Oakland's Vinyl Vault - Born in the U.S.A.

This week we have another iconic album, this time from that decade of decades, the 1980s.  It's our first repeat artist, the Boss, this time with Born (wait for it...) in the USA!

Release Date: June 4, 1984
Singles: Dancing in the Dark, Cover Me, Born in the U.S.A., I'm On Fire, Glory Days, I'm Goin' Down, My Hometown

Is it patriotic? Is it not? Does it really matter?  All I know is that Born in the U.S.A. turned Bruce Springsteen from a rock 'n' roll star into a superstar.  This album had as many top ten singles as Thriller (all freakin' 7 of 'em!).  That should give you an indication of how successful it was.

So, I think, the obvious question is: did he sell out?  And the answer is: sort of.  Musically, there is a much more commercial feel to the songs.  The synthesizer, that staple of '80s pop music, was used by the E Street Band for the first time.  The songs are upbeat, and have a great, driving energy to them.

But lyrically, the New Boss is, as the Who would say, the same as the Old Boss.  He's still singing about union halls, losing your job, hard times, desperation, and the struggle to overcome.  So it's not exactly the "rah-rah America is the greatest" album that it is sometimes portrayed to be.

On a completely separate note for you Conan O'Brien fans, this album also features a familiar back-up singer: La Bamba.  As far as I can tell, this was his first association with the E Street Band, one that continues today, as he played with them at last year's Super Bowl.

Rating: 13 thumbs up (one from each of the original colonies!) - Despite it's more commercial feel, the Boss still manages to put the same passion and energy into this album that he did in his previous ones. Plenty of bands sell out a little bit to be more successful commercially, but nobody has done it better than the Boss, as evidenced by the record tying 7 top ten singles produced.

Now what goes hand-in-hand with selling out musically?  Making music videos!  Normally, I try to give you all a non-single song to listen to that maybe you haven't heard before. But this video is too good to pass up, thanks in large part to Steven Van Zandt.  Here's "Glory Days." Enjoy!



Pat is crazy.