10 Overrated Rock Albums Of The 80s
2. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
Few artists epitomised the 1980s like Bruce Springsteen, the blue collar New Jersey boy done good, and The Boss completed his evolution from folkie to hard working rocker to stadium filler with the enormously popular Born In The USA. The 1984 record saw over half of its tracks go top 10 as singles, and shifted over 30 million copies, becoming a radio institution.
The trouble is, it’s also his worst record of the decade. That’s not to say it’s bad, but the music on offer here is so often basic to the point of blandness, designed to appeal to the largest crowds imaginable.
It’s not Springsteen’s fault that the title track was misinterpreted as a patriotic anthem rather than an indictment of the Vietnam war, but it’s a grating track all the same, with a self parodically sincere vocal turn from Bruce. “Cover Me” is similarly nothingy, and “Dancing In The Dark” one of the weakest of his singles.
The album is also a clear response to his previous - and best - record, Nebraska, a totally stripped back album that sold poorly. Bruce’s pomp-rock became his stock in trade, but his more introspective material is consistently far more interesting.