The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle...

 

ALBUM RATING:-  ***1/2

 Track 1:-

The E Street Shuffle.

Possibly one of the strangest and most likable songs on the album, The E Street Shuffle isn't really easy to deconstruct. There's so much going on in it what with the lyrics, the instrumental arrangement and the sheer speed of it that it's hard to strip down and say exactly what it's about. I don't know whether or not it's open to interpretation but if it is I'd say that it's foreshadowing the song Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out from his 3rd album, Born to Run. I say that because they both refer to the E Street Band (the latter explicitly and the former in title). It's also included in the album title, indicating that it obviously has some significance. So it starts with a horn playing slowly and hypnotically and then builds up to a quick guitar riff which is then accompanied by drums, setting up immediately the pace of the song. This was released in 1973 (only about 6 months after Greeting...) and again catches Springsteen at the begining of an excellent writing career. The writing on this album (and on this song) isn't perhaps as mature as the writing on Greetings... in themes at least, but the tunes, the arrangements, the voice and the tone is perfect. The only problem with this extreme catchy song is that after the first verse I lose interest in the rest of the song. It's a classic mistake of writing one great verse and thinking "I need more like this". That's not to say that the other verses are bad but the best bits of the song happen before the 1:10 mark. Easily worth listening to, I'd highly recommend it. If it's too fast or too energetic for you (then deal with it) you can check out his version at London's Hammersmith in 1975 for a slower, bluesey version.

Rating: ****

Best Lyric: "The kids down there are either dancing or hooked up in a scuffle/Dressed in snake-skin suits backed with Detroit muscle/They're doin' the E Street Shuffle" 

Track 2:-

4th July, Asbury Park (Sandy):-

I won't say all that much about this song as I'm not a huge fan of it. It's a decent song and it is good. In fact, it's very good. There's just something about it that doesn't appeal to me and I don't know why. It starts well, the lyrics are very sophisticated, the tune is melodic and calming and his voice is as good as ever. It just lacks something that makes it interesting to me. Along with Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) this is a favourite with most fans from this album. The start of it is accoustic guitar-heavy and slow and sounds perfect for the setting of the song. It's literally about the singer in love with Sandy on the 4th July in Asbury Park, New Jersey. It's been said to sound as if he's "whispering into his lovers ear" and indeed it does, which gives it a more intimate quality. The verses are miserable in their themes but the chorus is warm and hopeful of love. I've changed my mind. I like this song a little more.

Rating: ***

Best Lyric: " Down in the town, the Circuit's full of switchblade lovers, so fast, so shiny, so sharp"

Track 3:-

Kitty's Back.

Okay, I feel bad for saying this, but I really don't care for this song at all. It can boast a very good intorduction on eletric guitar but, although it's brilliant to listen to, it sets up the song for a fall. This is because after hearing such an awesome introduction you're hopes are set up for the song which, sadly, doesn't deliver. As soon as the guitar slows and stops, the lyrics kick in which begin fairly catchy and has a rock-swing feel to them. You hardly have time to get into the lyrical side of the song because it retreats back to a long instrumental break. I like the music, obviously, but I listen to Springsteen for his voice and what he has to say. Not a fan, I'm sorry. Unless you're really into guitar solos and musical breaks I'd say you could skip over this particular track which is the reason the album's rating is so low for me. 

Rating: ***

Best Lyric: "And there hasn't been a tally since Sally left the alley"

Track 4:-

Wild Billy's Circus Story.

Here we go, ladies and gentlemen, here we go! I'm excited to be revieweing this song and if the album consisted of just this, Incident on 57th Street and Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) I'd most definitely give it a 5 start rating! I absolutely love this song to death, and I don't know where to start with it! The music, the intro, the instruments, the lyrics, the sound, the story-- it's just so damn cool. It begins really mellow with an awesome slow tuba that has a short blast in a second-long rhythm and then the accoustic guitar comes in. It is literally about the circus and one man, Billy, trying and failing to escape from it. This is where his 2 most used themes combine-- the circus and escape.  The song really kicks in at the start of the second verse with the line "Ohh Fat Lady, Big Mamma, Missy Bimbo" where it speeds up and th tuba hits on every syllable. It then continues in this fashion throughout the verse until it slows again and picks up again and slows down again and picks up again. An awesome song! The only problem being that it takes a few listens before its potential is realised.

Rating: ****1/2 

Best Lyric: "The circus boy dances like a monkey on barbed wire/And the barker romances with a junky, she's got a flat tire"

Track 5:-

Incident on 57th Street.

As I've previously mentioned, I adore this song. It's best performance is in Barcelona 2002 where it's played soley on a piano by Springsteen himself. The studio version is much the same but with a few more instruments added in including guitar, however subtle. The song is another melodic ballad about Spanish Johnny and Puerto Rican Jane. Like Wild Billy... this song really captures the listener at the chorus just because of the sheer power of Springsteen's voice and tune. The note he hits is big and he holds it perfectly, even now when he's 62. It's a fan favourite and for good reason! I'veo nly recently discovered this song but cannot stop listening to it! I haven't gone into much detail in this despite the fact I love it so much and that's because it's brilliance cannot be described. It's Springsteen's writing (lyrical and musical) at its best.

Rating: *****

Best Lyric: "He tried selling his heart to the hard girls over on easy street/But they said 'Johnny it falls apart so easy, and you know hearts these days are cheap'."

Track 6:

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight).

This song has been compared to Blinded by the Light because of its fast paced lyrics which are almost spoken over the quirky music. It's a song about two lovers who are forbidden to see each other by the girl's parents because they think the singer is a deadbeat who won't amount to anything. This is stated in "Your pappa says he know that I don't have any money" to which he retorts "The record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance". This is a massive hit with fans and Springsteen alike, often being a huge piece in his live shows and incorporated with other songs. It's light-hearted but adult, it's fun but truthful and, most importantly, it's sad with a ray of hope. The singer has a record deal and is taking his lover away from it to "a pretty little place in Southern California" despite what her parents say about him. It's very much a 'love conquers all' type of song but it has awesome backings and a killer guitar riff that knows when to stop, unlike Kitty's Back. The song has been both criticized and praised for its complex and quirky lyrics but, unlike Blinded by the Light, they can be broken down and understood. For example, the opening line "Spread out now, Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mammas reighns" is a round-a-bout way of telling the doctor to cut the cord and let Rosalita go out on her own without her mother's guidence. It's a song of maturity and growing up just as much as... well, Growing Up is.

Rating: *****

Best Lyric: "But now you're sad, your momma's mad/ And your pappa says he knows that I don't have any money." 

Track 7:-

New York City Serenade.

Sorry, Bruce, but I have nothing to say. I don't like the song, I've never gotten into it and people may strongly agree or strongly disagree with me. It's just... I don't like it at all. Sorry. This can be by-passed along with Kitty's Back and you won't miss out on the album.

Rating: **

Best Lyric: Meh.  

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J...

ALBUM RATING:- ****1/2
Track 1:-
Blinded by the Light.
"Madmen, drummers, bummers and Indians in the summer with a teenage diplomat" probably isn't a line you'd pick out to kick off your debut album; but in 1973 Bruce Springsteen did just that. And why the hell not? You may've heard this song played on the radio though I doubt it was this version but more likely the more popular version by Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1977. Although that version reached a higher spot in the charts (No. 6) and is more well-known it doesn't deserve to be. As is the case with Because the Night (The Promise) it is Springsteen's lesser known and original version which really is the better.  "Blinded by the Light" starts with a relaxing opening; a summer-like tune and then dives into the opening lyrics (as shown above). The song has a formula to it which Springsteen follows all the way through:- intricate rhymes which, although not always making sense, create great listening. Both the verses and chorus are incredibly catchy and have a foot-tapping beat but in different ways. The verses are constructed of close rhymes which slot together perfectly and leave you wishing you could sing the song for your own fans. Like many songs, however, the novelty wears off and it becomes another song you enjoy but don't actually listen to. It's without a doubt worth listening to though.
Rating: ****
Best Lyric: "With a bolder on my shoulder, feelin' kinda older..."

Track 2:-
Growin' Up.
This is by far my favourite song from the album; it has the same catchy lyrics as Blinded by the Light but with more mature and important lyics. The song is (you guessed it) about growing up; puberty.  It begins with a David Sancious' slow piano introduction which is half sung/half spoken over by Springsteen and then the drums and other intruments kick in at the same time as the lyrics pick up with speed and power. After the first two rythm-driven verses, it returns to melodic piano playing presented at th start and the third and final verses shows the first instance of a car being linked with escape/maturing, a recurring theme in many of Springsteen's songs. "I swear I found the key to the universe in the engine of an old parked car."
Rating: ****
Best Lyrics: "I was open to pain and crossed by the rain and I walked on a crooked crutch/I strolled all alone through a fall-out zone and came out with my soul untouched."


Track 3:-
Mary Queen of Arkansas
This is a slow acoustic song driven by a guitar and was the song he played for John Hammond at an audition for CBS Records (who signed him for the album). It is the first Dylan-esque song to appear of his and certainly feels like that was the goal, a negative point. The song's introduction is fairly unpleasant to the ears in my opinion and the song can seem disjointed at times. The song is also the first to use his character "Mary" who appears again in many songs thorughout his discography. It is, in places, a preview of his songs to come (unknown to him at the time, of course) including Wild Billy's Circus Story and Born to Run. This can be seen in the line "I'm just a lonely acrobat, this live wire, she's my trade". The song is a slow meditation of love and explores briefly the theme of escape with the clear and somewhat emphasized line "I've got contacts deep in Mexico".
Rating: ***
Best Lyric: "The sky is grown with cloud seed sown and a bastard's love can be redeeming."

Track 4:-
Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
Also part of his demo audition tape, Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street? has the same catchy beat and rythm and ryhming structure as both Blinded by the Light and Growin' Up and is full of humour and fun. The song is said to be based (however loosely) on a bus ride he once had to visit his girlfriend yet the lyrics are mysterious and make little sense. This actually works to his advantage in this case as it makes the song more interesting and more light-hearted, as I believe it was intended. The song shares the theme of elevation with others from the album; "drink this and you'll grow wings on your feet" couples with Growin' Up's "when they said 'sit down' I stood up" as subtle nods to escaping to something better and perhaps rebellion. The song doesn't take itself very seriously which is evident through the fun sound, beat and rythm of it. Rarely performed in concert and often overlooked, this is still a great song and makes it into Springsteen's top 100.
Rating: ***1/2
Best Lyric: "And Mary Lou, she found out how to cope/She rides to heaven on a gyroscope."

Track 5:-

Lost in the Flood.
This song comes close to Growin' Up as my favourite from the album and certainly has the best lyrical construction on it. It is a piano-driven story of a Vietnam Veteran and is his first of many epic songs which deal with themes of grief, dispair and disappointment. Springsteen himself was rejected from service during the Vietnam War and has consequently written many songs about it (most notably Born in the U.S.A). The song describes three characters over three verses; "Ragamuffin Gunner" in 1, "Jimmy the Saint" in 2 and various non-descript characters in verse 3, incuding "Eighth Avenue sailors in satin shirts", "a carnation of Maria" and "The Whiz-Bang Gang". The Ragamuffin Gunner is a veteran who has presumably come back to America and found he's left his innocence and life in Vietnam. "The ragamuffin gunner is returning home, like a hungry runaway" suggests desperation for his the character's homecoming and then shows the disappointment and alienation as he "Walks through town all alone". The second verse begins more optimistic with Jimmy the Saint, a character who others look up to presumably as is presented in the line "He sits on the hood telling racing stories". It ends with him dying and there's "Nothing left but some blood where the body fell". Verse 3 tells a brief story of what sounds like a turf-war between The Whiz-Bang Gang and the cops, showing that war is spreading globablly and not just contained to Vietnam. The song is an excellently powerful story with solid lyrics and a real emotion attached to it which is even more clearly seen in the 1975 performance in London's Hammersmith (well worth a watch).
Rating: *****
Best Lyric: "They're breaking beams and crosses with a spastic's reelin' perfection/Nuns run bold through Vatican halls, pregnant, pleading immaculate conception."

Track 6:-
The Angel.
This is essentially about a man (The Angel) who is a motorcycle outlaw and his girlfriend. It is focused very heavily (too much, in my opinion) on automobile imagery, one of the most famous lines from the song being "The interstate's choked with nomadic hordes" which-- has been speculated-- was changed to "The highway's jammed with broken heroes" from his later song Born to Run. This can be paired very closely to Mary Queen of Arkansas as it is a slower song from the album and is driven by aucostic guitar (though a bass was later added). Although Springsteen himself called it his "most sophisticated song" it has only been performed live twice; in 1976 and 2009. The song does hold up to Springsteen's own review of it in that it is very sophisticated and lyrically works very well, however the tune lacks something important, perhaps the catchy tune or emotional message from earlier songs.
Rating: ***1/2
Best Lyric: "Dragging great anchors, followin' dead-end signs into the sores/The angel rides by humpin' his hunk metal whore."


Track 7:-
For You.
Like Blinded by the Light and Spirit in the Night, this was also covered by Manfred Mann's Earth Band and once again was changed for a more rock sounding song. It tells the story of a man (the singer) trying to desperately help a woman who has attempted suicide. "I came for you" is the repeated line which echoes this message. The song itself is heavily percussion-driven and builds up as it goes along, making it closer to the fast-paced segments of Lost in the Flood. The tune and rhythm of the track doesn't match up with the lyrics and message which is an excellent contrast and improves the song as well as making it more shocking when it's message is discovered.
Rating: ****
Best Lyric: "Crawl into my ambulence, your pulse is getting weak/Reveal yourself all now to me, girl, while you've got the strength to speak."

Track 8:-
Spirit in the Night.
It has been said by critics (and Springsteen fans alike) that this is the only song on the album where the lyrics and musical arrangement fit together perfectly. It's relaxing opening on Clarence Clemons' saxophone ease you into the song and the lyrics are sung with such a smooth rhythm that you enjoy the song gradually and with more enjoyment each time you listen. Mandred Mann's Earth Band once again did a cover of this song but altered the title slightly (to Spirits in the night) and changed the instrumental arrangement so it was more keyboard-based. It's a very good song but suffers from the fact that it is difficult to listen to it enough times to realise how good it is. At first it sounds mediocre and contrived but when the lyrics are examined and the song gets going it becomes something else entirely.
Rating: ****
Best Lyric: "And she kissed me just right, like only a lonely angel can."

Track 9:-

It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City.
A song made of solid rock 'n' roll. The tune, the beat, the music, the lyrics, the voice; all of these factors add up to make a powerful and impressive rock song. Manfred Mann decided to leave this track alone but it has been covered by the legendary David Bowie. It's about a boy who is boating about his toughness and streetwise attitude. The song has an air of cockiness about it because of the central character. The character is trying to stay good but finds it difficult not to stray into the illegal and bad because of his time spent on the streets. The song is a fast-spoken song with a powerful backing track and deffinitely worth listening to. It's similar to the heavy rock and spoken lyrics of Glory Days (Born in the U.S.A) but doesn't have the same appeal.
Rating: ***1/2
Best Lyric: "I could walk like Brando right into the sun, then dance just like a Casanova."