LogFAQs > #975555975

HBJDubs: Could never really get into Springsteen but I kinda dig the top half of the rankings here. Extra props to Downbound Train - this was the first time I've heard the song and I really enjoy it.

Sheep007: I held off on ranking this album because I really wasn't expecting to like it, and I was proved... sorta correct? I have a cagy relationship with what I dub "fella rock", and this escaped one of the two traps it tends to fall into, which is being bland and devoid of personality. That said, it launched headfirst into the other trap, which is lyrics that give me the ick. Thankfully, I think I managed to tune out the details by the time I got to the second mention of "little girl" of the album, and it was mostly plain sailing from there! One positive that stood out to me throughout was that the drumwork was very clean, and it's not a bad album in the slightest. There's some interesting themes throughout and I can feel the experiences he's trying to convey, but it just doesn't connect with me. That's okay, but kind of a shame given how much I love a lot of other 80s rock that makes heavy use of synth.

Born in the U.S.A. track ranking

12. Working on the Highway (Track #4)
Score: 30 (Average Rank: 10/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony, neonreaper, BlueCrystalTear, MaxGalactica, ZaziGuado (#12)

BlueCrystalTear: Forgettable just because of everything surrounding it. Really, the only song here that's not a banger, and it could've been left off for something else.

Sheep007: For some reason, this one also won't leave my head post-listen. I didn't even like it that much, but points for being an earworm, for some reason?

11. Darlington County (Track #3)
Score: 34 (Average Rank: 9.6/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony, Johnbobb (#7)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, Sheep007 (#12)

BlueCrystalTear: While still good, this one doesn't do anything that the others don't do better.

10. I'm Goin' Down (Track #9)
Score: 50 (Average Rank: 8.2/12)
Biggest Fan(s): ZaziGuado (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): HBJDubs (#12)

9. No Surrender (Track #7)
Score: 53 (Average Rank: 7.7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): FoolFantastic, HBJDubs (#5)
Biggest Detractor(s): ZaziGuado (#11)

8. My Hometown (Track #12)
Score: 54 (Average Rank: 7.7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#3)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan (#12)

Fluttershy_Pony: I honestly thought this would be one of my favorite songs as I tend to *love* songs complaining about hometowns (see: Shit Towne by Live, a song that I've gone back to so many times over the years), but this... never works for me. It's too downbeat to offer catharsis and doesn't have any really catchy hooks like many of the other songs on the album, Still, it's... fine. It's fine.

7. Bobby Jean (Track #8)
Score: 60 (Average Rank: 7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony, Seanchan (#4)
Biggest Detractor(s): neonreaper (#10)

6. Downbound Train (Track #5)
Score: 64 (Average Rank: 6.8/12)
Biggest Fan(s): HBJDubs (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): FoolFantastic, BlueCrystalTear, Seanchan (#10)

5. Cover Me (Track #2)
Score: 79 (Average Rank: 5.9/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Johnbobb (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony, ZaziGuado (#10)

BlueCrystalTear: This dark 80s sound fits the urgency the Boss is feeling; it's pretty great

4. Glory Days (Track #10)
Score: 87 (Average Rank: 4.7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): neonreaper (#2)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb (#12)

BlueCrystalTear: The song passes you by, but it's glorious while it lasts. A radio staple for a reason.

3. I'm on Fire (Track #6)
Score: 92 (Average Rank: 4.8/12)
Biggest Fan(s): BlueCrystalTear (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Johnbobb, HBJDubs (#11)

BlueCrystalTear: Haunting and beautiful. An underrated gem in Springsteen's repertoire.

Johnbobb: I've gone back and few on this song a lot, mostly just trying to decide whether to put it on the top or the bottom. I think, musically, it's the best song on the album. It's subtle and effective. But lyrically, it's one of the things I hate most about that era of music. What should be a song about unrequited desire comes off so much more creepy with what has to be one of the worst opening lines to a lust-based song. Still better than Glory Days at least.

2. Born in the U.S.A. (Track #1)
Score: 106 (Average Rank: 3.9/12)
Biggest Fan(s): Fluttershy_Pony, neonreaper, FoolFantastic (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Seanchan, Sheep007 (#8)

Fluttershy_Pony: Perhaps the song that best illustrates how little attention people pay to the lyrics. Still, an all time classic that I find works equally well as something you actually think about or shut your mind off & enjoy the classic rock verses.

BlueCrystalTear: Really noticing the drum work and how much punch that brings here.

Sheep007: The riff from this song is infernally catchy. Unfortunately, chewing polystyrene is more exciting than it, and polishing off a box of the stuff might be less repetitive. It takes talent to come up with that to begin with, though!

1. Dancing in the Dark (Track #11)
Score: 141 (Average Rank: 1.7/12)
Biggest Fan(s): MaxGalactica, Seanchan, ZaziGuado, HBJDubs, Sheep007 (#1)
Biggest Detractor(s): Fluttershy_Pony, neonreaper (#3)

BlueCrystalTear: One of the catchiest songs the man ever recorded. A true classic.

Sheep007: This song is miles above everything else on this album. I've not heard it for years, and it's catchy, lyrically kinda fun, and the synth is great.