Bruce Springsteen, Born in the USA, 1984
Label: Columbia
Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin and Steven Van Zandt
The commercial apex of Bruce Springsteen’s career and another critically hailed classic, 1984’s Born in the USA returned The Boss to the mainstream rock radio sound that emerged on The River four years earlier, after a stark detour with the acoustic masterpiece that was Nebraska. Further streamlining the triumphant classic rock sound of The River with heavy but tasteful doses of synth and other early 80s innovations, the results caused Springsteen’s career to absolutely explode. The album catapulted him to the commercial heights that finally matched all of the critical acclaim and glorious road reputation that he’d championed over the course of his first six albums. While it made his sound more accessible than ever to a mainstream audience, USA never sacrificed his artistic conscience or integrity. Critics and devoted cult followers cheered right along with the newly-aware masses as the record finally cemented his stats as a blockbuster rock-star. Boasting a generous seven top ten hits and over 30 million in record sales, it remains one of the best selling albums of all time, as well as a definitive cultural moment in 1980s pop, placing Springsteen alongside the likes of other icons of the decade like Madonna and Michael Jackson, while also bursting open the appeal of the Heartland Rock movement, further benefiting peers like Tom Petty, John Mellencamp and the like.
Masterfully produced and arranged with ecstatic radio hooks, The E-Street Band’s fiery energy is at its glorious peak here, finally letting loose for the wide audience they had always deserved to play for. But again, one needn’t look any further than the opening title track and the often-misunderstood smash single to immediately witness Springsteen’s complicated dichotomy as an American rock & roll hero and an outspoken political songwriter. While the roaring chorus and infectiously amped up production still to this day causes it to be mistaken for a rapturous patriotic anthem, underneath it all is a cunning and biting pen; chastising the country for its ignorant treatment of Vietnam veterans upon their return from the war. It was proof positive that Springsteen wasn’t going to betray the message of his music for a wider audience; he would instead use that audience to get his message out to a greater number of listeners. That thoughtful narrative carries itself throughout the record, however it thankfully doesn’t overshadow the unadulterated glory and triumph of the album either. And it’s the walking of that thin line that makes the record such a joyous masterpiece.
Bursting with that unapologetic joy, “Darlington County” offers a killer, stomping Heartland beat and almost country twang in Springsteen’s vocals as he narrates two carefree friends spending their summer simply enjoying life. Retaining all the classic elements of earlier E-Street anthems, it’s fittingly punctuated with a bright and blistering Clarence Clemons sax solo. Immediately succeeding “County”, “Working on the Highway” continues the smiling jubilation with an even faster-paced rockabilly bent, stupendous organ work from Danny Federici, and another joyous blue collar anthem from the king of them. Without question however, “Glory Days” has proven to be the most revered anthem from the album, and undeniably Federici’s most iconic contribution to E-Street. Providing Springsteen with a perfectly coy and infectious organ riff, the Boss taps into an American past-time that all of us will inevitably turn to: escaping adulthood via nostalgia-glazed reminiscing. It’s quite possibly Springsteen’s greatest pop concoction, having lived on indelibly through classic rock airwaves and every high school reunion held since its release.
As the record progresses, it becomes increasingly evident that one of Springsteen and the Band’s greatest accomplishments with this album was the ability to incorporate the evolving, glamorous 80’s rock sound into their already well-established rock & roll identity. As a result, the album sounds indicative of its time period without sounding trapped with it, like so many of its chart counterparts ultimately did over time. They certainly don’t shy away from the trend of using synthesizer as the album is loaded with it, but never overcome by it either. On the classic “Dancing In the Dark”, the sounds of the time fit in perfectly with the staples of E-Street, to form a dazzlingly dreamy and infectious performance that so effectively illustrates the persistent tension and desperation of an aging man who so severely needs to recapture the spark his life was once abundant with. In “Downbound Train”, these moody, updated textures prove to be the perfect soundscape for the portrait of a man drowning in the memory of his departed lover, playing like a big band arrangement of something in the same narrative vein as Nebraska.
Even more so in that realm, “I’m On Fire” beautifully exemplified the possibilities of 80’s pop-rock in a stripped down setting. Despite all its modern polish, it remains one of the most naked and confessional records of his entire career, and today, a folk-rock standard. Coming and going in just over two minutes, the palpable heat and tension will leave the listener themselves sweltering, only to be suddenly left with a bitter cold aftermath. But again, for every modern concession, there were just as many stand-outs deeply rooted in the initial essence of the Band’s earliest albums. Jangly tunes like “No Surrender” and “Bobby Jean” ring with Springsteen’s signature bittersweet blend of joyous abandon and stinging reality. “I’m Goin’ Down” is a straight-up rock and roller that is infectious as hell, and somehow demands repeated listens no matter how damn redundant the chorus may be. Meanwhile, the almost devilish “Cover Me” brings the Boss and his troops as close to heavy metal as they had been since 1978’s “Adam Raised A Cain”, with the same searing riffs and dark, foreboding urgency.
And then refreshingly, Springsteen tables all the anthemic rock & roll noise to close this blockbuster of a record with the humble and restrained touch of “My Hometown”. Reflecting back on the peak days of small town America and then mourning their fall from grace in the new age of mass consumption, Springsteen not only brilliantly pays tribute and then says farewell to his own origins, but he does so in a universal way that makes it feel like the hometown of all 30 million who purchased the record. The fact that such a dizzying commercial album could still close with as beautifully sad a moment as the narrator’s final drive through town with his young son peeking into the faded windows of vacant storefront suggests two things. First, the fact that 80’s pop was much closer to the era that preceded it rather than the one it gave birth to, as well as the visceral brilliance of an artist like Springsteen who was equal parts songwriter and equal parts rock star. Listen to a current top forty playlist and you’ll realize how rarely those two roles intersect in today’s mainstream.
And so, after a decade of critical acclaim, cult fandom, and the occasional flirtation with a radio audience, Born in the USA loudly announced it self as the blockbuster album that had been suggested by Bruce Springsteen’s potential from the very beginning. The fact that it was not an anomaly in any way but instead just another stellar, consistent stop within his artistic journey was incredibly refreshing, and spoke volumes to his merit as an artist. The whirlwind of varied emotions that pour out over the course of this album is at the essence of what every great rock record should be. Or in other words, what every Bruce Springsteen record had accomplished already to this point. This album just so happens to be where the general public finally caught onto the legacy that this man and his band had firmly established previously. Through nothing but sheer artistic excellence and scrappy perseverance, Bruce Springsteen finally reached the promised land that he’d already been singing about for years. And that my friends, is the loudest triumph of Born in the USA.
Track Listing:
- “Born in the U.S.A.” (Bruce Springsteen) *Single Release 1984
- “Cover Me” (Springsteen) *Single Release 1984
- “Darlington County” (Springsteen)
- “Working on the Highway” (Springsteen)
- “Downbound Train” (Springsteen)
- “I’m On Fire” (Springsteen) *Single Release 1985
- “No Surrender” (Springsteen)
- “Bobby Jean” (Springsteen)
- “I’m Goin’ Down” (Springsteen) *Single Release 1985
- “Glory Days” (Springsteen) *Single Release 1985
- “Dancing in the Dark” (Springsteen) *Single Release 1984
- “My Hometown” (Springsteen) *Single Release 1985
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