"Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen -- who really enjoys this overproduced crappy glop?

Now, I don't consider "overproduced" as anything but a windmill, because I love stuff being slickly produced, but I reckon "Born In The USA" is a GREAT production, and by far the best produced of all Springsteen albums.

As far as "Born To Run" is considered, the problem isn't so much the level of production as the choice of sound. Sure there are a lot of great songs that do make it a great album, and I do understand what the sound is aiming at. The problem being, the Spectoresque wall of sound was largely obsolete already by the time stereo was becoming more important than mono in the late 60s. The wall of sound idea has never fitted with stereo sound, it was designed for mono and does really only work in mono.

:-) '80s gated drums, and some of the most obvious pandering I can think of. BITUSA doesn't even touch BTR for me, though it has some terrific songs. I've always been a sucker for 'I'm Going Down' of all things, and 'No Surrender' & 'Bobbie Jean' give me chills as I boogie. Lots of the other things leave me cold plus the record as a whole hasn't aged as well as I'd hoped.

"No Surrender" is the only song that does nothing for me on an album that's never stopped giving me pleasure. I know some people go to Springsteen for frills and bombast, but I'll take the focused pathos of "Darlington County" and "Downbound Train."

Not my favorite Springsteen though: it's still Tunnel of Love.

And, yeah, "I'm Goin' Down" is my favorite of the singles. Great oral sex metaphor too.

I think it's a shame Springsteen rarely plays "I'm Going Down," and that when he does he can barely do it with a straight face. Then again, it's a ridiculously simple, repetitive song, so ...

Geir is sort of right, re: mono, but "Born to Run" (the album and the song) isn't exactly a showcase for stereo separation effects.

Also, gated drums not that big of a deal on most of "BitUSA" (esp. compared to "Tunnel"), intro to the title track aside, and that's largely because that intro is so stark a simple snare crack wouldn't fill up enough space. The rest of that album is pretty much band-in-a-room, which is one of many reasons I'm always puzzled by stories of Bruce's studio perfectionism. Gary Katz he is not.

@ Alfred: Oh my. I had forgotten about "Downbound Train." I love that one.

"Darlington County" always struck me as something that might've been left off of a John Fogerty LP, but it is a bit of good fun.

@ Josh: I'm not hearing much panning on BTR either, which may at least partially nullify the (well stated) monophonic argument. Then again I'm sure that the recording process was much different during the days of mono, thereby changing things on the front-end as well as the ultimate sound reproduction.

"Darlington County" always struck me as something that might've been left off of a John Fogerty LP

But then, I would say that CCR were one of the most important influences on Springsteen when he perfected his style.

Yes, this is true. The CCR influence seems to have really kicked in around the time of The River.

I might counter with the notion that CCR & John Fogerty (solo) are vastly different from one another in terms of quality, which is why I chose to cite Fogerty. "Center Field" is no "Who'll Stop the Rain," to give an over-simplified example.

lol @ ppl in 2010 calling 80s production values 'overproduced'

???

lol @ ppl in 2010 calling 80s production values 'overproduced'

i DID say that it was "a supposed sin," didn't i?

:-)

ripping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAvolRT3sX4

Nice. That one is still in his live set.

The problem is not the production. The problem is Bruce's awful mumbly singing style. you hear the song with that rockin' drum intro "DUGGA-DUGGA DUHHHHHHHHHHH...." and you hear that classic guitar riff and the glockenspiel comes in and the guitars are rocking and it crescendoes and you think "Alright! Here we go, it's time to rock!"... and then Bruce's voice comes in "mmrrghhyears mmrrf fff out on the streets uff runaway Amurrrican dreams." and it's like dude! Enunciate! How are we supposed to fantasize riding through mansions of glory and suicide machines when we can't understand what the hell you're saying?

Allan Clarke of the Hollies did this song much better before Bruce's version was even released:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M-Y1JqGwKM

bruce's mumbling is the best part for me. i don't think his Romanticism would be palatable if it wasn't blunted by the grizzled weight of experience. that kind of writing needs to be grounded in some way by melancholy.

That Clarke track, which I'd never heard, is fine, but it really splits the difference between Bruce and, dunno, Jackson Browne.

I think I've kind of always wanted Bruce Springsteen to sound more like Jackson Browne so I am digging this. Also reminding me again of the existence of the Hold Steady who did a pretty decent pastiche on "Stuck Between Stations."

Dude! Enunciate!

i always figured that mumbling thing was the product of severe underbite + not opening mouth to speak

Also, for a belter, Bruce back then was pretty shy. So maybe it was a form of modesty manifesting itself at the wrong time in the wrong song? He opens up his voice more as the song goes on, though.

I always figured that mumbling thing was the product of Dylan/Van Morrison emulation (and is really the major thing I DO like about "Born To Run.") Like, enunciation was not the thing that made Rolling Stones records rock.

Bruce back then was pretty shy

Think it's fair to say he's overcome it since

i like his bad vocals and mumbling on this song

Album is 45 years old today

I'm as old as it is, but it is better than I am.

I like it

BABY THIS TOWN RIPS THE BONES FROM YOUR BACK, IT'S A DEATH TRAP, IT'S A SUICIDE RAP

Little dramatic in spots, no?

But then you hear the new Killers album and realize it's actually kinda subtle.

ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

THE HIGHWAY’S JAMMED WITH BROKEN HEROES ON A LAST CHANCE POWER DRIVE
EVERYBODY’S OUT ON THE RUN TONIGHT
BUT THERE’S NO PLACE LEFT TO HIDE


if for whatever reason you cannot fuck with this kind of awesomeness then i cannot help you

otm

Does this thread mention the case of Steve Van Zandt and the unheard string bend?

Explain please

When The Boss played the original recording of BTR: The Song for Miami Steve the first time, he said something like "I particularly like that minor key riff" to which Springsteen replied "What minor key riff?" Turns out he had been doing a string bend but in that Spectoresque arrangement with all that stuff in it you couldn't hear the bent note. So they went back and redid the guitar part and the whole mix again which took quite a bit of time back in the day.

i haven't heard this song in ages! i love it tho

I think it might be in the doc, where they play the minor version of it? Anyway, the minor didn't work, obviously.

Yes, Springsteen talks about it in doc. Some interviews online with Miami Steve about it as well.

ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

THE HIGHWAY’S JAMMED WITH BROKEN HEROES ON A LAST CHANCE POWER DRIVE
EVERYBODY’S OUT ON THE RUN TONIGHT
BUT THERE’S NO PLACE LEFT TO HIDE

if for whatever reason you cannot fuck with this kind of awesomeness then i cannot help you

― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 01:27 (eleven hours ago) link

otm

― whiney on the moon (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 26 August 2020 01:37 (eleven hours ago) link

otm

It's the most direct descendant of Like a Rolling Stone, but filtered through suburban 50s teenage greaser angst. Rebel with a Cause: Getting the Fuck Out of Here. At nearly 48, no song quite connects me to the rush, hope, romanticism, and desperation of being young. Fuck tha haters.

All the lore is classic, not least that Springsteen really had no idea what he had on his hands. Hence the tale of him sitting on it for 6 months, not sure what to do with it, convinced he ripped it off from somewhere. Or my fave illustration, the classic Main Point '75 boot, where "Born to Run" comes third (!) in the set.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARuCO6RGAJU&list=RDARuCO6RGAJU&start_radio=1

First comment, btw: "This is the version where you still hear the 'minor' chord that Van Zandt via Springsteen gets removed from the final recorded version. Van Zandt later expressed being 'undecided' about whether he (they) had made the right decision or not! Judge for yourself!"

Weird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARuCO6RGAJU

I love that boot, because you can here how small of a venue it is and, together with the intro by Ed Sciaky, Bruce just sounds like some minor local bar band with a loyal following (which I guess he is on some level).

*hear*

Main Point is the one thing by Bruce that I'd keep if I could keep no other.

I would probably agree. The "Incident on 57th Street" with the violin that kicks off the album is my favorite thing he has ever done. It amplifies the melodrama of the album version.

yeah that's my favorite bruce song & that's my favorite version of it

that version is so beautiful

?Meeting Across the River" is my fave, with "throw that money," acoustic guitar for "on the bed---she'll see I wasn't just talkin'---and I'm gonna go out walkin'...", trumpet solo, "Heyyy Eddie can you get us a ride..."piano, trumpet

Bruce Springsteen – vocals
Roy Bittan – piano
Richard Davis – double bass
Randy Brecker – trumpet

("Acoustic guitar" may have been how I heard bass of the late great Richard Davis at some points.)

"Late"? He's not dead yet.