Record:Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

Bruce Springsteen's debut album of 1973 set him squarely in the tradition of Bob Dylan by combining a folk sound with socially critical lyrics full of elaborate, even exaggerated imagery. But where Dylan's criticism was often cynical or ironic, Springsteen opted for a more sincere tone. His street scenes could be haunted and tragic, as they are in "Lost in the Flood" on the "Asbury Park" album, but he imbued them with romantic nostalgia. At a time when rock music was evolving into various strains of pop, soft rock, heavy metal, and art rock, Springsteen heralded a return to basic rock-and-roll values with his songs' simple three-chord structure, heavy beats and rollicking 1950s-style tenor saxophone riffs. Springsteen reached stratospheric heights of popularity with his 1984 album "Born in the U.S.A." The album threw off seven hit singles and sold over 10 million copies, putting Springsteen in the pop heavens with Michael Jackson and Prince. Embraced during the Reagan years as a patriotic anthem, the title track is actually a dark ballad about the Vietnam War. Not one for ironic subtlety, Reagan still wanted to use the song for his 1984 re-election bid.