Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (1975)

Here are my thoughts on Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run that many people are celebrating this week because of the 50th anniversary of its release.

I always liked, but never loved, The Boss. It took me until I saw him live at the Spectrum (R.I.P.) in Philadelphia during his 1984 Born in the U.S.A. tour to completely win me over. It's true, there's nothing like seeing him in concert.

Most of my resistance to Springsteen came from what I believed at the time was his totally unappealing singing voice after listening to his first two critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful LPs, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle. WMMR-FM, 93.3, in Philadelphia played those two albums constantly along with an unreleased version of "Fever" so maybe I just learned to tolerate his voice after hearing it so often, but I also believe he improved.

By the time Born to Run arrived on record shelves Springsteen either learned to compensate for his vocal shortcomings by recording and arranging his songs in a way that made his singing less grating, or he worked hard to improve it. Knowing the New Jersey legend's work ethic, it was probably both.

I've written here before that you can always tell how good singers are by how well they cover other people's songs, and Springsteen is no exception. He's better than I originally believed, and the proof are his vocals on a whole album's worth of R&B covers from his last, full length, single-disc release, Only the Strong Survive. If he never became the talented singer-songwriter and rocker he is today The Boss could have been a successful rhythm and blues singer. Within that framework he can do the job.

Now for a few of the highlights from this gem of an album. The title track - the hall-of-famer's first hit single - is a perfect tribute to Phil Spector's wall-of-sound and rocks hard. Clarence Clemons contributed what is perhaps my all-time favorite saxophone solo on "Jungleland." The horns are a highlight of "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out."

"Thunder Road" is my personal favorite Springsteen song, and its lyrics have always intrigued my wife. She's always said how awful it would be to say to a girl, "You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright."  I told her that I don't believe the protagonist is actually saying those words to Mary. Instead, they're only in his thought bubble. I don't know if my response satisfied her.
This 1975 classic wasn't Springsteen's last excellent record, but it's safe to say he never topped it. Born to Run also made me like his first two albums, especially The E Street Shuffle. I often wish he would return to the wordy folk-jazz and rock style of music he played on those his early, unique, artistic ventures.

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