'' is a
Rock album by
American Singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen , released in 1975 (see
1975 In Music ).
His third album, ''Born to Run'' was Springsteen's 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 preceded by hype due to overwhelming critical acclaim. While his previous two albums, ''
Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. '' and ''
The Wild, The Innocent And 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 (much 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".)
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. 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.
Rolling Stone 's 2002 list of the greatest 500 albums of all time ranked ''Born to Run'' at number 18. In
2003 , ''Born to Run'' was ranked as the most popular album in the first
Zagat Survey Music Guide. Also in 2003, the TV network
VH1 named it the 27th-greatest album of all time. In 2003, it was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the
Library Of Congress to be added to the
National Recording Registry .
On ,
1973 at the
Ahmanson Theater in
Los Angeles ), and ''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 (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.
#"
Thunder Road " – 4:49
#"
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out " – 3:10
#"Night" – 3:00
#"Backstreets" – 6:30
#"
Born To Run " – 4:30
#"She's the One" – 4:30
#"
Meeting Across The River " – 3:18
#"
Jungleland " – 9:35
All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.
- John Berg – album design
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Andy Engel – album design
- Bob Ludwig – re-mastering
- Eric Meola – Photography
- Andy Abrams
- Angie Arcuri
- Ricky Delena
- Jimmy Iovine
- Louis Lahav
- Thom Panunzio
- Corky Stasiak
- David Thoener
