Born in the U.S.A. - Springsteen, Bruce (Cassette 1984)

As I have noted previously, I'm not a Springsteen fanatic, yet I like him. What kind of rock fan would I be if I didn't? His new album The Rising is definitely in the top 5 albums of 2002 and the Born To Run through The River trilogy (which also includes Darkness On The Edge Of Town) is all-classic. In a nutshell, I'd say I'm not the biggest fan of The Boss, yet each of his albums has songs I like even Human Touch.

Which brings us to the album most people associate with Bruce. That record being Born In The U S A, the second biggest selling album of the 1980s. The biggest-selling album of that decade is possibly the most overrated album of all-time (that one being Thriller) so it's appropriate that Born In The U S A is the most overrated album in the Springsteen catalog.

Now I am not saying that this album is bad. In fact, it's quite good. I'm just saying that it's become the best known and in some cases, only known Springsteen album and there are better one's he's done. The situation is similar to the one with Pearl Jam and Ten. In both cases, the album is the only one that certain fans own so they don't know that he's done better ones. In the case Of Springsteen, Darkness and Born To Run are more consistent (even The Rising is, if only by a hair's much) and The River is better as an illustration of the man's eclecticism.

Now for a moment of truth in that I don't even own Born In The U S A on CD. I have a tape of it that I stole from my dad at some point in the early 1990s. Then a few days ago, while in the midst of enjoying the pleasures of The Rising I happened to pull it out and figure that I might as well take a go at reviewing it.

The album begins on a high-note with the title song. Of course, there are very few people alive who have not heard this song so I won't spend too much time on it. Just to say that it still sounds great from the pounding drums to the searing guitars and the in-your-face lyrics that were so misunderstood by former President Ronald Reagan.

The next song "Cover Me" was also a hit, yet it's not one of the better ones on the album. The "I need a lover who will come on in and cover me lyrics" seem somewhat simplistic to me and the over-reliance on synthesizers and dance beats dates the song.

Things pick up again with "Darlington County" with its going-down-the-highway rock and roll feel and the lyrics which recall The River-era Bruce with lines like "Me and Wayne drove into Darlington County on the Fourth Of July" and the ending which has the narrator leaving with a girl while Wayne is driven away handcuffed to a state trooper's squad car. The na-na-na chorus enhances the rock and roll feel.

We continue in that vein with "Working On The Highway". The song shows Bruce again in storyteller mode with the tale of man who as the song begins is working on the highway as part of a construction crew and after a little affair with a younger woman, found himself working on the highway as part of a chain gang.

"Downbound Train" is another one of the weaker tracks on the album. The lyrics are good and the music is fine, yet it doesn't seem quite as good as the two that came ahead of it.

"I'm On Fire" however is a definite classic. The slow mellow backing is a perfect accompaniment to Bruce's lyrics about illicit lust and the effect of it. All-around great, even if it is a little too short.

Likewise "I'm Going Down" has a good rock and roll feel to it that makes it worthwhile, even if the lyrics are rather repetitive. Then there is the anthem to resilience called "No Surrender". A working-class anthem if ever there was one.

But then we hit a couple of low points. "Bobby Jean", for some reason, never did all that much for me. And I never particularly cared for "Glory Days". To me, it seemed to emphasize (along with "Cover Me") the main flaw of the album, that much of it was pop for pop's sake.

The same could be said about "Dancing In The Dark". But for some reason I like that one quite a bit. Sure the synth parts are quite dated, yet Bruce's lyrics about being stuck in a dead end life and wanting to break out of it, even if "we're just dancing in the dark" hit a chord.

The album goes out on a high-note with "My Hometown". A slow acoustic ballad that is positively heartbreaking in its portrayal of the breakdown of small-town America. With references to 1960s racial strife and 1980s unemployment, Bruce drives the point home. The song resonates in such a way that artists such as U2 and Pearl Jam have covered it live.

So yes Born In The U S A is a good album, yet it's also not as much of a classic as some people believe it is. It's definitely worth owning and listening to, yet one should not just buy this one and forget everything else Bruce has recorded. If you like this and it's the only Springsteen album you have then buy:

Born To Run
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
The River

and then get The Rising. Either way, this album is still quite good.