'Born In The U.S.A.'

The great money grab. When Bruce Springsteen became the boss. The album that overshadowed every good to great album Springsteen had done the previous decade.

I have nothing against someone making a living even if that "living" is a lot of money that allows them to never really work again.

So, Springsteen going from Nebraska (his previous album that wouldn't have a radio single if it tried) to Born in the U.S.A. that teemed with pop overtures and radio-friendly hooks seems like his payday.

But it also seems like selling out. Now, Springsteen has a very faithful following and I doubt anyone's really took him to task for this blatant lunge for more money. At the time, it was heralded as an album that "spoke to the people." It's a darker album without the jingoist lean as you might guess from the album cover and singles.

Springsteen wrote his songs with the intention on selling a lot of records. To do this, he had to incorporate the hand-clap snare intros and the synthesizers. Ultimately, I think this did more harm to his album than anything else. I feels dated and very "1980s." Whereas, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born to Run feel no more 1970s than they do 2000s.

Although his themes didn't change, the sound did and I think it did a lot more harm than good, even if more people listened to it.