Bruce Springsteen Born In The U.S.A. (Freedom mix)/ Born In The U.S.A. (Dub); Born In The U.S.A. (Radio) (CBS 12", BA 223245, 1984)
Bruce Springsteen Dancing In The Dark/ Pink Cadillac (CBS, BA 223189, 1984)
Bruce Springsteen Dancing In The Dark (Blaster mix)/ Dancing In The Dark (Radio); Dancing In The Dark (Dub) (CBS 12", BA 12093, 1984)
Bruce Springsteen Cover Me/ Jersey Girl (CBS, BA 223223, 1984)
Bruce Springsteen Cover Me (Undercover mix); Cover Me (Dub 1)/ Cover Me (Radio); Cover Me (Dub 2) (CBS 12", BA 12100, 1984)
Each of these three songs came from the Born In The U.S.A. album and got the full multi-mix treatment, as well as having non album interest on the B sides (more of that in hidden gems).
The Boss was everywhere in 1984 and one of those everywheres was MTV with that iconic impassioned lip sinc to Born In The U.S.A.
One from the 'Americans don't get irony' file: this is clearly a song about nowhere to run and nowhere to go, even though it's wrapped in an American flag on the cover. It's amazing that Ronald Raygunz thought it would make a snazzy campaign song. DOH!!!!
It packed a wallop then and its power is not too diminished with time. Bruce was as serious as a heart attack and is still razor relevant to life for many in 2015 - he ain't called The Boss fer nuttin!!
[Those comments are directed mainly to the 7 inch single version - the one we all know and love. Remixes don't ever do much for me - I've mentioned this before.]
Dancing In The Dark is not one of my personal favourites - there's that video with Courtney Cox for a start and it's all a little too airbrushed and contrived for my liking. The big radio hit!
Cover me is along the same lines as DITD - still has that eighties pop gloss.
Hidden gems: Bruce's B sides usually contained amazing songs that somehow never made the albums. Either that or he gave them away to other artists (Pink Cadillac went to Aretha frinstance). Amazing. The things he never released (like on Tracks) would have been someone else's career!
Shut Out The Light is a great song - way better than some of the things on the album (and it's a great album).
Jersey Girl is, of course, the Tom Waits song. I guarantee loads of people hear this and immediately assume it's a Bruce song. It fits like a glove.
The B side remixes are never less that interesting but not essential. Mighty Max comes to the fore on the dub versions in particular. He brings the power (night after night after night after night after...). Warning: unfortunately the eighties production tricks are unleashed by the remixers so they've dated quite a bit.
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