Although he had his commercial breakthrough with Born To Run in 1975, and achieved mainstream success with The River in 1980, it was 1984's Born In The U.S.A. that catapaulted Bruce Springsteen into superstardom and made him a household name. It is an album that is, in many ways, paradoxical. The absolute antithesis of his previous album - the solo acoustic, stark, desolate Nebraska - it incorporates what were, at the time, contemporary sounds, the songwriting found here is obviously something deeper and more prodound than your typical pop/rock fare, circa 1984. Though the songs themselves are upbeat, the lyrical fare is fairly typical Springsteen: enlightening portraits (usually first-person) of America's downtrodden, dispossessed, and left behind. This creates a kind of juxtaposition that, like most of Don Henley's 80s work, makes for some interesting and refined, if not exactly elitist, listening. From the title track (which ranks right up there with Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall Part 2 as the most widely misinterpreted rock song ever), which features the absolutely monolithic drumming of the virtuoso Max Weinberg; to Dancing In The Dark, a depressing, yet hopeful, track which also features a danceable synth line; to popular hits with semi-serious sentiments like Cover Me and the ironic Glory Days; to the elegaic closer, My Hometown, there are many fine examples of fine populist writing here. In addition to the contemporary-sounding tunes, there are also some songs - Darlington County, Bobby Jean - that echo back to a more 50s-era rock 'n' roll sound. However, all of these apparent strengths also bring to the forefront the album's inherent inner contradiction - was Bruce justified in singing these lyrics over the populist arrangements? One wonders if there was record company pressure after the stark, solo acoustic Nebraska - despits its going Top 10 and selling over a million copies - to release a more commercial album, or if Bruce was simply following his muse. At any rate, certain of the songs - Working On The Highway is a good example - would probably have worked much better in a more Nebraska-like arrangement. There is a somewhat not-so-ironic clash between the "work-a-day Everyman" lyrics and the big arrangement and shiny production. It would have seemed a lot more honest in a stripped-down setting. But then again - would it? One might well ask if Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan's early songs about the dispossed and downtrodden would've spoken such volumes if they had had nifty synthesizers to play over the top of them to woo the masses - and, of course, whether or not they would have done so. In any case, this is still a fine album - solid songwriting, strong musical backing, and featuring some great, if unconventional, singing from the intimitable Bruce. Although it lacks the maturity, and possibly the honesty, of his very best albums, this is still a fine Springsteen album that any fan of his will want to pick up - and probably the first thing that a casual fan will go for.