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A Review of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A’ Album Forty Years in the Making
You can’t start a fire without a spark
Earlier this week I wrote a track-by-track review of Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, Letter to You. Over nearly forty previous Bruce-centric articles, I had never reviewed an album this way and I discovered I like it, which made me wonder which one I should tackle next. Back in August I did a monthlong series on Born to Run, so as tempting as that one is, it can wait. I’ve also done more general reviews of Tunnel of Love and Magic, so those go on the backburner too. It soon became clear that for several reasons my next review would be the very one I was in no hurry to do: Born in the U.S.A.
If you’ve read any of my Springsteen articles, you may have the impression that I dislike this album; nothing could be further from the truth. The album was released a few weeks after I graduated high school in 1984 and is thus inextricably linked with a formative period of my life. Just as important, it introduced millions of people to the man they had only vaguely known before as that guy who sang “Born to Run.’’ It may not be my favorite record of his, but I love anything that spreads the Gospel of Bruce and swells the congregation of The Fellowship of the E Street Band.
