Source: N/A / Rob Kendall
August 25 is the 50th Anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run. It was the album that changed my life. I first heard Born to Run in my late teens, and was immediately drawn to the positive, forward-looking aspect of the record. As a young person, it served as a guidepost of how adulthood “ought to be.” Yet the characters and circumstances found in Born to Run offered enough realism to keep me grounded in the harshness of how life often works out. At 19 years old, I was adamant the cold reality life produces for so many would never get me. Born to Run, and the ideals found in it, was the vessel to take me and my gigantic dreams somewhere big.
In those eight songs on Born to Run I found optimism. With those characters (I once heard Bruce describe them as players in an endless summer night) I found familiarity. I identified with them. They were people seeking friendship, love, companionship, and hope. Just as I was at that moment in my life. If you enjoy what I do on the radio each day, Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run were the big start of that journey to get there. The album represented the life I wanted and deserved.
In honor of Born to Run’s 50th birthday, we thought it might be fun for me to list my all-time favorite 10 Bruce Springsteen albums and what they meant to me.
1. Darkness on the Edge of Town (June 2, 1978)
It sounds silly to say an album changed your life. But in many ways Darkness on the Edge of Town altered mine. Darkness was the follow up to Born to Run. Due to a dispute with Bruce and his management, three years lapsed between the two records. That was a lifetime in rock music. The delay meant Darkness served as a first glimpse back into the characters found on Born to Run. The unbridled optimism of how things “ought to be” was colliding head on with the harshness of how the world actually works. In many ways, that was going on in my own life. Another album I sat up all night listening to. The struggles of the characters was a comforting reminder I was not alone. I can remember thinking to myself, “How could he know? An album written long before I was even born. Yet 25 years later, this dude knew how some guy half a country away would feel?” Darkness on the Edge of Town helped me get through a lot. I came out of my Darkness phase a much better person than I went in. That is what great music is supposed to be. Something to carry with you on your journey. Something to keep you going.
2. Born to Run (Release Date: August 25, 1975)
Not much to say here that I didn’t say above. Born to Run still gives me a flood of emotions every time I hear it. From a smile and sense of comfort at the opening harmonica and piano of Thunder Road, to butterflies and a feeling as though someone is opening the doors to my soul as the drums and guitar kick off the title track. Born to Run was so much bigger than just a great rock album. It stood for something more. It was an eight-song message that something big was out there. Something you could go get. It would not be easy. It might not work. But man are big things worth the try. Born to Run was one of the things that inspired me to have big dreams and the courage to chase after them.
3. The River (Release Date: October 17, 1980)
The first Springsteen double album, there were so many great songs he could not possibly cut it down to one. Some of my favorite individual songs are a part of this record. Including my absolute favorite, the title track. Bruce once said The River was about time slipping away. It was about entering the adult life. The River was about realizing what adulthood was all about. It was not easy and focused on hard choices. The River was a warning that you were on the clock. An hourglass had begun to pour to accomplish the things that would define your story. What would you accomplish in your professional life? Who would you choose to take your journey with? What sort of legacy would you leave behind? The eye of the storm was upon many of the characters on the record, and the songs were their stories of trying to make the best of their situations. When I entered my 30s, this album hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been listening to it for years, but I was taken aback at how accurate it was to my own feelings as I entered that stage of life. It kept me in good company throughout the decade. A comforting reminder I was not alone in my experiences.
4. Nebraska (Release Date: September 30, 1982)
An album so great, they would one day make a major motion picture about it. Coming on the heels of three absolute monsters (which we will get too next) Bruce threw it all away. He ditched the E Street Band and any corresponding tour. For a guy whose bread was buttered as a live act, these were previously unfathomable choices. But Nebraska was different, and he wanted everyone to know. The first of multiple Springsteen solo albums. This one is the best of the bunch. Lonely and dark, the characters were rooted in despair brought about by the economics of the late 1970s. The optimism and hopefulness of the people he wrote about in Born to Run had faded. The figures of Nebraska were ones of lament and hopelessness. The circumstances and choices they were forced to make were tragic yet incredibly compelling. I used to stay up all night listening to this album.
5. Greetings From Asbury Park (Release Date: January 5, 1973)
Bruce’s debut album. The songs were filled with the not just youthful enthusiasm, but the massive passion of someone desiring to tell his story, and who had something big to say. With several of the songs centered around growing up, Bruce was like a rock n roll madman on the loose. He was a few years away from the more disciplined song writing style and character songs that would endear him to millions. Greetings From Asbury Park was raw. In many ways somewhat unhinged. It was Springsteen’s introduction to the world. But Bruce did not greet the world with a casual hello. He came in like a ball of fire. I remember listening to those songs in my early 20s thinking, “I get every bit of this.” He had something to prove to the world. Something to show to everyone. He just needed someone to pay attention.
6. Born in the USA (Release Date: June 4, 1984)
Arguably the second most successful album of the 1980s next to Thriller. Seven top 10 hits. If we are being honest, it is the reason most of us are fans. Without its success, Springsteen is probably just a forgotten rock relic of the 1970s. The success of Born in the USA thrust Bruce into world-wide superstardom and produced a freight train of a career that allowed future generations to experience his music. The album itself is sort of a bookend of Born to Run. Many of those same types of characters 10 years on. It traces where their lives went and daily experiences. Born in the USA is an incredible mix of reflection and yearning for the past, an awareness of an uncertain future, and a burning desire for something different. As a young man, I deeply admired the desire to never give up in No Surrender. The older I become, the more I identify with the circumstances of songs like My Hometown and Glory Days. And sometimes, late at night, you’ve just got to go Dancing in the Dark. A monumental album of mega hits for the ages.
7. The Rising (Release Date: July 30,2002)
This was the album and the tour that made me take notice of Springsteen. The album is mostly a tribute to the many who were lost on September 11, 2001, and the first responders who battled fearlessly to try and save them. It was Springsteen’s “comeback” album. His first rock recording in a decade and the first with the E Street Band in 15 years. I was a freshman in college when it was released. I didn’t know much about Springsteen at the time, but the publicity and corresponding tour made me believe I had to go see this guy. He did not disappoint. December 17, 2002. The night I saw The Boss in person for the first time changed my life. Conseco Fieldhouse as it was known back then. I will never forget the moment he walked on stage. I was certain the whole building shook. The show was amazing. The crowd was electric. It was one of those times where you knew your life would be different going forward. I wanted to be that guy. The entertainer. The guy who commanded the audience. That night Bruce Springsteen connected with an 18-year-old kid near the top of the arena. He made a fan for life.
8. Magic (Release Date: September 5, 2007)
Released in the final years of the Bush Administration, Magic explored how a society loses its way when a country blindly declares allegiance to a politician or party in the name of patriotism. As a person in my early 20s, I was in the process of understanding there really are no “good guys” when it comes to politics. Only various levels of bad. The album is a reminder that communities, friendships, and family are what make our country amazing. The letter next to any politician’s name is meaningless. Real love of country involves being able to hold elected leaders accountable regardless of party affiliation.
9. Wrecking Ball (Release Date: March 6, 2012)
His first album to be released after the great recession, in Wrecking Ball Springsteen explored the ramifications of the late 2000s, including the lives destroyed, hometowns gutted, careers ruined, and worlds upended. People across the country were devastated in the name of profiteering, dishonesty, and immense greed by corporate America, with a complicit silence by the government as it happened.
10. Letter to You (Release Date: October 20, 2020)
Letter to You was written in the throes of the COVID pandemic and the lockdowns and mandates that came with. It is a largely reflective album, with Springsteen paying tribute to those who came before and sadly are no longer with us. From bandmates to childhood friends, Bruce offered glimpses into individuals and their lasting impacts they had on his life. As with so much of what Bruce does, he also offered commentary on current times. In a world of great uncertainty, it was oddly reassuring to hear his voice again.
