Customer Reviews

Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. (33 1/3)

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Geoffrey Hime's tome on Born in the U.S.A. is a must buy for any serious music fan. I had forgotten how good it was. Reading it brought back lots of pleasant memories. Himes makes a number of good points about the album particularly his insight how he pared down his lyrics making them more effective. Also, he makes note of Springsteen's use of humour in songs like Glory Days. He really delves into the genesis of some songs like the title track. Also as an added bonus there's lots of information here on the making of Nebraska. There is a very valuable disography at the back of the book. Reading the book brought back a lot of amusing memories how right-wingers such as Ronald Reagan and George Will embraced this album and artist. They didn't quite get Springsteen and his work. Overall, this is a valuable addition to any music fanatic's library.

I was excited at the prospect of the entire 33 1/3 series and decided to start with this one. What a train wreck!

One, this has very little to do with the actual recording of the album. It is almost entirely the author's opinion of Springsteen's songwriting. In essence, a critical review of his songwriting. And a critical review that comes off like a college freshman's term paper.

Two, the book goes all over in place and time with no rhyme or reason. The author will go off on a tangent about something and then repeat what was already said 3 or 4 pages back. It really should have been told chronologically.

Three, the author dissects more unreleased songs and previously recorded songs than songs that actually ended up on the album. It doesn't help to review songs that the reader has never had a chance to hear and then compare them to the album cuts. Totally ludicrous.

So, overall, not a total waste of time, as there was some interesting things sprinkled about, but a very, very frustrating read. And if you're really interested in hearing about the band in the studio, the engineers, how everything is set up, how it is recorded, what equipment was used, et cetera - forget it. None of that information is here.