born to run (1975) - bruce springsteen: columbia records, JC-33795

By the early 70's the center of the rock universe had not only moved to, but had taken out a 30 year mortgage and started a family in England.  Bands like the Stones, the Who, Zep, Tull, Yes, and Genesis had taken over, and for every Hendrix coming out of America, England answered with a Clapton, Beck, and Gallagher.  Not only that, but American rock performers - like Joplin, Hendrix, and Morrison - had decided to take up the annoying habit of dropping dead from overdoses of drugs or drink or both (something the Brits would begin to do in the mid to late 70's), leaving the softer folk-rock singers like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and James Taylor to fill the void.

Things were looking grim in the birthplace of rock until a short kid from New Jersey with a gravelly voice and a Fender Telecaster stepped into the void.

Bruce Springsteen caught the attention of the music world with a pair of albums released in 1973, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ and The Wild, The Innocent, & the E Street Shuffle, but it wasn't until his 1975 album Born To Run that Springsteen finally managed to bring back some serious rock cred to the US of A.

Side 1: Thunder Road Tenth Avenue Freeze Out Night Backstreets
Side 2: Born To Run She's The One Meeting Across The River Jungleland

Look at that track list.  Six out of the eight songs on this album are hits, and four (Thunder Road, Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, Jungleland, and Born To Run) are absolute iconic songs.  That's more than most bands get out of a career, and Springsteen managed to toss those off on one album.  There is a reason that the acclaimed LA Times music critic, Robert Hilburn, used Springsteen as his barometer for all other acts.

But this album also stands out as a fantastic example of what the full vinyl experience was like. The cover is a gatefold photo of Bruce, guitar slung over his shoulder, leaning up on Clarence Clemons just blowing his sax, with the both of them looking like a couple of rock gods who are cooler than the rest of the world combined can ever be:

The best part is that the music is just as cool (if not cooler) than the cover. This is one of those albums that I can listen to again and again, and always enjoy, even if it is a bit dated.  Springsteen's use of sax and piano was anachronistic even in the 70's, and it's even moreso today (unless, of course, it's some millennial hipster douchebag trying to be intentionally ironically cool).  But even though the songs show a little grey at the temples, they still have the vitality and impact they did when they were new. Or maybe that's just me projecting...

Of course, in the interest of being fair, I do have to mention a pet peeve of mine when it comes to Springsteen lyrics: his giving the characters in his songs names.  Yeah, I know he's not the only songwriter to do that, but unless a song is really about one specific person, giving the characters in it names sort of kills the universality of them.  For instance, Born to Run should be one of those songs that resonates with anyone, anywhere.  But when Springsteen sings this:

Beyond the Palace hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
Girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors / and the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark / kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Wendy on the street tonight / In an everlasting kiss

It sort of kills it.  Suddenly only dudes fingerbanging some chick named Wendy can really relate.  Now maybe Bruce really did date a gal named Wendy with whom he wanted to run away.  But by simply replacing Wendy with Baby, he makes the song universal.  And this happens in many Springsteen songs.  Ah well, like I said, it's just a pet peeve of mine.

The really important thing, however, is how in today's climate of music manufactured via a formula and teams of image consultants and choreographers, songs like Thunder Road and Tenth Avenue Freeze Out are even more relevant than when they were released by the very fact that they are so non-corporate.

Besides, there's nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia, and Born To Run is exactly the tonic to the stuff one is forced to endure whenever going outside and hearing today's music.

Up next: A caretaker band finds success in LA