After the commercial disappointments (although they were critical successes) of the previous two albums, a scruffy 24 year old Bruce Springsteen desperately needed to make both a critical and commercial statement. And he did that with a vengeance by giving the world, ‘Born to Run’. The album peaked at number 3 spot on the Billboard Charts the year of its release (1975) and has sold more than 10 million copies so far. The album also ranks at number 18 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The LP starts off with a quiet piano and harmonica line which is quickly met by the not so quiet piano and that’s when Thunder Road opens up in front of you. A song that captures the essence of Springsteen’s song-writing in the album and probably his entire career. With expressions of hope, romance, dreams and survival in everyday America, the track ends with the now legendary piano riff. To me, it’s still one of the finest tracks by ‘The Boss’.

Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out is a brassy (there are 5 horns…yes 5 horns in this song) soul-rock jam with a funky riff about the formation of The E Street Band. Night, the next track is about a blue collar worker looking for love, after a hard day’s work. The last track on Side 1, Backstreet starts majestically with more than a minute long piano and organ introduction before Springsteen voice comes in with

One soft infested summer

Me and Terry became friends

Trying in vain to breathe

The fire we was born in

It’s a song about a broken friendship as Springsteen mentions in his autobiography, which I am currently reading. It’s appropriately called ‘Born to Run’ and it’s fascinating…but that’s a separate review.

Side 2 kicks off with the title track, bursting with the hope of a romance, a runaway American dream, bikes and Wall of Sound. Written in the first person, the song is a love letter to a girl named Wendy. It’s one of those songs that refuse to grow old and listening to it will always make you feel young. It was number 21 on Rolling Stone list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It also has beautifully poetic lines like…

Whoa, someday girl, I don't know when

We're gonna get to that placewhere

We really want to go and we'll walk in the sun

But till then tramps like us, baby we were born to run

Ah honey, tramps like us, baby we were born to run

The next track, She’s the One is a love song set to the Bo Didley beat (yeah, it never fails). This is followed by Meeting by the River, is a story about a petty criminal and his friend Eddie, laid on a jazzy trumpet and piano. The album closes with Jungleland, a 10 minutes long saga of love amidst gang-wars. The show-stealer here is Clarence Clemons’ moving 2 minutes saxophone solo. It’s the perfect closing track.

‘Born To Run’ is one of those perfect rock albums that never grow old.No wonder it took more than 14 months to record, with six months spent on the song Born to Run itself. It also has an agile innocence and a pronounced sense of romanticism, which, if you are in your early 20’s, can be extremely appealing.

Rating: 5/5

Year: 1975

Genre: Rock and Roll

Duration: 39:26

Label: Columbia

Producer: Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau  

Reviewed by Meraj Hasan

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 25 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions.

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com

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