ALBUM OF THE WEEK #180 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - BORN IN THE U.S.A. (1984)

[RJhog (Admin)]

Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Genre: Rock

Country Of Origin: United States

Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Member: Yes

Album: Born In The U.S.A.

Released: 1984

Producer: John Landau/Chuck Plotkin/Bruce Springsteen/Silvio Dante

Best Songs: Born In The U.S.A./Cover Me/Darlington County/Downbown Train/I'm On Fire/No Surrender/Bobby Jean/I'm Goin' Down/Glory Days/Dancing In The Dark/My Hometown

Disclaimer:  All "facts" come from wikipedia.com unless otherwise noted.

I really don't understand the disdain for Springsteen here on Classic Rock Bottom.  But it's definitely present.  And although I know it's useless to try and change your mind (after all, you like what you like and you dislike what you dislike), I am posting my favorite Springsteen album this week.  It's from 1984 (the year I graduated from high school) and it's called Born In The U.S.A.

It was a massive album.  It opened up Springsteen's music to the masses, myself included. The article in Wikipedia regarding the album has tons of tidbits, so I'll just mention a few of them here.  And as you can see from above, I am a big fan of this album.  The only song I'm not crazy about is Working On The Highway.  

• Born In The U.S.A. is certified 15 X Platinum by the RIAA (Diamond status).
• It was Springsteen's second number 1 Billboard album.
• It was the best selling album of 1985 according to Wikipedia.
• It produced a record-tying 7 Top 10 singles (tied with Thriller by Michael Jackson and Rhythm Nation 1814 by Janet Jackson).
• The highest charting single was Dancing In The Dark at number 2.
• It became the first compact disc manufactured in the United States.
• It spent 4 weeks at number one before being edged by Prince's Purple Rain, which spent 24 weeks there.  During that time, the two albums were numbers 1 and 2 for 18 consecutive weeks, which is still a record for static top 2 albums.

Look, it doesn't matter what anybody else thinks of this album.  You can listen to it if you want or not.   But you are missing out.  It's fantastic.  The worse thing about the album is the cheesy video for Dancing In The Dark (which stars a young Courtney Cox).  I'd say that probably Darlington County and No Surrender are two of the lesser known songs here, but just listen to how good they are.  Even the hits are terrific, my favorite of those being Glory Days (although I do think Springsteen's vocal on the title track is one of his best ever).  

Side One:

1. Born In The U.S.A.

2. Cover Me

3. Darlington County

4. Working On The Highway

5. Downbound Train

6. I'm On Fire

Side Two:

7. No Surrender

8. Bobby Jean

9. I'm Goin' Down

10. Glory Days

11. Dancing In The Dark

12. My Hometown

[Scott]

Very clear Buddy Holly vibe, your right.  But can you explain why the NorthEast folks love this guy so much?  I dont get it...

[Jon]

I'm grew up in NJ don't like him. That should be enough of an explanation.

[RJhog (Admin)]

You ladies are gettin' on my nerves.

[Mike Pell]

I don't know if that's correct, that the NorthEast folks love this guy so much- but if so, maybe because we got to see him closeup in smaller venues in the 70's & 80's.

Honestly, the BEST concerts I have ever been to were Springsteen's.

And they were everything that makes Rock & Roll so special.

The guy would play for over 4 hours, people would yell for More, and he would do another half hour- you almost felt sorry for him.

It can't be described!

But that was then- I always said he was too good to be true...I was right.

[Niels (Mod)]

Everybody bought this album in '84-'85 and so did I. It's not a bad album at all, but it's certainly overplayed times 1,000,000. In '85 I became a Mellemcamp-fan, and that was actually because I bought Scarecrow just a few months after I bought this one. You can (almost) always tell, when a person don't have a clue about good music. Those persons are probably Springsteen-fans. I don't hate Springsteen, I kind of like "Born To Run", the album, but that's it. He is definitely one of the most overrated artists ever.

[Jon]

...and now I think Rjhog's nerves have been stepped on and shredded. Excellent!

[Jon]

Even though they really don't, EVERY SONG SOUNDS THE SAME. Holy crap, this was a complete waste of my time and I still have 4 songs to go. I have absolutely nothing good to say about this album AND I STILL HAVE 4 SONGS TO GO. The keyboards get extremely annoying. 

You know, that "Glory Days" video has always bugged me. If you throw like a wuss, DON'T THROW. Get a stuntman or something. Just makes you look silly. And no, I did not just watch that video. It's embedded into the deepest darkest reaches of my mind and it just won't go away. 

SMACK THAT GEETAR WITH YOUR FIST!

I'm just going thru the motions now. Three songs to go.

Yeah, THE KEYBOARDS ARE DRIVING ME INSANE. 

You would think it impossible, but there is absolutely no songs (so far) that I even halfway like. I'm sure I could listen to a NKOTB album and fine a good song. Not here.

WHOOHOO!

And then there were two....gee, not like I've heard THIS song a billion times before. I really wish he had nothing to say, ever.

Oh boy. What can I say? This was bad from beginning to end. This is 45 or so minutes I have lost. I wish this was Poison. 

[RJhog (Admin)]

I thought about it all day, but I just don't have a response to this.