Mary Beth
Member
It was Richard's auteurial voice, not Karen's, that he felt needed re-establishing. He was the "author" of the sound and arrangements and all that and after being bruised from the solo album he asserted his artistic place through the vehicle of Made in America. I get it and it doesn't make him a bad person, but his intentions were selfish. Karen's friends even said she never fully trusted him the same way ever again. These personal experiences color the making of this album and help us understand why the album got the outcome it did.
"Made in America" is almost less of an album title then a resigned, melancholic statement or elegy. They sprouted from and became assimilated into the American public that once loved and embraced the change they represented, like seeds become beautiful, bright flowers with water and sunshine. (The title's acronym, MIA - missing in action - subtly comments on their self-awareness of the three year public absence of any records released). By 1981 they were simultaneously rejected by and trapped within that American populace mindset and image (their longevity and unwavering love from Japan and the like contrasts this constriction - they see and understand something beyond image.)
"Made in America" is almost less of an album title then a resigned, melancholic statement or elegy. They sprouted from and became assimilated into the American public that once loved and embraced the change they represented, like seeds become beautiful, bright flowers with water and sunshine. (The title's acronym, MIA - missing in action - subtly comments on their self-awareness of the three year public absence of any records released). By 1981 they were simultaneously rejected by and trapped within that American populace mindset and image (their longevity and unwavering love from Japan and the like contrasts this constriction - they see and understand something beyond image.)