Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

"This record convinced me that no matter what anyone said about making music as a career that I had to try. I didn’t know if I’d “make it” or if I will yet, but I knew that when I heard this record I had to try. I’ve always heard Born to Run in my mother’s car, but it wasn’t until my late teenage years and early twenties that I understood what was being said here. To me, this was my ticket out. Born to Run gave me the permission to leave everything sensible and practical behind and go for my own dreams. It still makes me pause when I hear those piano intros on ""Thunder Road"" and ""Backstreets."" In the same way Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. spoke to me as a teenager, this record spoke to the guy in his twenties who really wasn’t very good at much, except maybe music, and that was a big maybe. It also comforted me in times of great heartache and self doubt. This is an encouraging record. It’s a masterpiece. I would take this record over almost any other “classic” album by any artist."

"Obviously Bruce is an icon at this point with many incredible records but to me this is my favourite. I remember reading somewhere that Bruce Springsteen wanted to make the greatest record of all time and he obviously was trying to tap into Phil Spector with that big wall of sound. With 'Born to Run' he tapped into that whole New Jersey 'we gotta get outta here, there's gotta be a better life somewhere' type of world and he really painted those pictures with his lyrics. To me he's almost like a novelist who paints those stories and I think the record still sounds really good."