People are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic album “Born in the U.S.A.” It sold more than 6 million copies and was named the 86th-greatest rock album of all time by Rolling Stone.
Where it belongs, however, is in the trash bin of music history as one of the most overrated albums of all time. I’m no fan of Springsteen’s music, but I will give props to his songwriting abilities and say that I’d listen to every track on “Born to Run” before punishing my ears listening to the title track of “Born in the U.S.A.”
When released, people mistakenly thought (and still do!) it’s a patriotic rock anthem nod to the good ol’ U.S. of A. Not even close. Read the lyrics, and you’ll find it’s a song about a Vietnam veteran who returns from war, can’t find a job, and winds up in prison. That makes it somewhat of an odd choice to blare during Independence Day celebrations.
The rest of the tracks on the album are average at best with the typical overproduced, synthesized sound that seemingly every artist in the ’80s wanted, or was forced by labels, to emulate. The only artist who managed to pull off changing his sound to connect with what was popular at that time was David Bowie.
“Glory Days” and “Dancing in the Dark” connected with audiences at that time, but so did shell-top Adidas, Aqua Net hairspray, and parachute pants. And that remains the predominant problem with Springsteen’s album. It’s a product of a bygone era that hasn’t withstood the test of time except to die-hard fans.
And fans will defend it the way rabid Stanley Kubrick fans will defend that heaping pile of cinematic film trash “Eyes Wide Shut.” I’ve had people try to break down each song to convince me of Springsteen’s brilliance, but the attempts are always futile. If the mood strikes for those types of songs and themes, without the cheesy synthesized sound, John Mellencamp’s “Scarecrow” from 1985 certainly fits the bill.
So when the Fourth of July celebrations take place in several weeks, and you hear the constipated sounds of Springsteen croaking, “Born down in a dead man’s town,” direct iTunes or Spotify over to U2’s “The Joshua Tree,” and take in an album that sounds just as great today as it did in 1987.
