As a Bruce Springsteen fan with a partner who sees him as their musical inspiration, I really enjoyed the deeper insights this book gave into his career and the making of Born to Run. I felt like it’s set up well — beginning with his early career, tracing all the small experiences that added up to this album. I especially loved the descriptions of alternate versions, old titles, and rough lyrics. Getting a glimpse of the process — the lines he scratched out or changed — was cool and inspired me to think about the writing process. I felt the book did justice highlighting the incredible musician’s’ contributions as well. The telling of Bruce, the band, and the engineer’s sheer dedication and toil in the recording and re-recording made me have a newfound appreciation and understanding of everything that goes into the making of an album.

I also appreciated the publicity reporting. A thorough account of the variety of praise and criticism it received, and an inner glimpse into the gears of the music industry at the time. The smart promo tactics, although perhaps outdated in the modern market landscape, were still good to study. I couldn’t believe even people back in the 70’s were essentially falsely accusing Bruce of being what’s known today as an “industry plant.” I found those examples powerfully illustrated that no matter the genius or purity of any work of art, there will always be naysayers that don’t “get it.” Even with something as revered or seemingly untouchable as a masterpiece like Born to Run. It personally gave me a bit of relief realizing that even “haters” existed back in the 70’s.

The book does a decent job of clearing a few inconsistencies in the re-telling of that time, or at least sharing contradictory personal accounts to let the reader make up their own mind. As well as attempting to peer into Bruce’s thoughts and feelings about where he was at that age. The author, Carlin, also walks the fine line of dissecting the meaning of the lyrics without over-speculating: Carlin draws up believable analysis on some of the symbols, allegories, and cinematic nature of the poetry by connecting it to Bruce’s real-life experiences. Of course, not every mystery will be solved. There’s no way to know what lines were written with a pure specific intention, or which lyrics were found on sheer intuition that just felt good for Bruce to sing. The wonder and ambiguity is part of the magic.

All in all, this book is perfect for fans looking for a deeper dive into how this album came into existence. I can’t gauge how interested a lukewarm passive Bruce fan would be in this book… But if they read it, I bet they’d better understand why it’s a cultural landmark. Well done.

Perhaps the final compliment I can leave with is, this book has positively changed how I listen to Born to Run — an album I already enjoyed — but now with a newfound appreciation.

I love receiving an ARC of a book I was already eagerly anticipating. Fresh off his in depth coverage of REM, Peter Ames Carlin goes back to perhaps his favorite writing subject, Bruce Springsteen.

This book is definitely only for the fanatics detailing the daily ins and outs of the physical and psychological experience of recording “Born To Run”. The arduous process is not new information to the majority of Bruce fans. The most impactful part of the book is chronicling the constantly churning insecurity Bruce experiences throughout given the stakes of the album’s success (or lack thereof) and his personal quest for rock and roll perfection.

I’m a Springsteen fan and was raised on the scripture of “Born to Run”. I’ve spoken of the spiritual experience of a Bruce show. That said, at times the book teetered on the edge of being too worshippy even for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review. 3.5 stars

A fantastic, well researched, non-pretentious entry into the Springsteen lexicon. Carlin's deep dive into one of the greatest albums of all time explores not just the songs, but the work as a whole and the events, relationships, and turmoil that shaped it. I especially loved reading Bruce's own recollections of that time.

As a huge fan of Springsteen, I found this to be a very informative and interesting. It provided me with insights into the world of producing a record and gave me a glimpse into the creative process of a music legend.

Many thanks to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of Peter Ames Carlin’s detailed and compelling book Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run. I recently read Carlin’s The Name of This Band is R.E.M., and thoroughly enjoyed how comprehensive that book was in exploring the origins and career of a band that spanned different eras in music. I also knew that Carlin previously wrote a biography of Springsteen, so it seemed like he is not only an excellent music journalist, but also is knowledgeable about the subject. What was different was that rather than covering the entirety of this musician’s career, he had to narrow the focus and analyze the factors and events that led to the creation of one of Springsteen’s most heralded albums, Born to Run. Carlin explains these differences in the “Acknowledgement” section when he writes “covering the expanse of Bruce’s life and career hadn’t allowed for the sort of close attention to any particular album that this project required. So there was still a lot to learn, and quite a bit of new information to chase down and digest. Doing this required the cooperation, help and patience of many people.” That is one of the great aspects of this book in that many of the key players collaborated with Carlin on this book, providing further insights into the struggles, barriers, and doubts that arose during the creation of this album. This was also a noticeable difference from his R.E.M. book, where the band members did not participate in the book (although it is also a great read). Furthermore, the book arrives just in time for the 50th anniversary of this album, and while this album and the song “Born to Run” in particular have become important for rock and roll, Carlin emphasizes that “Every work of art is the product of someone’s extraordinary effort. But some projects still feel surrounded by at least some measures of grace,” and this book helps to explore the unique circumstances that contributed to making this album special and helping make Springsteen and the E Street Band such an iconic American rock band.
Although I’m not huge Springsteen fan, I appreciate his work, and hadn’t realized how challenging it was to create this album. Carlin’s book spends most of the book exploring the musical and business aspect that led to this album, and doesn’t spend that much time exploring the personal influences of Springsteen’s life, although some of the chapters focus on his family and growing up in Freehold. I was amazed to learn that Springsteen faced limited support from his record label in creating Born to Run since his previous two albums were critically praised, but did not receive much commercial attention and had limited sales. Furthermore, Carlin provides some historical context about the early to mid-1970s both across the nation and in areas in Jersey like Asbury Park, where Springsteen and his band were gigging and practicing. It’s important to consider in that the nation was facing the Watergate Scandal and economic uncertainties and strains with events like the oil embargo. This contextualization helps to paint the kind of dire and hopeless situation that many Americans experienced, which also might one of the reasons that Springsteen’s Born to Run resonated with many people, as he often championed downtrodden characters who were fighting their ways out of desolate and hopeless situations, professing how the town “rips the bones from your back…we gotta get out while we’re young…” I gained a new appreciation for this album and its music, helping to better understand how Springsteen’s lyrics and music presented music as a kind of escape or salvation from many of the wrongs in the world. In particular, it was interesting to see how his band was interracial and evenly split between white and Black members, which at the time was not that common. Carlin notes, too, how this kind of integration was a part of the album’s photography and artwork for the cover, with Springsteen asking for Clarence Clemons to be on the cover with him.
Carlin’s book presents the challenges that Springsteen faced from his record label, especially since they were unwilling to front the money to record the album, which required Springsteen and his band to go out and tour to make money to pay for studio time just to record some singles to share with his label what the new record might sound like. Carlin’s book includes the perspective of Springsteen’s manager and first producer, Mike Appel, and how integral he was to supporting Springsteen’s early career. Throughout these financial challenges, Springsteen was able to maintain his band, although some members from the original band departed. This further delayed the ability to tour and record since the new members had to learn the music and adapt to the styles. Regardless, it was interesting to see these challenges and how Springsteen was able to maintain such a large band with many different members who obviously believed in him and his music.
Carlin’s research also delves into the lyrical content where readers learn about the car culture of Asbury Park, and how Springsteen’s experience with some racers led to some of the more famous lyrics from the album, as well as the imagery and symbolism of songs like “Jungleland” and “Tenth Avenue Freezeout.” I enjoyed learning about this aspect of the album, especially considering the time period and how Springsteen’s lyrics created unique characters who were battling not only for their lives, but also for their futures, challenging the inequality and barriers in society. However, my favorite aspect of the book focused on the recording process, where we learned about the studio challenges that Springsteen and the band faced when trying to capture the music and intensity of the live shows. It was fascinating to learn that Jimmy Iovine was one of the engineers for the album, and that Springsteen brought in Jon Landau, who at the time was an emerging music critic, to co-produce the album with Appel. In Carlin’s estimation, it seems like having the co-producers led to some disagreements and delays, but also heightened the quality of the recording since Appel and Landau had different perspectives on the music. It was also fascinating to think about how the technology of the time limited the ways the band could record their sound, and with a large band featuring not just traditional rock instruments, but also horns, it was a challenge to capture the various dynamics of these sounds on a limited amount of tracks. In assessing the recording sessions and highlighting some of the challenges from those sessions, Carlin seems to indicate that these limitations helped to shape different directions and versions of the songs, where Springsteen and the band were revising different parts of the songs, playing instruments differently to emphasize emotions and ideas from the songs. I loved reading about this creative process, and it was fascinating to learn about how the recording process and the limitations of technology influenced the ways the songs were shaped. In addition, Carlin presents the challenges of artists who want to maintain a vision, yet are also compelled to sell records through the typical process of creating radio-friendly pop music. It seemed like the two producers were in a constant struggle to manage both the artistic vision and the commercial appeal of the album that features some songs that run over 5 minutes.
One of the more surprising aspects of the book was Springsteen’s reaction to the initial pressing before the album was released. Despite encouragement from his co-producers and others at the record label, Springsteen seemed unhappy with this, and Carlin attributes these initial reactions to self-doubt largely from his father. It’s not a major theme of the book, but Springsteen’s complicated relationship with his parents, and his dad in particular, does come up a few times, and it seemed to play a hand in Springsteen’s personal questions about whether he was staying true to his vision or if he was making an album to just sell records. It was not something I expected to encounter considering Springsteen’s place in rock history. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see how he responded to the initial pressing, and how his band members, producers, and others who are close to him reassured him about this album. Much like Carlin’s R.E.M. book, Tonight in Jungleland highlights how musicians have to navigate the border between artistic integrity and commercial success; however, this book is primarily focused on the process and factors that led to the creation of an iconic album. I appreciated this detailed focus and Carlin’s meticulous research and interviews that help to flesh out this process. Highly recommended.

Doubleday Books provided an early galley for review.

I am a fan of Springsteen's music and this album. I have also read many books over the years about him. But, there is always room for one more.

I like how Carlin digs deep on the subject of this record, leaving no stone unturned as he discusses the events and circumstances that led to this pivotal point in the Boss' career. This was a make-or-break point, one that sent ripples across the rock industry for decades; and hearing from those who were directly there and involved was critical in telling the tale.

Strongly recommended for fans of the artist and the album.

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this upcoming book***
Bruce (Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuce) Springsteen has been such a household name for so many years it would be easy for you to assume that success came to him immediately...how wrong you would be. 2 albums into his recording career he is on the verge of being dropped by his record label and needs to come up with an album that will show the world what live audiences already know that he is capable of.

This book is the intimate retelling of the making of one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time. Well written and filled with stories told by the people who were there, this is a must read for any Springsteen fan or fans of music in general.

There was a deficit in my knowledge about The Boss's life story. Hadn't read any other books about him, listened to his music but without being a super-fan. "Tonight in Jungleland" was an eye-opener and it made me want to learn more. Bruce must be every bit the genius and more to have so many people - musicians, technicians, managers - loyal enough to stick with him through many years consisting of periods of battling self-doubt and appreciating his own excellence. This book propels the reader through his troubled youth, mostly, as he attempts to create and produce the album that leaves no doubt to his stardom. Well written and researched, Carlin's book provides insight as well as angst. It's tough to read about the frustration that often surrounded Bruce Springsteen. I know that fans will devour this one.

To say I'm a huge Springsteen fan might be an understatement. I, of course, have all the albums, compilations, and box sets plus my personal library has thirteen books on Bruce Springsteen, including Peter Ames Carlin's 2012 biography. Drawing from his earlier book, as well as contemporary interviews with key people, including Springsteen, Mike Appel, and Jon Landau the author narrates a well researched, thorough account of the making of the Born to Run album. I love that he puts the making of the album in context with everything else going on in Springsteen's life, and includes details about the writing and recording of the songs that I haven't seen elsewhere. I put the "Born to Run" album on repeat and read along, finishing this book in one day. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for an advanced reader copy.

I read Peter Ames Carlin’s biography of Bruce Springsteen years ago and enjoyed it, so I was excited to see that he wrote another book about Springsteen, this time focusing on the album Born to Run. I think this book can best be described as an in-depth biography of Springsteen for the years 1969-1976. I loved hearing about Bruce’s writing and early drafts of the songs and seeing how they came to the final versions we hear on the album. There are lots of details about Bruce’s career, from the record company to his manager to early performances. The descriptions of Springsteen’s early shows were awesome! I wasn’t always a fan of how Carlin put the stories together, though: he bounces back & forth between the Born to Run years and the albums that came before it; I would have preferred a more linear progression at times.

I think Springsteen fans will enjoy this book; I know I found myself blaring Born to Run in my car after I finished it! I have always appreciated the art of a full album, and this book highlights the craft and effort that goes into creating a brilliant one. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Terrific! Very quick and enjoyable read, vividly describing the recording of "Born To Run" in 1975. The book begins by setting up the situation at Columbia Records, where Bruce had released two albums but was in danger of being 'dropped' by the label because neither of them sold well enough. The label wants to commit only to a single--which turns out to be "Born To Run"-- but we are then introduced to Jon Landau, who comes in as a co=producer and moves the sessions to the Record Plant in NYC and convinces the label to support a full album, which Bruce and the E Street Band record over a few weeks/months in the spring of 1975. The author goes through every song--inclusive of the outtakes--in great detail, focusing mostly on the title track and "Jungleland," one of the first songs written for the album, but the last to be recorded. The author also had recent access to both Bruce and Jon Landau and their recollections--49 years later--add very important context to the narrative.