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

[Jon]

This is just &*#&$#*#*# mean and low. 

[Scott]

Ya.. Ranks right up there with those Simtherweenies posts...

[RJhog (Admin)]

I bet you ladies were expecting Poison...

[Jon]

I'm going to listen to this now. I'm very scared.

[Mike Pell]

For kickass straightahead Rock & Roll, Working On The Highway is the one for me!

[Jon]

I.....just....couldn't.....hit.....the.....play....button.

Maybe another day?

[RJhog (Admin)]

Whatever.

[Mike Pell]

You are a pisser Jon, lol!

[Scott]

So this was a very easy listening experience.  Not because of how great it was, but because I couldnt bare the thought of hearing any of the hits from this album again, its just too soon seeing how way overplayed they all were.  So instead I listened to those traks that Ive never heard before.  Yes, Ive never owned this on any format...

So lets start with Darlington County...  People in the NorthEast like this crap?  How many "band members" does he have on stage that use one stick to bang on things?  Sounds like upwards of 10.  Have you ever been to Florence SC, you know, on the way to Myrtle Beach and where Darlington Speedway is?  THey woudl hate this too...

Next...

Working on the Highway ... M Pell calls this pure rock and roll.  I love M Pell, he's friggin awesome, but he got that wrong.  This is just filler

Next ...

Downbound Train ...  What the hell is a downbound train?  At least this a decent feel to it but his story telling doesnt resonate with me, maybe thats the core issue

Next ...

No Surrender ...  Sorry, Im waving my white flag!

Next ...

Bobby Jean ...  ugh

Praise The Lord!  Im done...

[Jon]

Damn! This makes me really want to listen to this now!

[Mike Pell]

Get the vinyl, put it on the turntable and run around with it as it spins, lol!

[Mike Pell]

One man's filler is another's main course.

This is Springsteen doing Buddy Holly, and I like Holly far more than Springsteen!