Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.

By Daniel Durchholz

Born in the U.S.A. is an album painted in big, broad strokes. But it was still too subtle for some--namely politicians who tried to tap the title track as a jingoistic anthem when it is in fact a bitter diatribe by a Vietnam War vet whose country forgot him. The rest of the album is a glorious grab bag of radio-ready populist anthems--his best display of pure pop songwriting ever--including "No Surrender," "Dancing in the Dark," "Bobby Jean," and "Glory Days" alongside more circumspect numbers such as "My Hometown" and "I'm On Fire." It's not true that there's no arguing with success, but in this case Springsteen's widespread acclaim was warranted. With Born in the U.S.A., all those predictions from a decade earlier--that Springsteen was the future of rock--had come true.

By Grant Alden

Born in the U.S.A. separates Springsteen from the dark solo world of Nebraska and the devoted fans who would have followed him anywhere, and into the fickle frenzy of superstardom. Between is the unreleased Murder, Inc., a far darker, angrier extension of Nebraska that would have cemented Springsteen next to Steve Forbert and Graham Parker in honorable obscurity. Instead, his Viet-vet anthem--meant for irony, he said so many units later--caught the new wave of the Reagan revolution, and Springsteen's American flag and tight jeans cover artwork became a classic study in the marketing and artistic nuances of retaining old fans while pushing to the top of the charts. Calculation and compromise? Maybe so. Probably so, but it's still a classic, hit-ridden album and it's hard to imagine any record including "I'm On Fire" having been pitched to the lowest common denominator.

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"Despite being from Canada, Born in the USA was a very popular album for me and the entire country. Glory Days, I'm on Fire and the title song all went to number one. Before this album I had never heard of "the Boss", however, now I can't think of this ablum or hear it without it taking me back to somwhere in mid Awesome80s (mj's Thriller is the same). I'd have to say Glory Days is my favorite track and also the video for it as well. In the video does anyone notice the baseball player shown on the t.v. is none other than a very young and then untouchable Dwight Gooden. I always thought it was cool that that Springsteen used that footage to go along with the lyrics. Still my favorite Springsteen album." --Rick1970

"Obviously the reviewer is not aware of what "irony" means." --Anonymous