Born to Run
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Born to Run is the third album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released in 1975. It was ranked #18 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
History
Bruce Springsteen's third album, Born to Run, was a breakthrough hit and launched his career in the United States and around the world. His first album to feature Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg, Born to Run was released to overwhelming critical acclaim which swiftly spiralled into hype. While his previous two albums, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, received good reviews, popular success had been scarce; Born to Run cemented Springsteen's reputation among critics and established his first mainstream fanbase.
The album is noted for its use of introductions to set the tone of each song (all of the record was composed on piano, not guitar), and for the Phil Spector-like "Wall of Sound" arrangements and production. Indeed, Springsteen has said that he wanted "Born to Run" to sound like "Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan, produced by Spector."
In terms of the original LP's sequencing, Springsteen eventually adopted a "four corners" approach, as the songs beginning each side ("Thunder Road", "Born to Run") were uplifting odes to escape, while the songs ending each side ("Backstreets", "Jungleland") were sad epics of loss, betrayal, and defeat (Originally, he had planned to begin and end the album with alternative versions of "Thunder Road".)
Also, original pressings have "Meeting Across the River" billed as "The Heist." The original album cover has the title printed in a graffiti style font. These copies are very rare and considered to be the "holy grail" for Springsteen collectors.
Upon release, the album peaked at number 3 on the Billboard album chart and spent over two years in the top 100 best-selling albums. As of 2006 it has sold over 6 million copies in the U.S., and is Springsteen's second-best-selling studio album ever after Born in the U.S.A.[1] Most reviews were immediate raves, even to the extent of writer Greil Marcus comparing the introduction to "Backstreets" to The Iliad.
The album's reputation has not suffered over time. In 2001, the TV network VH1 named it the 27th-greatest album of all time.[2] Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the greatest 500 albums of all time ranked Born to Run at number 18.[3] In 2003, Born to Run was ranked as the most popular album in the first Zagat Survey Music Guide.[4] In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.[5]
Album cover
The cover art of Born to Run is one of rock music's most popular and iconic images. It was taken by Eric Meola, who shot 900 frames in his three hour session.
The photo shows Springsteen holding an electric guitar, a cross between a Fender Telecaster (body and pickups) and a Fender Esquire (neck), while leaning against saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Springsteen's pose was spontaneous. After he plugged in an amp and started to play, he casually leaned on Clemons. That image became famous as the cover art. "Other things happened," says Meola, "but when we saw the contact sheets, that one just sort of popped. Instantly, we knew that was the shot." Ultra-thin lettering graced the mass produced version: an unusual touch then; a design classic since.
The Springsteen and Clemons cover pose has been imitated often, from Cheap Trick on the album Next Position Please, to Tom and Ray Magliozzi on the cover of the Car Talk compilation, Born Not to Run: More Disrespectful Car Songs, to Bert and the Cookie Monster on the cover of the Sesame Street album, Born to Add.
Track listing
All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.
Side one
- "Thunder Road" – 4:49
- "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" – 3:11
- "Night" – 3:00
- "Backstreets" – 6:30
Side two
- "Born to Run" – 4:30
- "She's the One" – 4:30
- "Meeting Across the River" – 3:18
- "Jungleland" – 9:36
30th Anniversary Edition
On November 14, 2005, Columbia Records released Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition in box set form. The package included:
- a remastered CD version of the original album - the CD is all black (including playback side) with the label side replicating the original vinyl disc having four bands (the original LP had four tracks per side) and including a modified red Columbia label listing all 8 tracks
- the DVD Wings For Wheels, a lengthy documentary on the making of the album, which later won the 2007 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video
- with bonus film of three songs recorded live on May 1, 1973 at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles
- the DVD Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Hammersmith Odeon, London '75, a full-length concert film recorded on November 18, 1975 at the Hammersmith Odeon in London during the brief European portion of their Born to Run tours.
- this live recording was subsequently released as the CD Hammersmith Odeon London '75
Packages from retailer Best Buy also included:
- a CD single replica of the original "Born to Run" 45 single.
The box set debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on December 3, 2005 at number 18 with sales of 53,206 copies. It spent 6 weeks on the chart.
Personnel
The E Street Band
- Roy Bittan – piano, Fender Rhodes, background vocals
- Ernest "Boom" Carter – drums (on "Born to Run" only)
- Clarence Clemons – saxophone, tambourine, background vocals
- Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel
- Suki Lahav – violin (on "Jungleland" only)
- David Sancious – piano, organ (on "Born to Run" only)
- Bruce Springsteen – vocals, guitars, harmonica, percussion, horn arrangements
- Garry W. Tallent – bass guitar
- Max Weinberg – drums
Additional musicians
- Steven Van Zandt – horn arrangements (on "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" only), background vocals (on "Thunder Road" only).
- Wayne Andre – trombone
- Mike Appel – background vocals
- Michael Brecker – horn, saxophone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Charles Calello – conductor, string arrangements
- Richard Davis – bass guitar
- David Sanborn – saxophones
Production
- John Berg – album design
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Andy Engel – album design
- Bob Ludwig – re-mastering
- Eric Meola – photography
Engineers
- Andy Abrams
- Angie Arcuri
- Ricky Delena
- Jimmy Iovine
- Louis Lahav
- Thom Panunzio
- Corky Stasiak
- David Thoener
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | U.S. Billboard Pop Albums | 3 | initial release |
| 1985 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 101 | re-entry at time of Born in the U.S.A. |
| 2005 | U.S. Billboard 200 | 18 | Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | "Born to Run" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 23 |
| 1975 | "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 83 |
References
- ^ "Recording Industry Association of America: Gold and Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "The Greatest: 100 Greatest Albums of Rock & Roll". The Greatest. VH1. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ "The Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ Barry A. Jeckell (2003-09-23). "Born To Run' Tops Zagat Music Survey". Billboard. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
- ^ Sheryl Cannady (2004-03-19). "Librarian of Congress Names 50 New Recordings to the National Recording Registry". The Library Today. The Library of Congress. Retrieved 2007-01-31.
