85 at Wembley, the middle of 3 nights. It was magnificent, but I think Stafford 81 had the edge.
Sorry dai but I saw The Born… Tour at Wembley Stadium and it was one of the worst gigs of my life. I supposed being surrounded in the middle of the pitch by fist waving, shouting and drunken fans fist pumping the air (and bystanders) kinda put me off the music somewhat. The sun setting over the stage so you had to squint to see didn’t help AND it went on for bloody hours, much as I love(d) Bruce I hated the gig.
Seen him twice in last 12 months and he has still got it in spades.
Prefer The River, Nebraska and the Rising but still a very good album.
The Rising? Interesting. I prefer Magic for 21st Century E St Band. The Rising could lose a couple of tracks, but the best of it is very good indeed
I probably put Born to Run and Darkness ahead of Born in the USA, pushing for 3rd place with WIESS, Nebraska and Tunnel of Love. The River only makes 7th or so for me, still excellent though.
Excellent review (from 2021)
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/bruce-springsteen-born-in-the-usa/
It is being reissued in coloured vinyl with extended sleeve notes, but no mega box set
The excellent various artists tribute album ‘Dead Man’s Town’ really brings out just how downbeat and melancholy the album is behind the bombast.
I try to ignore any Broooooce threads on this blog, but the fact that they show as unread, with a highlighted frame around them, bugs me. Something I obviously need to work on.
The opprobrium was, in my view, due to a few factors.
1. the punishment for success ,a punishment that gets meted out to many,
2. the cover with the stars and stripes (although I’ve read that it is ranked, somewhere by someone, as one of the best covers of all time – go figure, and
3. Born In The USA being used as a patriotic anthem
Looking at the track list my guilty pleasure was always dancing In The Dark. Good pop song. Even had a dance version 12 inch, admittedly motivated by the live version of Jersey Girl on it, but I still bought it.
Some interpreted the cover as he was pissing on the flag, something the protagonist in “Born in the USA” might have done given his treatment on returning home
To the cognoscenti perhaps but a lot more subtle than Who’s Next
But on top of the American colours of red and white stripes and the blue of the jeans on the cover, they doubled down on the tour poster by adding the stars. It came across as a very pro American thing irrespective of the subtleties of the message in the title track.
Not a huge fan after The River but for me Darkness On The Edge.. was as good as he got.