546. Bruce Springsteen - Born in the USA (1984)
















Track Listing

1. Born In The USA
2. Cover Me
3. Darlington County
4. Working On The Highway
5. Downbound Train
6. I'm On Fire
7. No Surrender
8. Bobby Jean
9. I'm Goin' Down
10. Glory Days
11. Dancing In The Dark
12. My Hometown

Review

This is an album which divides people in two fields, those who think it's the best Springsteen album and therefore the best album ever, and those who think it is a pile of shit. I am in neither of those two field.

This is most definitely not the best Springsteen album, that merit would go to Nebraska followed by Born To Run. But it certainly isn't shit, in fact it is very, very good. What happened is that the 80's caught up with Springsteen, and he is making an album of that age. And for that it is a great album.

Firstly it is hard to make an album where most of the song are supremely catchy and so very well written. Then it is an album which even if it does have its superficial charms deserves closer listening to. If you are one of those poor deluded Reagan-like fools who think Born in the USA is a patriotic anthem, think again.

Unfortunately the album sounds much too joyous for its lyrical content, making it very easy to misinterpret, but the lyrics are overwhelmingly depressing, disillusioned and angry, but it sounds cheery. Weird, but a much deeper album that people give it credit for, and it toppled Thriller out of the top five, making it worthy to have existed for that reason only.

Track Highlights

1. Glory Days
2. My Hometown
3. Working On the Highway
4. Darlington County

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

"Dancing in the Dark" was Springsteen's biggest hit single, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. (It was kept out of the top spot by Prince's "When Doves Cry".) The song featured up-tempo synthesizer riffs and noticeable syncopation, both a first for Springsteen. A dance-oriented remix was even made for it, by Arthur Baker. Springsteen pulls a young, short-haired Courteney Cox onstage in a Brian De Palma-directed music video for the track. The video helped launch the actress's career.

"Cover Me" was a dance track originally intended for Donna Summer. "My Hometown" is based on 1960s racial and economic tensions in Springsteen's hometown of Freehold. "No Surrender" and "Bobby Jean" reflected in part the departure of Steven Van Zandt from The E Street Band.

In all there were seven top 10 hit singles from this album, tying the record for most hit singles from an album also held by Michael Jackson's Thriller and Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814.

Glory Days: