1001 Albums Summary

True fusion of virtually every genre. There’s enough pop to prevent it from being alternative, and I bet Beck would be rapping ever if rap was never introduced. He’s brilliant.

Although I appreciate the innovative sound of Radiohead, I find the vocals sound like a whiny Bono. Just not for me.

I was in college in NY when this came out and to be honest, never cared for Springsteen. I've heard all the songs on this album many times, but never intentionally. I expected to tear it up. Well, I guess I've mellowed a bit over the years and have grown to find some appeal in some of it... but not all. The song Born in the USA is a monotonous chime of carousel sounding tinny keyboard which seems to never end. There isn't a single bridge in the entire song. I still think it's crap. Much of the songs are similar, but I found myself enjoying two songs in particular: Cover Me and Dancing in the Dark. Good, relatable songs which make you think about when you were there yourself. I think that's Springsteen's strength: His songs are relatable to the average Joe and he often finds beautiful imagery and metaphors to describe situations which we may not have thought about in a long time, but the songs stir up relatable memories. Anyway, the quality of the music on Born in the USA is marginal- not even close to Born to Run, and it lacks sophistication. I give it a 2, which is twice as good as I expected.