Bruce Springsteen — Born In The U.S.A. [acoustic]
Album: 18 TracksAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 132
Length: 3:04
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I cannot believe the lack of appreciation for this rendition of this song--I've never heard this---Unreal....
rulebritannia wrote:
Amazing to read the comments on this song. It was the monster hit of 1985 - loved by construction workers and Wall Street brokers alike - embraced by fierce Reaganites and the leftest of protesters. The lyrics point out the contradictions of our government while the music wails our enduring attachment to the country itself. It was the highlight of the night during Springsteen's Born in the USA Tour, which happened to be my hottest concert date ever.
If touching the soul of an entire country like this is a sellout, than sellouts must have a hell of an upside. This acousitc version, for me, loses the depth of rage and dedication of the original recording.
Very good point. People who are a little "younger" than my sorry old ass don't remember HOW big this song was in 1985. It was EVERYWHERE. The Reaganites took it as their own, and the lefties did as well.
Oh yeah... apropos^2
Right on, BillG!
Amazing to read the comments on this song. It was the monster hit of 1985 - loved by construction workers and Wall Street brokers alike - embraced by fierce Reaganites and the leftest of protesters. The lyrics point out the contradictions of our government while the music wails our enduring attachment to the country itself. It was the highlight of the night during Springsteen's Born in the USA Tour, which happened to be my hottest concert date ever.
If touching the soul of an entire country like this is a sellout, than sellouts must have a hell of an upside. This acousitc version, for me, loses the depth of rage and dedication of the original recording.
newwavegurly wrote:
Didn't like the original, don't like this version.
Just not a fan of Bruce.
i'm not crazy bout BS, but i do like some of his earlier stuff. i do like this version better than the other other one.
newwavegurly wrote:
Didn't like the original, don't like this version.
Just not a fan of Bruce.
Nice to know I'm not alone. Bleh.
(although I applaud the political message).
Platypus wrote:
this seems to be the way it was always supposed to sound before someone produced all the soul out of it making it into the radio-friendly pop hit that it became.
That "someone" was none other than Bruce himself. It amazes me how you all seem to be so willing to let him off the hook for the original just because he also released this version (long after the damage was already done).
What comes through clear here is that this is NOT a patriotic, wave-the-flag song. For some reason, folk, including President Reagan, thought it was a pro-USA anthem. Good for Bruce to put out this haunting version.
hated the original. love this.
this seems to be the way it was always supposed to sound before someone produced all the soul out of it making it into the radio-friendly pop hit that it became.
very fine.
I was about to say that I thought his guitar strings were too loose or something (and his voice sounds like it's coming though a long tunnel in a high school gym) and that I didn't like it all so well on account of that, but then he went WOOOOOOOOOOO
And now I really don't like it at all.
(Like that you can hear the lyrics, but would rather read them on the album jacket than listen to this.)
Didn't like the original, don't like this version.
Just not a fan of Bruce.
Platypus wrote:
wow! I am NOT a fan of most Bruce, but this version of the song is tremendous.
Agreed!
I haven't heard this version in a while...fergot how much i liked it.
Would almost be listenable, were it not for the sound of cats being strangled in the background. This is one of those lost tracks that someone need to quickly re-hide. And please do a better job of it than last time.
wow! I am NOT a fan of most Bruce, but this version of the song is tremendous.
catsoup wrote:
Dear Mr. Springsteen,
Please SHUT UP.
Regards,
Cat Soup
Agreed.
WTF??
AMG wrote:
The stark intimacy of the original acoustic demo included on Springsteen's Tracks box set strips away the pealing synthesizers and thunderclap drums of the familiar hit; at its inception, "Born in the U.S.A." was instead a grim, bluesy dirge reminiscent of Woody Guthrie, its simplicity and desperate honesty rendering the lyrics' true message unmistakably clear.
So, this is actually the *original* version... I've never bothered to understand the lyrics of this song all these years (I'm Italian so I didn't care :) ), and now that I have listened to this version and got to understand the lyrics, my eyes opened quite a bit...
To Mot: it's a demo version, that could explain the excessive reverb, as you call it :)
Just the same, this version is so much better at putting forth what Bruce was trying to say. You can just imagine him cringing at how his song was twisted into a pro-USA anthem and deciding to fix the situation. Is this how he plays this song in concert now? I hope so.
harpsm wrote:
This song needs to be played! It is a night/day difference from the electric version that everyone knows and it really shows how dark and sarcastic the lyrics were meant to be. It also makes every politician who uses Born in the USA as a patriotic theme song look like a damn ignorant fool.
Not really. You can't counter disinformation with information. Only those in the know end up looking foolish when they try to educate the herd.
The media will see to it. History will white-wash all the dissent away, until future generations will know nothing but what 'represents good ole American values'.
I grew up not 30 minutes away from the home of Mark Twain, but did not know about his dissenting views until many years later, thanks to the net.
Springsteen's Nebraska is based on the Charlie Starkweather murders. The film "Badlands" was also based on these crimes. I believe "Natural Born Killers" was inspired by both.
camarkim wrote:
Not quite sure I like this arrangement. I think if he had kept the vocals the same as in the original, but made it a slower, more haunting acoustic piece, (think 'Nebraska') it would have been much more powerful.
BTW-Did Oliver Stone base 'Natural Born Killers' on the song 'Nebraska', or was it coincidence that the movie premise is similar to the song lyrics?
anytime i see a compilation of former hits done in anything other than the orginal, i usually think....HUMMM (that's me thinking), must have run out of the muse, and can't come up with anything original, just rehashing the same old same old through a different sized plate on the old grinder.
one of the worst offenders of this is bb king, whom i dearly and deeply love for his incredible music. but please, 5 albums in a row with the same stuff he's been doing for the last 40 years, please.
Not quite sure I like this arrangement. I think if he had kept the vocals the same as in the original, but made it a slower, more haunting acoustic piece, (think 'Nebraska') it would have been much more powerful.
BTW-Did Oliver Stone base 'Natural Born Killers' on the song 'Nebraska', or was it coincidence that the movie premise is similar to the song lyrics?
Dear Mr. Springsteen,
Please SHUT UP.
Regards,
Cat Soup
The electric version of this song is one of his worst efforts musically - even worse acoustically I'm afraid. Why has Tunnel of Love and Nebraska seemingly been discarded? Perhaps they don't afford the public enough Jingoistic licks to put on the television for sporting event anthems and car sales... :headshake:
harpsm wrote:
This song needs to be played! It is a night/day difference from the electric version that everyone knows and it really shows how dark and sarcastic the lyrics were meant to be. It also makes every politician who uses Born in the USA as a patriotic theme song look like a damn ignorant fool.
Concur.
Not bad, but Bruce has much better acoustic stuff...try anything off of Nebraska or The Ghost of Tom Joad (sp?).
There's not enough notes in this piece to go accoustic, as far as I'm concerned...It is somewhat less nauseating than the electric version though..
Excessive reverb.
This song needs to be played! It is a night/day difference from the electric version that everyone knows and it really shows how dark and sarcastic the lyrics were meant to be. It also makes every politician who uses Born in the USA as a patriotic theme song look like a damn ignorant fool.
Acoustic solo performance at spanish tv program "Musica Si". Madrid 14-12-1998.