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Born to Run | 
 enlarge | Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Label: Sony
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy New: $8.97
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Rating:  260 reviews
Sales Rank: 849
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 33795
UPC: 746433795266
EAN: 0746433795266
ASIN: B00000255F
Release Date: October 25, 1990
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| Tracks:
| • | Thunder Road | | • | Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out | | • | Night | | • | Backstreets | | • | Born to Run | | • | She's The One | | • | Meeting Across The River | | • | Jungleland |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com essential recording
Few albums are as fueled by hope, possibility, and the lure of the open road as Born to Run, a virtual concept album about small-town Jerseyites in search of a better life via hot-rodding out on the turnpike, scoring some small-time hustle, or blowing out of town altogether, either across the river to New York City or west for parts unknown. Songs like "Jungleland," "Thunder Road," "Backstreets," and the title track are epic productions, both sonically and lyrically, borrowing from Phil Spector, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and West Side Story. When Born to Run was released in 1975, it earned then-unknown Springsteen the rare honor of simultaneous covers on both Time and Newsweek. The attention was warranted then, and it still is now. --Daniel Durchholz
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| Customer Reviews: Read 255 more reviews...
Born to Run September 11, 2008
In his ever expanding writing style to desribe the plight of the everday working man, his desparate need to create a hit record turns out one of the best albums of rock and roll and the best part is that you can hear his desparation through the singing. During the time of disco and progressive rock, it seemed as if rock would never be able to return to its roots, but Springsteen combined a big band sound or his own version of the 'wall of sound' with complex yet straight forward lyrics about escape for a better future. No better is this displayed than in the album opener, "Thunder Road," which serves as an invitation to the listeners to escape with the singer and Mary on that "dusty beach road."
Every song on this album has its own niche. Clarence Clemons has his part on nearly every song that adds a certain amount of texture to each track. Roy Bittan's piano work is legendary especially for the song, "Jungleland," perhaps the greatest story song ever told about living on the streets. The album does provide an escape for the listener to delve into the stories of gangs rumbling in the street and tales of love lost and found.
Bruce Rocks, almost as hard as the Stones August 8, 2008
Bruce is really quite inovative, if you look at him in the history of music. Who sound like Bruce, and came before Bruce? Not much, maybe a few Phil Spector creations, but thats it. And, quite simply, he rocks harder then most. I'd say only the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix can rock harder. Every song here is an all time classic, each a mini story told with the perfect accompiament. Every instrument in the entire CD sounds fantastic, streched to its highest potental. One of the best, a top ten for me.
I need an asterisk - this is five stars plus! July 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Rarely do heavily hyped artistic endeavors come even remotely close to living up to the expectations. Born to Run is as notable an exception as you'll ever encounter. After an ordinary debut and an extraordinary but under-appreciated sophomore effort Springsteen released Born at the end of the 1975 summer. While The Wild, the Innocent... sounded as if it had been hastily put together Columbia, Bruce and the E Street Band pulled out all of the stops on the new recording. The result is a sonic blast never before heard. It is over the top in the manner of Phil Spector and it works.
Lyrically Born continues Springsteen's string of personal Jersey stories of love, regret, violence, street life and heartache. Musically he leaves behind most of the R & B, jazz and Latino influences and turns to straight ahead rock and roll. Whereas the previous records sounded somewhat muddy this one is crisp and clear with Springsteen's self-assured vocals leaping out at the listener over layers of well-defined instrumentation. Again, as with The Wild, one strong song is followed by another - there are no let downs.
For me Springsteen is just one of the dozens of great artists who I have admired over the course of my rock and roll life. I am not what you would call a great fan. Van is the man. Bruce is just a man! However, whenever I listen to this cd I cannot help but be amazed and energized. It truly is a landmark in the history of American popular music. Five stars aren't enough. There should be a super category for the likes of Pepper, What's Goin' On, Nevermind, Pet Sounds and the other really important records. I need an asterisk.
For tramps like us - Springsteen's greatest June 5, 2008
A dreaming harmonica and a rainy-day piano begins "Thunder Road." The harmonica fades away and the piano picks up. "The screen door slams, Mary's dress waves," Bruce Springsteen sings. "Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays: Roy Orbison singing for the lonely. Hey, that's me and I want you only. Don't turn me home again - I just can't face myself alone again ..."The drums come in, the guitar twangs, the bass rolls, and we take off on one of the sweetest rides rock and roll has to offer: "Born to Run."
About mid-way through that song, Springsteen informs us, "I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk." Well, he's not kidding. But the instruments on this album do more than talk: they come to life, like shapes growing in a pop-up book or strangers emerging from shadows in the dark of night. Clarence Clemons' saxophone roars like the engine of a muscle car crashing through the late-night air, and Roy Bittan plays the piano as though he were writing a love letter. Garry Tallent's bass rolls with all the streetsmart indifference of one of the "street corner youths" Springsteen mentions so often. Max Weinberg's drumming becomes the pounding of two young lovers' hearts. And Springsteen's guitar, well - it's youth itself.
That's what "Born to Run" is all about. It's the ultimate serenade to youth in all its rebellious, slick, chrome glory. It's in the music, it's in Springsteen's voice, it's in his words. He recorded this album, his third, when he was just 26 years old. Almost 35 years later, it's still the greatest thing he's ever released - and that's really saying something, because Springsteen has released some of the greatest albums of all time. He has never been in better form than on this beauty, though. In the pantheon of rock and roll lyricists, Springsteen may not deserve to sit right beside Bob Dylan, but he definitely ought to get a spot near him. The material he wrote for "Born to Run" is sheer poetry.
The best song on the album is the title track, a rip-roaring, slick anthem, and the best of its kind. It's Springsteen's signature song, and also the finest example of Springsteen's trademark philosophy, sung right in the first verse: "Baby this town rips the bones from your back - it's a death trap, it's a suicide rap. We gotta get out while we're young, `cause tramps like us: baby, we were born to run!" Springsteen's "stay and rot, leave and live" philosophy may be the heart of the song, or it may be the subject matter: a declaration of love to a girl named Wendy. Springsteen's protagonist wants "to die with you Wendy in the streets tonight, in an everlasting kiss." Well, with Danny Federici's glockenspiel shimmering like a brand-new set of rims, guest drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter's kick drum pounding like a young lover's heart, and Springsteen shouting some of the most sincere lyrics he's ever written, if "Born to Run" doesn't win over Wendy, nothing will.
The theme of young love resurfaces on most of the album's tracks, but in particular on "She's the One." The upbeat, carousel-style piano part adds a sort of dramatic irony to its lyrics, which focus on a man's love for an intensely-attractive but freezing-cold-hearted woman. Love alone - be it love for youth or love for a woman - doesn't drive these songs, though. They're also driven by an intense desire to live and to get the hell out of this lonesome, washed-up town - because as far as Springsteen's concerned, you can't do both. That desire eventually inspires the protagonist to resort to robbery, on "Meeting Across the River." Springsteen sounds like he's trying to make himself believe something that he doesn't believe. "The word's been passed," he says. "This is our last chance." If the somber tone of the song, enforced by a lone jazzy horn, is any indication, they missed their chance.
It's not always "all or nothing," though. The smooth, easy-rolling "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" is as cool as any rock song released in the `70s. It's also regarded as one of the hardest rock songs to understand. The song is actually loosely based on the formation of the E Street Band; its protagonist, "Bad Scooter," is named after Springsteen's pre-"Boss" nickname. Bad Scooter is saved by "the Big Man" in the third verse: that was the nickname for Clarence Clemmons - hence his improptu solo.
On the vinyl release, side one and side two are closed by "Backstreets" and "Jungeland" respectively. "Backstreets" rolls and thunders like a Friday night in a corner bar, resting on pounding drumming and a low grumble from Springsteen. It revolves around the relationship between the narrator and "Terry" (most likely Springsteen's long-time friend Terry Magovern). The two are forced to hide their love from the others and "hide on the backstreets" - until Terry runs off with another man, leaving the protagonist lonely, angry, and heartbroken.
"Jungeland" is a different story. Clocking it at an astounding nine and a half minutes, "Jungeland" is a rock epic and a Springsteen masterpiece. Revolving around gang violence, the song is composed of roughly four sections. The diversity of these sections is impressive: the song opens with a bold violin part, which leads into a piano piece. That part picks up into a standard rock part (arrangement-wise), which leads into the most rebelliously romantic instrumental bit ever in rock, highlighted by a knockout performance from Clemmons. Then Springsteen comes back in and everything's quiet; he's supported only by a hard-truth, mournful piano part. Finally, the song climaxes with a crescendo and a mad rush of emotion. But while the diversity may be impressive, it's the way Springsteen weaves them together that is truly extraodinary. He is the finest seamster in rock n' roll.
Additionally, "Jungeland" features some of the greatest lyrics ever put on paper by the Boss - or anyone else in rock, for that matter. Rod Stewart, John Mellencamp, and similar musicians tried to write music like this, but only Springsteen could compose a piece like this, the final lyrics of the song:
"Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between what's flesh and what's fantasy
And the poets down here don't write nothing at all
They just stand back and let it all be.
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand
But they wind up wounded, not even dead --
Tonight in Jungleland."
And with that, one of the very finest records in rock history comes to a close. Springsteen's heartbroken corner youths walk into the night; his nowhere-bound factory workers' sons draw back into the shadows. This is the "working man's album" if ever such a thing existed: Springsteen's been there. That's why he's endured over all these years. He's a regular guy. If he was sitting beside you in a bar or at the gas station, you wouldn't even notice him. But he's a regular guy with a whole lot of talent: he can write rock and roll like no one can (save for Bobby Dylan). His songs are beautifully-arranged, styled like the rock n' roll classics of the `50s and `60s, and they capture the feelings Springsteen writes about so powerfully that they could make a 70-year-old man feel like he was 25 again.
So for those who feel they don't have time to listen to Marvin Gaye or Bob Dylan or any of those "old folks" because they're too busy being young, well, give the Boss a shot. "Born to Run" was ranked the 27th greatest album of all time by VH1, and the 18th of all time by "Rolling Stone." It remains the ultimate celebration of youth, young love, and that inescapable feeling that comes with it: we were born to run.
Not a bad song in the bunch May 31, 2008
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
"Born to Run" was the hallmark of my generation. I first had the vinyl and believe me that record served its time on my poor turntable that needed 41 cents to prevent the tonearm from skating. As soon as I could afford a cassette deck, I bought the tape. "Born to Run" was the first CD I bought when I moved to a CD player in the early 80's.
My CD disappeared in my recent move and when I found out, I had to buy this CD again. If I could find the 24Kt version, I'd get that one instead. This is one of those CDs that I'd call 'essential'. Definitely one of the 100 I'd take to the desert island with me. Every song is a classic. I recently had the pleasure of seeing The Boss with the E Street Band in Atlanta, GA and most of the material from this CD was on his setlist--speaks volumes for this recording when he's got so many years to span live.
Rebecca Kyle, May 2008
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