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Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ Album is Everything a Rock Record Should Be
It’s the Sistine Chapel of rock and roll
How do you review the Sistine Chapel? You don’t; you simply stand back and marvel at it. I feel the same way about Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run album, though I did give it a shot back in August with a nine-part series for the album’s 46th anniversary (you can find that here). But since I recently began song-by-song reviews of Springsteen’s albums, I will have to try my best to express the inexpressible here.
There are certain dates that are indisputably pivotal in the history of mankind; for some people it’s July 4, 1776 while for others it’s December 25, 4 B.C. (give or take a year). For me, it’s August 25, 1975, the year that the greatest record ever made, containing the greatest song ever, was released (if you thought this was not going to be a biased review, you’ve never read my stuff before). On that balmy 90-degree day (in Ocean City, New Jersey at least) everything changed. Everything.
Born to Run is Springsteen’s third studio album, and though it’s hard to believe now it was basically his last chance as far as Columbia Records was concerned. His first two albums were critically acclaimed but had not sold well and the record execs were past impatient with their new would-be star. He needed a hit…
