[Columbia : 1975]Take yourself back to 1975 (I need to use my imagination as was born in ’82). Springsteen’s breakthrough album Born To Run came out - the one that launched his place as one of rock’s most prolific songwriters and performers. The Sixties were over and so was the music that had made it the first decade of rock n roll: The Beatles were splitting up, acid had lost its mystique, and the whole ‘intense angsty rock star’ vibe was getting tired.
The world needed a shakeup: they needed an everyman. A passionate soul who would speak the truth about hardworking everyday life – not the psychedelic fantasy world that Led Zeppelin had created a few years earlier. Bruce told stories about the anti-American dream, about the person you lived next door to in your tiny apartment, about the simple tragedies and triumphs, the hardships, the escapes, the realistic hopes and pain of people like you living in the real – non rock ‘n’ roll – world.
Born To Run is the record that represented the change of times. It is dramatic but believeable. It’s epic but not overblown. It’s beautiful, but boyish – manly! - and dirty. I still feel something when I hear “Born To Run”. I feel like the tale of the narrator and Wendy is something that I’ve experienced before. Tramps like us baby, we were born to run. That desperate longing to clock out of the 9 to 5, jump in the bus (or a motorbike if you’re really really real) and see what the future holds. The message has never aged – everyday someone has a sick day inspired by the ethos behind that song.
Forget your privileged rock stars with their awesome hair styles and front row fashion show seats. Put on your oldest and least tailored jeans and discard your pretensions with one of the best, classic rock albums ever recorded. Even for middle-class private school kids who drink skim milk like me, it can still feel blue collar as all hell. That’s gotta stand for something.
Tramps like us, baby...
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3 Responses to “bruce springsteen - Born To Run”
I nearly got tears in my eyes reading this review. It is true, that song makes you feel something! Well done.
Right on! Keep reviewing the classic old stuff! This review shows exactly what Sprinsteen was about. He connected with ordinary people and used the language of the street to tell their stories. Also, Bruce was a poet who spoke of believable characters like Wendy whose hopes and dreams seemed real when his tunes came blaring across the airwaves.
....and I have a strong feeling his name is actually Springsteen not Sprinsteen!!
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