I was gifted a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested to read this book because my dad, who died just before it came out, would have really loved it. As a huge Bruce Springsteen fan, my dad loved analyzing and talking about Bruce. I requested it thinking it would remind me of him.

It did, but not in the way i was expecting. My dad loved to make lists and info-dump on his favorite topics. This book reads not as an introduction to Bruce Springsteen, but as a master's level course. There is an expectation that you know his music catalogue WELL. Although I grew up listening to Bruce (many of my childhood memories have Springsteen as the soundtrack in the background), I was not nearly familiar enough with his albums to take meaningful part in this book.

In that way, it was not the book for me. But, gosh, my Christmas present to my dad would have been SET. There are many other Bruce die-hards, some even in my family, who I would recommend this book to, if only because if they are anything like my dad was, they will have OPINIONS on the author's takes.

(After reading 50% of this book, it officially started sounding like a foreign language to this casual Springsteen fan, and so I DNFed, knowing I wasn't the intended audience, and badly wishing the intended audience in my family was here to read it.)

Delving further into the rich history of Springsteens Born In The USA album the author goes beyond just the songs & words. It explores the effect music has on people & our history. Learn from the music & the man behind it.

This is a complicated review for me. Steven Hyden has been my favorite music writer for the last decade plus and it was his writings about Springsteen (specifically his agreement that Tunnel of Love is underrated in the Bruce pantheon) on Grantland that first made me a fan.

That said, this book has me conflicted and I don’t know whether it’s on him, his editors, his publisher or all of the above. It’s marketed as being centered around “Born In The USA” but it’s much more than that. It’s much more of a study of the man himself, a shifting political landscape and his role before, during and after it. I understand using BITUSA as a hook to draw people in but it does a disservice to the book’s contents.

As for editing, it bounces all over the place, thematically and anecdotally. To market it around a single album calls for a more linear format and this doesn’t have that.

And as for Hyden himself, it lacks objectivity. Again, I don’t know the motivations for the book and whether he wanted his personal feelings and opinions to come through so much. The worst example of that is the long section comparing Springsteen to Hyden’s greatest musical love, Bob Dylan. It goes into far more Dylan minutiae than most people are seeking when picking up this book.

It reads like a book by a Springsteen fanatic for other Springsteen fanatics, which it is and I am. As I mentioned, I love Hyden’s work and his work on Springsteen and enjoyed this book immensely from that standpoint.

My criticism stems from whether any of the aforementioned parties wanted this to appeal beyond hardcore Springsteen fans. At the end of the day, as the book is written, I can’t say that it would.

If you love Bruce though, by all means, dive into this, pull up some favorite bootlegs, dream about “Electric Nebraska” and enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette for the opportunity to read and review. (3.5 stars rounded up where I can’t award half stars)

Reading a Bruce Springsteen book as a massive Springsteen fan is always an odd experience. How much more information will I learn from this? Is that really my goal? Do I want a new perspective or context? Or am I looking for another mega-fan to rant at me for pages and pages so I can say “hell yeah, brother!”?

Whatever I am looking for, I found it in Hyden’s book. He gives context for the world surrounding Bruce as he wrote, recorded, and toured in support of Born in the USA, and the world after. BITUSA was a big tent record by design, and meeting that goal catapulted Springsteen to a level of celebrity that could only be matched by a few throughout history. Hyden’s description of Springsteen as a mix of Dylan and Elvis is extremely accurate, or at least feels that way. Hyden does a lot to demonstrate the Elvis parallels, but didn’t dive in quite the same way for Dylan.

Positioning the remainder of Bruce’s career as a reaction to the scope and grandeur of the BITUSA cycle is a way that I hadn’t given much thought to, although it feels glaringly obvious now. The myth of Springsteen, much like the myth of the Beatles, has a way of flattening the artist and their career so that things can be missed. The myth says Springsteen went smaller and then lost the cultural zeitgeist, but Hyden points out he may have already been on that path with the sheer amount of music recorded for the BITUSA sessions.

Clearly, the album was a major point in Springsteen’s career, but also a major pop culture point. I would have loved to see more of a deep dive into the bands influenced by the record. I thought the description of the short lived Heartland Rock genre was fascinating.

Good for non Bruce fanatics, great for a Bruce fanatic.

Disregard the book cover and trust me on this: Steven Hyden's "There Was Nothing You Could Do" is about much more than Bruce Springsteen's most popular (probably most derided and definitely most misunderstood) record, "Born In the USA". As only the very best pop music critics can, Hyden uses his obsessive knowledge of Springsteen's career and musical output as a launching pad from which to explore greater ideas that reach beyond his subject's personal struggles and into the United States of America's collective psyche and body politic. On the way there we learn plenty about Bruce (and Steven), of course, but also about the artists that inspired his music (from Elvis and Dylan to Suicide), his contemporaries (like Petty and Melloncamp) and those that followed him and even surpassed his level of fame (the pages that deal with Michael Jackson and Guns 'n' Roses are some of the strongest music writing I've read this year). This is my fourth Hyden book, coming right after his wonderful Pearl Jam career retrospective, and even though I wasn't very interested in Bruce Springsteen to begin with, I think "There Was Nothing You Could Do" might just be his best book yet.

THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULD DO by Steven Hyden tells the tale of Bruce Springsteen's Born In The U.S.A. which was released 40(!) years ago on June 4, 1984. Hyden begins by describing his six-year-old self's reaction to hearing the album from an "ordinary man [who] seemed to also have extraordinary strength." An accomplished author and cultural critic, Hyden contends that Springsteen was singing about "a mythical heartland where people can set aside their differences and always have each other's backs. The real, and also imaginary, America." He says this book is about "why Bruce Springsteen made this album, how it changed the culture, and what it means all these decades later." The first few chapters look at the musical influences on Springsteen like Presley and Dylan; then, he explores the family dynamics, especially Springsteen's relationship with his Dad, and his friendship with Vietnam vet Ron Kovic (Born on the Fourth of July). Other sections focus on politics, both in the mid-1980s and later, saying that "Born In The U.S.A. worked because of Bruce Springsteen's ability to appear progressive and conservative at the same time," an ambiguity that no longer exists. Hyden goes on to critique the Jeep commercial in which Springsteen appeared as well as his production of Renegades with former President Obama, and concert pricing. Clearly a lifelong fan, Hyden traces the arc (highs and lows) of Springsteen's career while lamenting the loss of common ground overall. For interested readers, there are several other books that deal with the stories behind Springsteen's songs, including the forthcoming Bruce Songs (from Rutgers University Press) and the musician's five hundred plus page life story, titled Born to Run, published in 2016. 3.5 stars

Part memoir, part musical criticism and part cultural commentary this book looks very specifically at Bruce Springsteen and his life during the period of Born in the USA (and to a lesser extent Nebraska). I am a huge Bruce fan so I am biased but I loved. The track by track analysis along with where Bruce was at the time of the recording combined with the discussions about how much it resonates currently and how many albums and artists it influenced are a plus. By choosing to focus on a very specific and short part of his life the author is able to give you a full portrait of Springsteen the man and musician.

"There Was Nothing You Could Do" is a well-executed, thoughtful, deeply researched look at Bruce Springsteen through the lens of his most famous album. But it doesn't stop there; Hyden manages to cover the totality of rock music, particularly the 60s-to-90s swing, with in-depth and evocative recollections of many of the genre's best. But it all always comes back to Springsteen, the man who assumed the mantle left by Elvis and Dylan, and who, along with Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince, formed the DNA of popular music going forward. Hyden is exactly the right writer for this project, and this is msut-read rock criticism. Highly recommended.

In his latest book, music critic Steven Hyden explores the context and legacy of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the U.S.A” and Hyden’s personal relationship with the album in There Was Nothing You Could Do.

Hyden’s other works have been deep dives into a band’s work (Pearl Jam in Long Road) to essays or books focused on multiple artists like my personal favorite of his books, Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me that explains and debates musical rivalries or Twilight of the Gods, which considers the unexpected longevity of performing rockers. Here the book is specifically focused on Springsteen at a pivotal moment in his career, and arguably the height of his fame.

Across the seven chapters Hyden explains and expands from Springsteen as the muse, for example chapter 1 “Man at the Top” is subtitled “How and why our hero attempted to be Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan simultaneously on Born in the U.S.A..” With that as the chapter theme, Hyden then provides brief synopses of Presley and Dylan’s careers to the 1980s and where Springsteen’s career matched or differed. While it is also the story of the recording of the album, it is much more. One of my favorite sections is when Hyden looks at the other big musical releases of 1984, placing Born in the U.S.A. with its peers.

As noted above, this album was when Springsteen reached his height of fame with well attended concerts, high sales and popular acclaim. Known for singing about the problems of the common man, at release the album exemplified the ideal of a common ground between listeners of different political ideals. Much is made of the song ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ And how it has been co-opted by conservatives largely for the chorus, seemingly missing the rest of the lyrics. How Springsteen has presented himself, politically, has changed too. He is a wealthy man singing about problems of poverty and hardship, but no longer tries to avoid alienating fans by professing political support.

Hyden looks to interviews, fan magazines, official and leaked song recordings and the treasure trove of bootleg fan recordings to show the differences in performance and the development of song ideas. A key point of the work is in the creative process confidence in your work is essential, and Springsteen often needed help getting out of his own head and to collaborate with the E Street band to better shape the songs.

Hyden is an (almost) lifelong fan of this album, and his ardor and knowledge are on clear display. But this does not prevent him from showing the hypocrisy of privilege or where the musicians detailed made poor lyrical or presentation choices.

Recommended to fans of American Rock music or Bruce Springsteen.

Steven Hyden writes an incredibly enjoyable and insightful tale about the creation of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA”. The book is a smooth and quick read that connects the creation of this record not only to his childhood but to a whole generation of people’s childhoods that grew up in the 1980’s. Connecting the sociopolitical of the era as well as today’s climate on this landmark piece of art. An enjoyable read, I highly recommend it.

Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books, and Steven Hyden for the advanced reader copy of the book. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

I’m a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. The first album I ever bought with my own money was Born To Run, and I still consider it a perfect album, not to mention my favorite of all time. I was eighteen years old when Born in the U.S.A. came out, so I remember that time very well.

I thought I would enjoy this book written by music critic Steven Hyden. I’ve often wondered how we went from giving of ourselves in the 1980s with events such as Live Aid, Farm Aid, and others to the attitude of “nothing matters unless it happens to me” that seems so prevalent in today’s day and age. Going by the title, I thought perhaps this book would provide some answers.

The problem is, there isn’t much of that in this book. Hyden writes a lot about Springsteen, most of which can be found in Springsteen’s own autobiography which Hyden cites repeatedly, as well as works about Springsteen by Peter Carlin. He doesn’t just cover Born in the U.S.A. but extensively covers the recording of the album Nebraska, Tunnel of Love, and to a lesser extent most of Springsteen’s catalog.

Hyden also writes about other “heartland rockers” of this time period. I could relate to his point about how people misinterpreted Tom Petty’s Southern Accents album, particularly the track Rebels. I was one of them. The difference is that once he talked about what he really meant, I knew it was “my bad” and didn’t try to stubbornly defend my position. The point Hyden makes is that these misinterpretations by the right-wing of songs like Rebels and Born in the USA were indicative of where our society in the United States is today. He gets some of this wrong, though, as he talks about Bryan Adams and his song Summer of 69, doubting that the song isn’t about the year 1969 as Adams has claimed. He jumps on the Bon Jovi train as well, criticizing Living on a Prayer as being a rip-off of Thunder Road. I can think of a number of songs that predate both that are about young lovers looking to escape – it’s a common theme in rock music. Some of what he writes just doesn’t add up.

Hyden was six when Born in the U.S.A. came out, so much of his writing is in the context of hearing that album at a young age and what it meant to him. For those of us that were adults during this time, we have a different memory of what it was like being a Springsteen fan at the time. He’s taking the context second-hand, rather than having lived through it and there are passages that made me wince a bit because I didn’t remember it happening that way.

Near the end of the book, around the last 10%, he does finally extrapolate how Springsteen’s populism of the 1980s falters after the turn of the century. He gives credit where credit is due with Springsteen releasing The Rising after 9/11. Even here, though, he doubts that story of a fan telling Springsteen “we need you” after the events of that day. I could easily see it, though. I’d be one of those people that would have told him that.

Hyden seems to miss that part of what made Springsteen so popular was the connection to fans in his music. People could see themselves in his songs. Thunder Road is my favorite because I feel the connection to “you ain’t no beauty but hey, you’re all right…” Out in the Street is one of the perfect Friday afternoon songs because it captures the feeling of walking out of work and feeling “free” for a few days (and this by a guy who admits he’s never had an honest job in his life!)

I didn’t dislike There Was Nothing You Could Do, but it’s not a book I’d advise people to rush out and buy. It reads more like a thesis on Springsteen himself and does have interesting parts. I found it hard to get through and at times painted a different picture of the last two decades of the 20th century than I remember. I’d say only someone looking for a well-rounded viewpoint on this era would be interested in it, especially in the context of Springsteen with other artists of the time who were playing the same type of music.

There Was Nothing You Could Do was written by a fanboy for other fanboys. Those who are intimately familiar with Springsteen's oeuvre will get much more out of the book than I did (I'm only a very casual but approving listener). Yet there was enough here about Springsteen's place in the musical, cultural and political landscape to keep me interested. Yes, there is a focus on a specific album, but it seemed that while "Born in the U.S.A" was a commercial milestone and represented peak stardom for Springsteen, it's actually not the high point of his artistry.

I have one gripe echoed in at least one other review. When discussing Springsteen bridging American divides, the author often seems to be equating America with White Male America. Eventually, the racial issue is addressed satisfactorily (best so when comparing 80s Springsteen's appeal with the cross-racial appeal of 80s Michael Jackson), but the gender issue remained. When mentioning Springsteen influenced stars and "heartland rock" no women are mentioned (Melissa Etheridge anyone?), and Springsteen's appeal (or lack thereof) to women is not discussed.

Thanks to Hachette Books and Net Galley for providing an early copy for review.

I love Springsteen and Steven Hyden is currently my favorite writer about music. So yes, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. If you are a Springsteen fan it's a no brainer. A wonderful recap of a seminal album. It also captures an interesting time in Bruce's career as he was simultaneously writing blockbuster songs that would appear on "Born in the USA" and quiet, darker songs that would end up on "Nebraska." I find it fascinating that he could produce such drastically different work.

Hyden also gives a great overview of what was going in music at the time of the recording. He writes thoughtfully about Prince, Michael Jackson, Tom Petty, The Replacements and REM.

I loved the book and my only complaint is that it ended far too soon. Get it for the Bruce fan in your life.

Netgalley provided me a free e-galley of the book in return for an honest review.

Hachette Books provided an early galley for review.

By the time I started classes for my sophomore year of college in the Fall of 1984, I most certainly had added the cassette of this album to collection. "Dancing In the Dark" and "Cover Me" had both already rocketed up the charts, with five more hit singles yet to come. While I was familiar with Springsteen's earlier albums, thanks to my older brother, this really was the first of the New Jersey rocker's records I had got into from the ground floor. It was a perfect starting point for me. And, based on the Preface chapter, this is also was true for Hyden.

I enjoyed the deep-dive into Springsteen's music before, through and after this album, as well as the context Hyden provides in relation to other artists, other albums, and the then-current events. It helps to add perspective and layers to twelve tracks from the album itself. After reading Springsteen's autobiography, I found this a nice counterpoint from an outside rock music journalist. Music fans of the 80's decade will certainly glean much from the study presented.

First, I’m a music fan. Second, I’m a Bruce Springsteen fan. And third, when I understood that this book would address the intersection of American culture and Bruce Springsteen’s Born In the USA album, I was ALL IN – and very eager to read an ARC copy of rock critic Steven Hyden’s There Was Nothing You Could Do, to be released in late May 2024.

This book is very well written, completely accessible, and utterly absorbing. It was also much more than I bargained for in terms of an analysis of not just the Born In the USA album, but also Bruce’s career “story arc,” rock music of the 1980s and its cultural significance – and how Born In the USA as a phenomena really did portend . . . where we are now.

My only critique is that . . . sometimes there was too much detail about the making of some albums (Nebraska comes to mind). But I think that may be because I am not as familiar with that album in the first place, so it felt like too much?????

An enjoyable read overall. Just have Spotify (or your album collection) nearby so you can create your own soundtrack while you read.

Thank you to Hachette and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on May 28, 2024.

4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen. That is why I was so excited to read this book.

Yikes.

I DNF’d this one at 27%. The author has made it very clear that his intended audience is specifically white American men and proceeds to write this book like Ken after he discovered the patriarchy. I couldn’t help but read this book in the voice of Patrick Bateman talking about Huey Lewis and the News in my head when certain sections droned on like poorly written Rolling Stone articles because that’s the vibe the author gives. The rest of the book is him talking about Bruce Springsteen like he is an actual god, borne of the former white male gods of America- Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. If I didn’t know better I would think this book had been written in the days before women could own their own bank accounts.

My reactions to this book were all over the place. That's not a criticism. That's also the way Springsteen himself seemed to approach his rise and myth like status. I've read his autobiography, so many of the personal details discussed, such as his relationship with his father, were not a surprise to me. What did come as a surprise, while not all that surprising, if that makes sense, is the general air of unease for lack of a better word that Hyden credits to him in this book. He wanted more, got what he wanted, then struggled to deal with the adoration and bigger than life image that became "The Boss". Like us, Springsteen emerges as a mere human, full of hopes and dreams but also the ability to make decisions that impacted many directly, such as the members of the E Street Band, and more indirectly and uncontrollable, those of us who listened to his music. While a fan, I have certainly never been an avid, obsessed with his music type fan, so I have to admit to not being aware of many of the more minute references author Hyden makes to songs, relationships, and the behind the scenes stories.

All that said, this was an absolutely fascinating read. While not a biography, it touches on just about every aspect of his life, including his family and close friendships. It doesn't dwell on any of those, however, simply using them as a springboard to dive into how they impacted his writings and actions. It's more of an effort to discuss why he made "Born in The USA" and it's impact on not just his audience but him, as well as those about him and its misinterpretations. While the author is obviously a genuine, long-time fan, he does manage not to slip too far into "fanboy" mode, to his credit. He can criticize as well as offer his own musings as to "what if" Springsteen had done this or that, or not done this or that. Other artists slip into and out of the narrative, from early influences to the likes of Elvis and Dylan, as well as comparing other artists of the same type towards the end. Even Taylor Swift gets a mention, albeit this seems to have largely been written before she became the almost mythical "Taylor Swift" that she is today. There is also political talk, be forewarned, but it's a respectful tone, And, oh, so much more. Heck, even Ticketmaster and how concert ticket prices gets discussed.

There is absolutely no way I can competently discuss everything that is covered. I'm neither a musical critic/historian or enough of a student of all things Springsteen to be worthy of trying, but fans and even those simply interested in the music and times will find much to ponder within. Hyden writes well, in a very readable fashion, which is plus given the wealth of info covered. I highly recommend this to not just Springsteen fans but all those who wish they knew more about how songs are conceived and brought to a potential audience and the rarely covered aspect of its potential impact on the artist. That both the artist and audience may grow and change is part of this and how his success changed and molded the Bruce Springsteen we see and hear today intrigued me. Thanks #NetGalley and #HatchetteBooks for allowing me this look at Hyden's take on this phenomenon. The title speaks volumes.

I may be the rare person who likes the author more than the subject of this book. I've read four books by Hyden and enjoyed all four. I enjoy reading about Springsteen, but I don't enjoy much of his music. Hyden is able to contextualize Born in the USA in interesting ways and has provocative thoughts about the lyrics of the songs on that album and many others. While Springsteen might be a personal favorite of Hyden's, I felt like he leaned away from making this book as personal as his past books. It has a really nice balance of music criticism, anecdotes, and lyrical analysis.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Books for an advanced copy of this book that looks at the impact that Bruce Springsteen's biggest album had on America, an America that seems like a glory days compared to the downbound train we seem to be on.

My cousin was from Jersey and being older was into music that I really know much about, or frankly cared about. I was a big top 40 person, or supersounds of the 70's listener, though I was into movie soundtracks because of Star Wars and Blade Runner. He kept pushing Bruce Springsteen, seeing something in me that I didn't know, mainly that someday I would love songs that told stories with lyrics that told so much. Two things happened. MTV and Born in the USA. That opening drum beat, the driving sound touched something in me. They lyrics too. They told a story. A big story, one that I didn't really understand, but as a person who read cereal boxes at breakfast, liner notes and lyric cards were my addiction. That and Columbia Record Club sending me albums for a penny, and who I still might owe money to. Suddenly music made sense, songs could touch the mind, and make the body move. This has been a love affair that might have dimmed over the years, but reading this book made that Grinch's heart of mine grow five times bigger. And made me listen to songs I haven't heard in years. And learn alot more about the era I grew up in. There Was Nothing You Could Do: Bruce Springsteen’s “Born In The U.S.A.” and the End of the Heartland by writer, critic and podcaster Steven Hyden is a look at this seminal album, the changes that followed in music, the country, and the man himself, and the legacy this most misunderstood of albums still casts in music.

The book is broken into different chapters looking at the creation of not only the album, but the man itself, along with its impact, influences, recording and the world that followed. Readers learn about Springsteen, how he got to where he was, and something I didn't know how much he needed Born in the USA to be a hit. I enjoyed the section on the creation of the songs, how so many make a mythology of their coming to be, the working in a garage, on a tape deck, the rerecording in the studio not working, songs promised to others singers coming back around. And the battle over the track listing, something that seemed so big at the time, but in the days of streaming not as important. Hyden looks at the reception, how the song Born in the USA was co-opted by republicans for a political them, without anyone listening to the lyrics. Hyden also does something I seldom see in music books, Hyden looks at the performances of the songs, through various bootlegs, and working in a record store I know there is a stupendous amount of Springsteen bootlegs, and how songs changed, were received, or only even played once. Hyden also looks at how Springsteen became lost for a while, though I too love Tunnel of Love, and how his return was canonized by fans and critics alike. Though the world he has returned to was far different even 14 years later.

I am a huge fan of Steven Hyden's music writing. I've read quite a few and while I have enjoyed them all, this I think is his best. Hyden is a fan, that is obvious not only of Springsteen, but of music in general. In addition he can look at music from the view of the world, which gives him a better understanding of what Springsteen meant, how the songs hit, and how people from all walks of life, not just from Jersey could enjoy Springsteen and his songs about an America that wasn't perfect, but was something recognizable. The feeling that America Love it or Leave it has gotten so much worse, that saying something bad about America, inadequate health care, disparity of rich against poor, overpolicing, can cause a fight. Or a shooting. Hyden does a good job discussing this, and the burden it puts on the artist.

At the end it is about the songs, and Hyden shows what makes them so good, and makes people want to copy the feeling behind them, from The Killers, to all the covers of I'm on Fire. One of the most interesting looks at a musical performer, and one of the best books on music I have read in awhile. I look very forward to Hyden's next work.

Wow! I really enjoyed this one. Well written and I learnt a lot about Bruce Springsteen that I didn’t know. Easy to read. I got through this own quickly! Would absolutely recommend this one to anyone wanting to learn more about Bruce Springsteen.