There is a great book by Dave Marsh called "Glory Days" that deals extensively with Bruce from "The River" through the BITUSA tour. It ends before "Tunnel of Love" was released.

A short summary:

Springsteen "broke" through with a Top 10 hit in 1980 with "Hungry Heart." He had experienced some commercial success before with "Born to Run," but was still had a large cult following until 1978-80. Had Bruce been going for the quick buck and only been interested in commercial success, he could have released a similar sounding follow-up to "The River." Instead, Bruce released "Nebraska," an all acoustic, sparse account of songs dealing with extraordinary difficult times. The songs were recorded on a 4 track and the demos were released as the actual album after Bruce was not satisfied with the recordings attempted with the E Street Band. Each time they played a song, it lost the intimacy of the original demo. So his friend and bandmate, Steve Van Zandt, suggested releasing the demos as the actual record.

During the same period, Bruce wrote a bunch of other songs, many of which ended up being released on BITUSA. But the title track of what would become BITUSA (released on the box set "Tracks" in 1998) was written acoustically. The original BITUSA came off sounding like a protest song. Bruce always liked the lyrics, but decided to try a rock arrangement. The 2nd take of the song BITUSA was the beginning of his next album, and the rest, they say, is history.

Bruce was very ambivalent about releasing BITUSA because it contained songs that were more commercial sounding than anything he had done to that point ("Cover Me," "I'm On Fire" particularly). He also wrote a bunch of great songs that ended up not making the released version of BITUSA: "Pink Cadillac," "Janey Don't You Lose Heart," "Murder Incorporated," and "Follow That Dream." In all, Bruce recorded sixty songs for BITUSA - only twelve made the final cut.

When the album was nearing completion, Bruce's manager insisted that the album needed a sure-fire hit single. After an angry exchange between the two, Bruce told his manager to write a new song because he had already written enough material. But Bruce went home that night and came back to the studio the next day with "Dancing in the Dark." It was the album's first single and his highest charting song.

"Dancing" catapulted Bruce to superstardom as the single took off and went to #2 on the charts. Six more singles were released and all were in the Top 10. The BITUSA tour, which competed against the Jackson Family's tour, sold out everywhere and tickets for Bruce were significantly more affordable than the Jacksons.

Bruce toured for a year and a half throughout the world. Some of his core audience did not like 12 year old girls coming to the show. It was a difficult adjustment that kids would come to see Bruce based solely on his MTV videos. But Bruce put on some of his most energetic and fantastic shows during that tour. He was everywhere: on MTV, in the We are the World recording, and on the radio constantly. Politicians tried to solicit his support from both the right (Mondale) and the left (Reagan). He was on ABC News and constantly on the cover of Rolling Stone.

After the BITUSA tour, Bruce sought to reign in his iconic image. Years later, Bruce said he was glad to leave behind that period, in which he wore a bandana and displayed his muscular build.

"Tunnel of Love" dealt with adult topics such as marriage and family, a big departure from his previous songs of adventure, cars, and girls. The sound on "Tunnel" is much quieter than BITUSA and the E Street Band's contributions to the record are significantly less. He toured behind the album, but not until a full 6 months after its release. Instead of having Clarence Clemons as his onstage foil, his new girlfriend Patti, also a member of the E Street Band, was his main stage mate. It made sense - the songs were about relationships between men and women, but it confused some of his audience and his bandmates.

Bruce still put on 4 hour shows during the "Tunnel" tour, but he eschewed some of his concert staples: "Badlands," "Thunder Road," "No Surrender." Even "Born to Run" was played acoustically with only a guitar and harmonica.

Bruce may say BITUSA is his least favorite, but it's what got me hooked in the first place. I was 13 years old when it was released and have been a fan ever since. For me, BITUSA ranks with "Darkness on the Edge of Town" as his best album. He still plays many of its songs in his concerts today: "Born in the USA," "Dancing in the Dark," "No Surrender," "Darlington County," and "Glory Days." To me, the album is poppy, but it's still a great record. There's not one song I ever skip when listening. The songs don't sound dated because they are pop songs, which I think is the mark of great music.

"Tunnel" is also a 5 star album IMO. It's best moments are "Tougher than the Rest," "Ain't Got You," "Tunnel," "Brilliant Disguise," "Spare Parts."

I agree Ice - Bruce experimented a bit with both albums. I feel that his biggest experimentation in terms of sound was "The Rising" record. The rich textures, the searing guitars, violin, etc. make it a great album and is a musical departure from his other works. On top of all that, most of the record dealt with 9/11 and its aftermath, which lead to some very emotional lyrics.

My faves in order:

BITUSA and Darkness on the Edge of Town (tie)
Born to Run
The River
Tunnel of Love
The Rising
Nebraska

I guess this could have warranted its own thread...