Bruce Springsteen Listening Club

I just love the album opening for The Wild,… yet it’s not even in my top 3 Springsteen album introductions.

Jumping in late - it only just appeared on my timeline. Have found regular listening tricky due to the lifestyle changes engendered by the last year. The combination of lack of commutes and a shiny new baby with precarious sleep deprived me of some of my regular listening times, so fell off with @NeilYoung 's sterling effort with his namesake.

Now have two hour-long drives a week and a much less precarious sleeper and have been meaning to dig into Bruce for some time.

Not much to add about the first record. Competent. Shows promise. Enjoyable enough.

This.

4 Likes

Greetings gets a 6 from me also… it’s a fine debut, but too inconsistent to merit a higher score.
Have always loved Growin’ Up and held back on voting for my 2nd track until I’d given the album a couple more spins… rather boringly I’ve ended up with Blinded By The Light, which is an absolute banger.

Looking forward to next week, one of my top 5 Springsteen albums. Let’s see if that opinion holds.

2 Likes

Just put this on now - what a song 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) is!

Some great turns of phrase too. This verse in particular is a big favourite,

Sandy, the waitress i was seein’ lost her desire for me
I spoke with her last night
She said
She won’t set herself on fire for me anymore
Did you hear?
The cops finally busted Madame Marie
For tellin’ fortunes better than they do
For me, this boardwalk life’s through
You ought to quit this scene too.

You might already know that Madame Marie was a real person, but a bit of trivia for anyone who doesn’t:

4 Likes

Nice little curio.

2 Likes

Never knew this - great bit if trivia!

I didn’t know that. Great piece of trivia, thank you.

WIESS is easily in my top 5 Bruce albums. Remember getting it as part of a twofer with Greetings when I first went to uni back in 2001. Listened to this so much. Probably a bit of an anomaly in his discography in that he’s never done anything else that felt as loose and jazzy as this, possibly as a result of (drummer) Vini Lopez and (keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist) David Sancious leaving the band soon after? Side B (Incident onwards) is practically perfect. Again, production ain’t perfect but the songs and arrangements are just miles above anything he’d released on Greetings 6 months (!!!) earlier. Once again, despite the hype, the album bombed on release.

But we all know what was around the corner next…

2 Likes

with people saying ‘greetings…’ is bob dylan indebted, how’s about this pre-‘greetings…’ number for being dylan’s backing band, the band indebted. specifically ‘the weight’…
the ballad of jesse james…
Bruce Springsteen - The Ballad Of Jesse James (2016) [Chapter and Verse] - YouTube
this the band documentary has springsteen as a talking head…
BBC iPlayer - Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band

I have been waiting for this one!

Man this record just slaps right out of the gate, The E Street Shuffle sounds funky as hell, and it sounds a lot more confident and the band shines a lot more straight off the bat. I reckon 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) could be a Tom Waits track in disguise (Wild Billy’s Circus Story as well come to think of it, with its big whomp-whomp backing trombone), just a bit brighter sounding without the gravelly voice. I like Kitty’s Back but that electric organ is a little too much, feels like I’m listening to a Rush song.

The storytelling on all the songs is fantastic, Incident on 57th Street and 4th of July being standouts. Love when the “Oh, goodnight, it’s alright, Jane” section hooks in, and “Like a late Juliet, she knew she’d never be true but then, she really didn’t mind” is a great line. 57th Street builds to a hugely strong finish, love the guitar solo and the backing vocals. The last two songs lose me a little bit just because of how packed they are and how long, but they are beautiful songs in their own right.

I remember the first time I heard this record was when I went to see Bruce Springsteen live at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre about 8 or 9 years ago. A friend of mine couldn’t go so I bought his ticket and I went with his brother and his dad :joy: . I couldn’t really afford it (had to pay the guy in instalments) but man…one of the best decisions of my life. The show went for over four hours, and they had TOM MORELLO as a guitarist (along with Stevie of course who I was fanboying about because it’s Silvio goddamn it). They played the entirety of The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle and it was absolutely amazing. I haven’t been to many concerts but that was definitely the best I’ve ever been to and I’m not sure if anything will ever top it.

Overall not my favourite Springsteen album (because the absolute God-tier, legendary shit is yet to come) but better than Greetings, so 7.5/10.

6 Likes

I popped into Sister Ray in Soho on a late lunch break one afternoon maybe 7-8 years ago. There were precisely 3 people in there at the time: Me, SVZ and his wife Maureen. He was after whatever Waterboys record had just been released at the time iirc. It was so quiet in there that I could’ve easily approached him without massively inconveniencing him by drawing a load of attention their way, but I was just too starstruck and terrified. One of the biggest regrets of my life……

1 Like

never more than here, forty years after it was released!

3 Likes

Our true enemy…is yet…to reveal himself. Oh wait there he is behind the Bowie records.

That’s so cool! If it’s any consolation I would’ve been terrified as well especially if Gab was with him :laughing:

1 Like

Holy hell that was amazing. And from 4:30 onwards it was next level…just so much talent it’s unbelievable.

1 Like

This is great, haven’t listened to it in ages. E Street Shuffle and Sandy are a strong opening duo, then imo Kitty’s Back and Wild Billy’s Circus Story are lacking something, it just feels like it’s meandering a bit.

But side two, this is where it takes off. Incident on 57th Street is the best song on the first two albums, and Rosalita and NYC Serenade are such an epic closing pair. Knowing where the next few albums are going, the second half of this album is like the rocket launch to take us there.

4 Likes

Agree wholeheartedly. As I said up thread, side B is incredible.

Also, what an incredible song to leave off the album (although I’m not sure where it’d fit, tbh)

3 Likes

I’m a big fan of Shuffle. It’s shaggy, soulful and incredibly romantic. It’s got two of my all time top Springsteen songs too. The songs stretch out and take all sorts of turns, it’s not rigid at all and it’s so varied. I think the songwriting has really come on from Asbury Park, some of that albums verbosity grated on me when I wasn’t just finding it impenetrable, here the lyrics are much clearer, the songs more dynamic, it’s a joy.

The band are fizzing with ideas and throw all sorts at it but I don’t think it ever sounds cluttered and overegged. It’s littered with so many great moments, the hereshecomeshereshecomeshereshecomes bit in Kitty (which really boosts maybe my least favourite song on here), the singalong “Your poppa says he knows that I don’t have any money” in Rosalita, the image of “the aurora rising behind us” in Sandy. I love that boardwalk accordion part too.

My favourite song is possibly Incident on 57th Street, though it has some competition with NYC Serenade. It’s totally West Side Story isn’t it. It feels like it’s own self contained movie, with the piano ushering it in and out as if it’s playing over credits. “Goodnight it’s alright Jane” is a gorgeous refrain, I also love the bassline that starts up as Johnny is sitting on the fire escape, the percussion rattles like a stick being run along railings. It makes me think of songs like Meeting Across the River, or even Atlantic City where a guy is getting in over his head and you have a feeling things are going to go bad, the music is triumphant but I don’t think Johnny ever made it to Lovers Lane.

New York City Serenade is such an incredible closer, those strings are so moreish, I can play this over and over

It’s definitely up there with his best for me

Oh I like how the last line of Wild Billy is “All aboard, Nebraska’s our next stop.” Not quite yet it isn’t, but it’s coming.

12 Likes

Yes I felt the same thing!!

Exactly this, I am annoyed I didn’t think of this when I wrote my post. There is a lot of young love and romance on this album, not tinged with as much heartbreak as his later ones.

1 Like