11. Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA
Another tough choice here - it was either Born To Run, or this. But I mostly picked this one because I feel like, in recent years at least, it tends to be disregarded a commercial pap in comparison to Springsteen’s 70s records and darker works like Nebraska. I remember when the AV Club put together a pretty decent primer on Bruce Springsteen a few years ago, they barely even mentioned Born In The USA, keeping it off their “Top 5 Essential Springsteen Albums” in favor of Tunnel Of Love for reasons I can’t even begin to explain.
Well, OK, no. Maybe I can. Born In The USA is a straight-up pop record. Never before had Bruce Springsteen crafted a set of songs so obviously geared towards mainstream radioplay, and the album’s enormous success (SEVEN top 10 singles, matching Michael Jackson’s record) pushed him into pop superstardom. This bothers some people, who view Springsteen’s mainstream success as some kind of sell-out compromise of his sound.
Thing is, though, is that these people also happen to be tin-eared infants. Because these songs are ALL GREAT. Born In The USA is poptastic glory from beginning to end - 12 tracks and not a dud among ‘em. The singles are obvious radio staples (“Dancing In The Dark,” “Cover Me,” “Glory Days,” the Reagan-hijacked title track), and they are indeed classics. But how ‘bout those album tracks? The adorable “Darlington County,” the indelible shuffle of “Workin On The Highway,” the anthemic majesty of “No Surrender,” or the Nebraska-turned-pop of “Downbound Train”? All could’ve been hits, easy. Springsteen coulda waited a decade to put out his next album, there were so so many hits.
The song I’ve posted here is “Bobby Jean,” another album track that I am SHOCKED was not released as a single. I mean, REALLY now. It is definitely one of my favorite Springsteen songs, one that manages to shove all the heartbreak and beauty of his best 70s stuff into a 3-minute pop song. That is a feat.
Oh, and it’s a live performance because I will make any excuse to post up a live Springsteen performance.
