Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run At 40 (According To Those Who Made It)

In 1995, writing in the liner notes to his Greatest Hits album, Bruce Springsteen would call Born To Run “my shot at the title. A 24 yr. old kid aimin' at 'The greatest rock 'n roll record ever.'"

Looking back on what had turned out to be his most important album, Springsteen had the benefit of hindsight, and was able to objectively assess what an achievement it was. “It was a seminal record for me,” he said. “It set out my aspirations. It was what I wanted to accomplish and what I wanted to be about, the kind of music I wanted to write and what I wanted my music to contain.”

But in the immediate aftermath of the final album sessions, and once the mixing and mastering had been finished, things were very different. Jimmy Iovine brought round a test pressing, and after one listen, Springsteen was so disgusted with the final product that he took it outside and threw it into a nearby swimming pool: "After it was finished? I hated it! I couldn't stand to listen to it. I thought it was the worst piece of garbage I'd ever heard."

Despite a chorus of voices around him saying how great it was, Springsteen was adamant that he thought it was a disaster. According to album co-producer Mike Appel, he even said “maybe I might just scrap the whole thing, how about that!?” 

The album had taken so long to record, and everyone had given so much, that Springsteen admitted he had lost the ability to take a step back and assess the album neutrally: “After the long period of time we spent on it, I could only hear what was wrong with it or what I thought was weak with it”

It took a phone call from Jon Landau to make Springsteen see that the album was not only done, but that is was also very good. "Look,” he told the tortured artist, “you're not supposed to like it. You think Chuck Berry sits around listening to 'Maybelline'? And when he does hear it, don't you think he wishes a few things could be [changed]? Now c'mon, it's time to put the record out."