SPRINGSTEEN

by Robert Hilburn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 25, 1985

Born down in a dead man's town/The first kick I took was when I hit the ground/You end up like a dog that's been beat too much/'Till you spend half your life just covering up./I Was Born in the U.S.A.!!! Born in the U.S.A.!!! Born in the U.S.A.!!! Born in the U.S.A.!!!"" So being the superscreaming, all-stops-out lyrics for Springsteen's latest smash album Born in the U.S.A., which already has the vibes of a gusty American classic. Springsteen first knew he wanted to be a rock 'n' roll musician at 8, when he saw Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show. When he eventually got a guitar, he found himself forever bad-mouthed by his father while practicing. Later, while chatting with audiences between songs, solitary Bruce got a lot of mileage out of his father's hostility: ""Yeah, I like friends, but I'm pretty much by myself out there most of the time. My father was always like that. I lived with my father 20 years and never once saw a friend come over to the house. Not one time."" So--the lad had something to prove! Born in Freehold, New Jersey, but claiming nearby, faded Asbury Park, a dying amusement park, as his spiritual home, Springsteen has managed to tie a sense of personal desolation (but great hope as well) with the down-at-heels small towns he celebrates--towns with closing textile mills, highway road gangs, jailbirds and burned-out war vets. He spent ten years on the road as an active musician before reluctantly hitting the big time at 25 with his picture on the covers of both Time and Newsweek when his third album Born to Run was issued. Some of his potential audience stayed away after that, thinking him a creature of hype. In response, his fourth album--Darkness at the Edge of Town, two years in the making--was a total downer without one possible hit single on it. His following albums have also retained their anti-hype, absolute integrity. Rock critic Hilburn singles out the fairly recent, band-less, solo Springsteen album Nebraska (overmortgaged farmers losing their farms, etc.) as his most achingly intimate, self-revealing work. For all this desolation, Springsteen is happy and secure as the spiritual head of rock 'n' roll: ""You write the song just for yourself, but it's no good unless you play it for somebody else. . ."" Springsteen hardly needs a coffee-table giant like Springsteen to support his genius, though likely he will not be too embarrassed by it. Hilburn sticks closely to the music, describing how each album came to be and aptly analyzing songs. He writes barely five sentences about Springsteen's lovelife or recent marriage. All told, an enormously appealing book that makes a strong case for Springsteen as a permanent American original.

Pub Date: Oct. 25, 1985

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribner

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1985

Categories: NONFICTION