Back in '85, when My Hometown gave Bruce his 7th top-10 hit from the BitUSA LP, I had a thought, and I wonder if any of you thought the same. One by one, release the other 5 songs as singles so that BitUSA would be the first album composed entirely of hits (outside of compilations, of course). Keep in mind what a fantastic roll Bruce was on, and that there were plenty more unreleased songs to put on the B-sides. I have no doubt that the non-album B-sides (think Pink Cadillac) added to sales in a big way. I sure wasn't the only one who bought the 7 singles for the extra tracks.
No Surrender was a no-brainer. It would have been a huge hit. Bobby Jean, Darlington County, same thing. Working On the Highway? Sure. That leaves Downbound Train. Maybe it wouldn't have jumped off of your car radio like the others, but by then there'd be plenty of publicity over releasing every song as a single. Add in an especially good B-side, and it at least reaches the top-25.
It's a great record that made him a super star, and without it Tunnel of Love would never have been.
I still think the BITUSA sessions are richer, more varied and overall better than The River ones.
Even with the seven singles as released, they got a year and a half of radio play out of that album at a time when most pop artists would put out a record each year with three singles released.
Getting back to the idea of an all-singles Born In The USA, the first single was released in May, 1984 and the seventh in November 1985 with a two to three month window between each single. There wouldn't be another Springsteen single until a year later in November 1986 when War ushered in the live set. If the remaining five tracks from USA had been released with the same 2 month interval, that would have filled the long gap between My Hometown and War with a lot of airplay.
I think Shut out the light is right up there in the Bruce pantheon,love it.
That Dancing In The Dark single got played a lot ....well ...at least one side did 🤣
So yeah, it stands as is and there's no shame in that.
Without a doubt, between this album and Dire Straits Brothers in Arms brought my wife and I together that summer(s).
I could hear Murder Incorporated between the title track and Cover Me, then Shut Out The Light right after that. That's a harrowing three song opening and then the equally harrowing, but sonically gentler Shut Out The Light revisits the title's main character and opens the landscape for the rest of that classic 80s Americana.
Of course, by then we're pretty much talking about a whole other record and the sequence would require even more tweaking to hold the theme. Could've been a Darkness On The Edge Of Town for the 1980s.
So yeah, it stands as is and there's no shame in that.
Where could have Bruce worked MLWNLYD and Murder Inc into this great album or even B sides of singles? Or not possible?
It's a classic album that will endure and I still love it. My opinion doesn't put it among his top albums on artistic levels, but it is undeniably his greatest overall release as far as the world outside of our cult is concerned.
I loved the album when it came out. Like, I would guess, many of us who were fans at the time, though, I actually grew tired of many of the songs due to them being played so relentlessly, on both Top 40 (which was cool! I liked that our boy was finally a superstar!) and AOR, until by just a few laters, the unthinkable happened, and I found myself switching stations when one of the songs came on.
I mentioned this sorry state to a fellow Bruce fanatic, and he said he felt the exact same way, but that his brother had put the album on the other day, and that in context, the songs still sounded perfect, and encouraged me to give it a go. I was highly skeptical, but tried it...and damn if he wasn't right.
I now think it's in many ways his most underrated album, or at least a serious contender for it. Sure, there are so many woulda coulda shouldas when it comes to song selection, but taking it as given, it's fantastic.
I'm pretty sure I've recommended this before, but the Geoffrey Himes volume on Born in the USA—part of the sporadically amazing 33 1/3 series of books—is very very very well worth the time of any serious Bruce fan. He argues that it's Springsteen's greatest LP. And while I didn't and don't agree with that assertion, his arguments are extremely valid and well-founded, and might make you view the album in a new light.