I have a cd of Born in the USA from 1994 and the shading on the red object is much, much darker on this older copy, making it appear more like a workshop towel, rather than a hat or bandana.

I owned the original LP until recently (1st edition) , and this was also how I remembered it.

The key difference between the original, and what we see now, is the SHADING, partly due to viewing through computer screens with the LED's erc.