Bruce Springsteen explains why he wasn't happy with Born in the USA

20 June 2025, 12:49

Bruce Springsteen takes a look back at his biggest album Born in the USA.

Bruce Springsteen is this month releasing Tracks II, a remarkable collection of seven "lost" albums from his vaults.

The project has had The Boss looking back at his stunning back catalogue, and he's got some surprising opinions about Born in the USA.

• Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen: The story of The Boss's biggest-selling album
• Bruce Springsteen's Vietnam intro to 'The River' is one of the most tear-jerking moments in rock
• Listen to the Gold Radio Greats Live Playlist on Global Player, the home of Gold

Released in 1984 as Springsteen's seventh studio album, the 12 songs on Born in the USA were culled from a massive 70-90 tracks recorded by Bruce for potential inclusion.

Despite its messy genesis, the album emerged to become one of the the biggest selling of all time.

It went triple platinum in the UK and 17-times platinum in the US, selling 17 million there as part of global sales of 30 million.

But while the individual songs are plainly excellent, the man himself wasn't sure about the album as a whole.

"It was a record I put out," Bruce told Rolling Stone. "It became the record I made, not necessarily the record that I was interested in making.

"I was interested in taking Nebraska and making a full record that had somewhat that same feeling. If you hear 'My Hometown” and you hear 'Born in the USA', they were sort of the bookends I intended."

Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A. (Official Video)

He continued: "And the rest of the stuff was … just what I had at the time. Those were the songs I wrote. Those were the songs I recorded.

"From conception to execution, it was not necessarily the record that in my mind I had planned on, but that’s the way creativity works.

"You go in the studio, you have an idea. It’s not necessarily what you come out with. So that was just the situation of that record for me personally."

Released on June 27, Tracks II includes the 18-track LA Garage Sessions '83 collection, recorded between Nebraska and Born in the USA.

During the interview, Bruce shrugged off the existence of the supposed Electric Nebraska album, something of a holy grail for fans, but then seemed to backtrack in a follow-up message.

"I can tell you right now, it doesn’t exist," he said of the mythical sessions.

Bruce Springsteen - Tracks II: The Lost Albums Trailer

"We tried to do a few songs with the band for a few minor electric versions of 'Nebraska', maybe something else, I’m not sure. But that record simply doesn’t exist.

"There is no electric Nebraska outside of what you hear us performing onstage. I have no recollection of it, but I can tell you there’s nothing in our vault that would amount to an electric Nebraska."

However, a text message from Springsteen after the interview read: "Just wanted to give you a heads-up. I checked our vault and there IS an electric Nebraska record though it does not have the full album of songs. All best, Bruce.”