The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle

the only tracks here i wouldn't consider voting are E Street Shuffle, Wild Billy and Incident. i love E Street Shuffle, but maybe it's too much of a thesis statement; i love Wild Billy more but come on now; Incident is the one song that i haven't felt a strong connection to, though it's still great.

"Incident on 57th Street" is my favorite Bruce song ever.

― Euler, Wednesday, 4 February 2009 20:20 (2 years ago)

Sandy...

yep Sandy's the one.

I voted for Rosalita but I really could have gone for any of the last three songs. Wild Billy's Circus Story is the only track I don't love.

Rosalita: just about the purest expression of joy in rock'n'roll. I never tire of hearing that song. It's a miracle that he can still perform it and sound like a kid in a sweet shop when he comes to the line" Cos the record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance."

will anyone else ever rep for wild billy? it's a tuba-centric song about the circus but it's still so wonderful just because it's so clear that bruce loves old-timey circus mythos more than anything in the world. with everything he wrote about cars and girls and gangs, wild billy is the song where he comes off like a little kid getting real emotional as he shows you his coin collection.

Voted Rosalita, but Sandy is so close. Some of his best songs are on this one.

definitely wouldn't vote for wild billy over a lot of these tunes, but i like it. i like live versions of it better though, some cool performances out there.

Gotta go with "Rosalita" for the same reasons Now Working on a Document cited. Furthermore, I heard someone karaoke that song in a dive bar in Manhattan around 1 am. The guy murdered it, but it still sounded so good.

Sandy's my vote....love how different this album is to what came after.

love love love every song on this. Great sequencing too. "E Street Shuffle" might be the weakest thing on here, but since it's first and kind of introduces the sound and approach it makes sense. Table setter.

Went "New York City Serenade" b/c it probably won't get much love otherwise. Plus he never did anything else even remotely like it (seems like half a David Sancious solo song). Hearing it as a teenager, having never been to a city, it just seemed impossibly romantic.

voted incident because GOOD NIGHT IT'S ALL TIGHT JAAAANE

the way that he sings "upstairs the band was playing & the singer was singing something about going home", especially on 1975 boots but on the album too, kills me

This is such a great disc. Since there isn't an "all of the above" option I'll give some more support to Sandy. What an incredible sense of place he puts into that song.

"Sandy" is one of the best Springsteen songs ever, and easily the best thing here.

Incident

Phil Spector is often cited as one of Springsteen's main influences. One of the interesting things about this album is that, in spite of being very early Springsteen, it sounds very far from Phil Spector's Wall-of-sound-aesthetics. Instead it has a very crystal clear sound with very obvious instrument separation. It would probably take until "Born In The USA" for Springsteen to sound more "produced" (and then, in a completely different way)

c'mon guys it's a nice album but nothing beats Rosalita, not even worth having a poll really

xp always thought that springsteen's main production influence around this time was van morrison. (don't know if that's true, but that's what it makes me think of).

Rosalita. This is my favorite Springsteen record.

Sandy. Amazing. The tilt-a-whirl line gives me goosebumps every time and I've heard it a million times.

Best Springsteen record - probably. Darkness gives it a run for its money tho

always thought that springsteen's main production influence around this time was van morrison.

Never heard it, but it makes sense in the case of that album.

I am not much of a fan of Van the Man, but that is mostly about his songs and composition style, I have always liked his arrangements.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

More than most of his albums, these songs truly pale compared to the live rave-up versions.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

timely bootleg http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=794

It kinda amuses me that huge portions of this album (and "Born To Run") could be considered all-out prog, of a sort; and the likes of Dave Marsh will never admit it.

Love that squeal right before title cut's gtr solo. And wish he'd kept Vini Lopez as his drummer.

"kitty's back" deserves some love

Hey Santa Ana, Seaside Bar Song and Evacuations To The West would have made this an alltime great album.

and the likes of Dave Marsh will never admit it.

I think he'd be more likely to say, "See, THIS is what 'prog' WISHES it was!"

(and I can't say I'd disagree)

And wish he'd kept Vini Lopez as his drummer.

He was great in some situations, but frustrating in others. There's at least one instance in "Rosalita" where he's a hair late, and it always bugs me. Then again, Weinberg is a late after the line "Tie your hair back in a long white bow" in "Prove It All Night" -- like he's going up the stairs and thinks there's one more step, but there isn't, and he does a late-ass awkward step. I say, bring back Ernest "Boom" Carter!

damn. Missed this but the ranking came out how I'd do it. Put this on tonight for the first time this summer. My quintessential summer album. I drove 6 hrs to Asbury Park for July 4th cause of 'Sandy' and heard 'Racing in the Street' blaring in a dive bar. This was a few years ago so it was a fucking heavy moment with the boardwalk in shambles around me. Still, so much love for the shore and Springsteen cause of this album. Damn.

any particular good 75 boots I should acquire?

He was great in some situations, but frustrating in others. There's at least one instance in "Rosalita" where he's a hair late, and it always bugs me. Then again, Weinberg is a late after the line "Tie your hair back in a long white bow" in "Prove It All Night" -- like he's going up the stairs and thinks there's one more step, but there isn't, and he does a late-ass awkward step. I say, bring back Ernest "Boom" Carter!

otoh the drumming is one of the best (or at least most noticeable if you don't equate the two) aspects of Darkness. i love that moment in PIAN. Something in the Night, Candy's Room, Streets of Fire, Badlands/Promised Land (the two intros on the album are intro'd by drums) -- max sort of makes the album for me.

any particular good 75 boots I should acquire?

Main Point Night is the one. Sure to be floating around on torrent sites or there is an excellent 2CD release on Crystal Cat. Contains an early version of "Thunder Road" with different lyrics.

yeah that bootleg is essential. kind of can't believe brooooce hasn't just released that show officially -- it must be one of the most popular boots of all time.

Main Point for sure. Also wild that "Born to Run" appears, like, third in the set, as if he had no idea just what he had there.

otoh the drumming is one of the best (or at least most noticeable if you don't equate the two) aspects of Darkness.

Except for that one moment in PIAN, I definitely don't feel like the drumming on Darkness is any kind of hindrance -- it doesn't detract at all. But to me, Weinberg sounds really stiff on that record. Whereas, on The River and BITUSA he sounds totally loose, free and swinging.

The making-of-Darkness documentary may shed some light on Max's stiff drumming. For weeks at a time they sat there listening to him play, constantly yelling "Stick" if they heard the sound of the drumstick hitting the drum.

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lekwg2I61y1qztpxgo1_400.gif
ha, i need to see that doc

xp and his toms were replaced with rototoms. Apparently, this was sometimes done if engineers had trouble miking regular toms.

oh jesus this album. New York City Serenade is such a beautiful album closer. would have killed to be at this show a month or so back:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcWWpGc0UMw

^thx, this is great.

awesome