Synopses & Reviews
A rich history of Springsteens greatest album, celebrating its themes of youth, escape, and possibility, just in time for the Bosss sixtieth birthday. To millions of listeners, Bruce Springsteens Born to Run is much more than a rock-and-roll albumits a poetic explosion of freedom and frustration. It confirmed Springsteens status as a quintessential American performer: the rocker who, more than any other, gives voice to our hopes, fears, and aspirations. Runaway Dream chronicles the making of the album that launched Springsteen and his E Street Band into the firmament of American art, deftly sketching the ambition, history, and personalities that combined to create the enduring Born to Run.
Springsteen wanted Born to Run to be the greatest rock record ever made. For a musician with just two modest-selling LPs to his credit, it was an extraordinary ambition, and session by session, track by track, Masur shows just how much grit, as well as genius, went into realizing it. Runaway Dream offers an expert tour of the trials and triumphs of Springsteens work. In addition to the story of the album itself, Masur masterfully places Born to Run within American cultural history, showing why the girls, hot rods, and Jersey nights of the album still resonate, even for listeners born years after its release. Louis P . Masur is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American Institutions and Values at Trinity College in Hartford. Married with two children, he divides his time between Hartford and Highland Park, New Jersey. His previous books include The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America, 1831: Year of Eclipse, and Autumn Glory: Baseballs First World Series. To millions of listeners, Bruce Springsteens Born to Run is much more than a rock-and-roll albumits an explosion of freedom and frustration. It confirmed Springsteens status as a quintessential American performer: the rocker who, more than any other, gives voice to our hopes, fears, and aspirations. Runaway Dream chronicles the making of the album that launched Springsteen and his E Street Band into the firmament of American art, deftly sketching the ambition, history, and personalities that combined to create the enduring Born to Run.
Springsteen wanted Born to Run to be the greatest rock record ever made. For a musician with just two modest-selling LPs to his credit, it was an extraordinary ambition, and session by session, track by track, Masur shows just how much grit, as well as genius, went into realizing it. Runaway Dream offers an expert tour of the trials and triumphs of Springsteens work. In addition to the story of the album itself, Masur masterfully places Born to Run within American cultural history, showing why the album still resonates in our lives, even for listeners born years after its release. To millions of listeners, Bruce Springsteens Born to Run is much more than a rock-and-roll albumits a poetic explosion of freedom and frustration. It confirmed Springsteens status as a quintessential American performer: the rocker who, more than any other, gives voice to our hopes, fears, and aspirations. Runaway Dream chronicles the making of the album that launched Springsteen and his E Street Band into the firmament of American art, deftly sketching the ambition, history, and personalities that combined to create the enduring Born to Run. "Nearly 35 years on, Bruce Springsteen's album Born to Run shows little sign of flagging popularity; National Public Radio has hailed the 1975 album, a poetic explosion of frustration and freedom, among the 100 most important musical works of the 20th century, and it has made it into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry. Though he admits that he wants the album played at his funeral, author and American studies professor Masur (The Soiling of Old Glory) remains surprisingly objective while examining the iconic album and its effect on the New Jersey troubadour and American culture at large. Only one chapter is dedicated to the actual making of Born to Run; the rest details Springsteen's career before and after its release, critical reaction, and the album's long-smoldering influence. Although Springsteen was not interviewed, E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent provides insight into recording sessions, and Masur quotes extensively from published sources and Springsteen's own in-concert patter. Masur's knowledge runs deep, and his work often reads like a lengthy dissertation on the Boss's lyrics, key progressions, imagery and themes; Bruce's many hard-core fans will find this an immersive, thoughtful treat."Publishers Weekly
Review
“With Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Bruce Springsteens American Vision, Masur again focuses on a single work of art and its cultural context, and the book shares many strengths with his previous one. The prose remains direct and uncluttered, the research extensive.”—Barnes and Noble Review
“A cultural historian with a penchant for choosing specific subjects (the year 1831, baseballs first world series, a famous photograph from the Boston busing crisis of the 1970s) and situating them against the larger background of their times, [Lou Masur] combines scholarly rigor and journalistic accessibility. These talents are vividly on display in Runaway Dream, which uses Born to Run as a synecdoche for understanding Springsteen's career as a whole.”—Jim Cullen, History News Network
“In Runaway Dream, Louis P. Masur, a professor at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., dissects the making of the album and the legacy it has left behind with the meticulous eye of a scholar and the unabashed affection of a true fan.”—Associated Press
“Masur, as his title suggests, has ‘an affinity for the American themes that permeate [Springsteens] work, and his book is essentially an extended cultural essay about those.”—Chicago Tribune
“Well-thought-out … After briefly examining Springsteens early life and work, Masur details the painstaking making of the album, analyzes each songs lyrics and musicality, discusses the albums reception and what he refers to as its spatial and temporal ‘geography, and relates its impact and continued resonance.”—Library Journal
“Students of popular music who know little if anything about Springsteen will find much to appreciate here, as will also, of course, Springsteens many fans.”—Booklist (starred)
Synopsis
A rich history of Springsteens greatest album, celebrating its themes of youth, escape, and possibility, just in time for the Bosss sixtieth birthday. To millions of listeners, Bruce Springsteens Born to Run is much more than a rock-and-roll album—its a poetic explosion of freedom and frustration. It confirmed Springsteens status as a quintessential American performer: the rocker who, more than any other, gives voice to our hopes, fears, and aspirations. Runaway Dream chronicles the making of the album that launched Springsteen and his E Street Band into the firmament of American art, deftly sketching the ambition, history, and personalities that combined to create the enduring Born to Run.
Springsteen wanted Born to Run to be the greatest rock record ever made. For a musician with just two modest-selling LPs to his credit, it was an extraordinary ambition, and session by session, track by track, Masur shows just how much grit, as well as genius, went into realizing it. Runaway Dream offers an expert tour of the trials and triumphs of Springsteens work. In addition to the story of the album itself, Masur masterfully places Born to Run within American cultural history, showing why the girls, hot rods, and Jersey nights of the album still resonate, even for listeners born years after its release.
Synopsis
"In Runaway Dream, Louis P. Masur dissects the making of the albumand the legacy it has left behind with the meticulous eye of a scholar and the unabashed affection of a true fan." —
Associated PressTo millions of listeners, Born to Run is much more than an album—it's a poetic explosion of the freedom and frustration of youth. The album made Springsteen a megastar, and confirmed him as the rocker who, more than any other, gives voice to our hopes, fears, and aspirations. Runaway Dream chronicles the making and significance of Springsteen's masterwork, deftly sketching the ambition, history, and personalities that created an enduring work of art.
About the Author
Louis P . Masur is William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of American Institutions and Values at Trinity College in Hartford. Married with two children. His previous books include The Soiling of Old Glory: The Story of a Photograph That Shocked America, 1831: Year of Eclipse, and Autumn Glory: Baseball's First World Series.