MUSIC CHATTER AND MATTER

Bruce Springsteen

Born to Run

  • AMG Review of Born to Run

    Amg
    William Ruhlmann
    All Music Guide

    Bruce Springsteen's make-or-break third album represented a sonic leap from his first two, which had been made for modest sums at a suburban studio; Born to Run was cut on a superstar budget, mostly at the Record Plant in New York. Springsteen's backup band had changed, with his two virtuoso players, keyboardist David Sancious and drummer Vini Lopez, replaced by the professional but less flashy Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg. The result was a full, highly produced sound that contained elements of Phil Spector's melodramatic work of the 1960s. Layers of guitar, layers of echo on the vocals, lots of keyboards, thunderous drums -- Born to Run had a big sound, and Springsteen wrote big songs to match it. The overall theme of the album was similar to that of The E Street Shuffle; Springsteen was describing, and saying farewell to, a romanticized teenage street life. But where he had been affectionate, even humorous before, he was becoming increasingly bitter. If Springsteen had celebrated his dead-end kids on his first album and viewed them nostalgically on his second, on his third he seemed to despise their failure, perhaps because he was beginning to fear he was trapped himself. Nevertheless, he now felt removed, composing an updated West Side Story with spectacular music that owed more to Bernstein than to Berry. To call Born to Run overblown is to miss the point; Springsteen's precise intention is to blow things up, both in the sense of expanding them to gargantuan size and of exploding them. If The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle was an accidental miracle, Born to Run was an intentional masterpiece. It declared its own greatness with songs and a sound that lived up to Springsteen's promise, and though some thought it took itself too seriously, many found that exalting.

Lost in the Flood of Music
over 2 years ago

Today it occured to me after getting off work and coming back to my apartment listening to Leonard Cohen just how much I owe musically to my parents. I vividly remember when I was young seeing my mother spin Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and thinking she was weird because it wasn't the Simpson's Sing the Blues or something to that effect. I also remember being so captivated by the cover to Small C...

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Music You Wish You Could Hear Again for the First Time
over 3 years ago
Blog post image preview

I was recently reading a review in Amazon.com for "Born to Run" by M J Heilbron Jr., which I loved where he wrote, "From Roy Bittan's piano opening "Thunder Road" to Springsteen's anguished howl ending "Jungleland", you will have gone somewhere. Bruce and the band takes you on a journey...GOD I'm jealous that some of you haven't heard this yet! I'd like to watch someone listen to it for the first

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Bruce Springsteen On Jeopardy
9 months ago

Before you get too excited that the Boss was putting $20,000 on the line in a round of Final Jeopardy, Springsteen was not on the game show. But last night's episode of the long running quiz show did have an entire category dedicated to Jersey rock n roller: SPRINGSTEEN SONGS IN OTHER WORDS. None of the brainiacs could get the $2000 Springsteen question leaving even host Alex Trebek surprised....

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It's been a long time since I did the Stroll
about 1 year ago

there are moments in timebirthdeathyour first kissthe way music grabs your attention and soulhow the sunset looks through the eyes of lovehow we feel about things...our passionthe way we all know what is right with the universe. i have been single for at least 16 years.no one person has touched my soul for a long long time.tonight by the light of the moon and the music that caresses my very sou...

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Boss Time!
10 months ago

How about that? An interception and 100 yard touchdown run, AND 12 minutes of great TV Rock! And I'm not even a regular sports fan or Boss fan. A full-out, high energy performance. ROCK AND ROLL!

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The Greatest Week Ever
about 1 year ago

The greatest week ever, for me at least, is about to begin. (Well, except for that week of skydiving, too). Ok, the greatest musical week ever...Bruce SpringsteenMegadeth w/ Meet & GreetMinistryRushSymphony-X/EpicaAND, more concerts coming up that I plan to see this summer once tickets go on sale for Houston.STP - FUCKING AAAA!!!! I hope to get front row and maybe get a little interaction w...

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friday random ten, 1975 edition
over 2 years ago

1. Patti Smith, "Gloria." Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine. I wasn't gonna say anything else … what else needs to be said … but the video link is terrific, from her April 1976 Season One appearance on Saturday Night Live. My wife and I had seen her two months earlier. 2. Hot Chocolate, "You Sexy Thing." In the 1974 Random Ten, dance music was represented by the funk of the Meters,

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1978
over 2 years ago

The greatest live rock and roller of them all, on the greatest tour of his life (play them in a row, it should be one video but you take what you can get):

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Music You Wish You Could Hear Again for the First Time
over 3 years ago
Blog post image preview

I was recently reading a review in Amazon.com for "Born to Run" by M J Heilbron Jr., which I loved where he wrote, "From Roy Bittan's piano opening "Thunder Road" to Springsteen's anguished howl ending "Jungleland", you will have gone somewhere. Bruce and the band takes you on a journey...GOD I'm jealous that some of you haven't heard this yet! I'd like to watch someone listen to it for the first

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I know that I'm eighteen.
over 3 years ago

I also know that if an oldies station is on in my presence, I will almost always be able to sing along (or, at least, I know the words - my singing ability is questionable). I miss having my car. I miss classic rock. college is fantastic, but good radio is nonexistant.

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Why I love the Boss
8 months ago

I've been really neglecting MOG recently, which is a shame because I really love it, so here is one, in hopefully an ongoing revival of my music based blog.Recently, my die-hard fondness for everything the Boss has done has been subject of rather widespread mockery amongst my peer group. The majority of this seems to stem from ignorance ("I find Born To Run boring, like, 3-minute long violin so...

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Sooner or later it becomes your life
over 2 years ago

So I was reading this terrible article that was 'guised as a "primer" for newbies looking to explore Bruce Springsteen's work... and I just couldn't stand it anymore. Clearly this is a writer who just doesn't "get" Springsteen and was just assigned to write some drivel to put up on the site. Lots of the suggested tracks come from The River which for my money is most overrated cds in the Sprin...

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Bruce Springsteen is set to perform his classic album ‘Born To Run’ at a show in Chicago next month.
3 months ago

Bruce Springsteen will perform the 1975 record, which was his third album, at the United Center on September 20 as part of a fall tour that kicks off on August 19, reports the Decider.The dates includes the final live shows at Giants Stadium in New Jersey, and is in support of his 16th album ‘Working [...]Related posts:The Dates of Kanye West and Lady Gaga’s Joint Tour available now.Lil Wayne,

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Springsteen Is Your Shepherd and He Knows What You Want
2 months ago

As if Bruce Springsteen couldn’t be more of a bad ass live, he is now playing 3 complete albums at Giants Stadium starting tomorrow night. This comes on the heels of playing Born To Run, in its entirety for a Chicago crowd, and if you were wondering what albums they’ll be playing, it’s Born To Run, Darkness On The Edge Of Town, and Born In The USA. I would kill to go to the Darkness show, I

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Lost in the Flood of Music
over 2 years ago

Today it occured to me after getting off work and coming back to my apartment listening to Leonard Cohen just how much I owe musically to my parents. I vividly remember when I was young seeing my mother spin Dylan's Blonde on Blonde and thinking she was weird because it wasn't the Simpson's Sing the Blues or something to that effect. I also remember being so captivated by the cover to Small C...

More >

Top Born to Run Listeners

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