<p>Before actually reading about the songs, let's go through an overview about this album that defines the American Working Class Life:</p><p>In oder to fully understand how great this record is, you have to understand how much pressure Springsteen was put onto making this record. By 1974, the Boss had two great records from Colombia Records that were getting some critical acclaim, but were falling with record sales. The times he was going through making this record was not easy to pass by and it was quite obviously that to write such a record like this, he would have to go deep through his soul instead of using his influences as an advantage for making songs (Understand that he was VERY influenced by Bob Dylan, and so much that the songwriting type was very similar in his eariler recordings.) When he made trips to record the actual album, two of his band members from the E Street Band had left the band, but replacements would come. Writing the actual songs was the biggest challenge. When coming up with ideas, he confess that he had to write songs over and over again until they were perfect, take for example the title track, he had at least 50 pages worth of lines and lyrics for the song before coming up with the best lines. The band wasn't even used to being perfect in the studio, even though their live shows were becoming better and better.</p><p>When it was time to release the record, the album became a critital and commerical smash, reaching at #3 on the billboard charts, and his live shows were becoming even more ledgendary. It has been put on ledgendary album charts on Rolling Stone and Vh1 and a 30th anniversary edition was released this year. It is no surprise that the reputation of this record has not gone away.</p><p>When looking at every single track on the record, when released on vinyl at first, Springsteen developed a four courners technque, in which <strong>Thunderoad</strong> and <strong>Born to Run</strong> were about escape, and <strong>Backstreets</strong> and <strong>Jungleland </strong>were sad epics to close each side of the LP.</p><p>I suggest that, obviously, anyone that lives in New Jersey and anyone that is desperate to buy a great record should buy this classic. Every track is worth the buck, and, as a witness of 10 shows the Boss has played, every song is an epic live and in the studio. By the time you listen to this, it will forever be in your hearts and you will be able to apperciate the American Dream.</p>
