Born In the USA Review

On Facebook, I wrote a 1/2 review of Bruce Springsteen's Born In the USA. I expect to get ripped by Springsteen fans. I'm sorry, but this album is more abrasive than Sonic Youth's early work. I feel it is my duty as a human being to warn people about this album.

The most overrated and dated Springsteen album. The keyboards sound straight out of Dio's Rainbow In the Dark. The melodies are repetitive. The chorus of I'm Going Down has the effect of a sledgehammer banging on one's head.

Prince's Purple Rain was the best mainstream album of 2004. Husker Du, the Minutemen and the Meat Puppets released superior albums that year. Springsteen went from his ambitious larger-than-life sound of his early albums to attempting to be his generation's Gary U.S. Bonds.

Dancing In the Dark is never going to make people forget James Brown or the Bee Gees. Springsteen is as funky as Michael Bolton is soulful. The Boss's vocals on "Born In the USA" makes early Michael Stipe sound coherent. The vocals on "Working On the Highway" sounds like the Boss did too much crystal meth. Springsteen sounds like he is sleepy on "My Hometown." I don't blame him. The song has the same effect on me.

Springsteen set out to make a garage rock album. He defeated his goal by making the E Street Band re-record tracks up to 50 times. The band sounds bored from playing the songs repeatedly. The stripped-down acoustic demos of the songs are better.

I would rather listen to bluegrass Springsteen than Born In the USA. I recommend people find bootlegs from the Darkness On the Edge of Town tour.