Bruce Springsteen, "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle"
Mitch takes us on a trip down to the Jersey Shore
Mitch’s Pitch:
You boys know that I spent my youth in the heart of Springsteen Country - my karate dojo was right across the street from Bruce’s childhood home - and he was my first true love. While other kids dreamed of being rock stars, I dreamed of being best friends with Bruce, wearing polyester and a huggy bear hat, and hanging out on E Street.
Growing up, I never knew if E Street was real, but I was captivated by the promise of E Street: loud music, street parties, sassy ladies, and scuffles with rival gangs. (In my E Street fantasies I’m much tougher than my “green belt with three stripes” real life persona.) That indelible, irresistible idea of E Street was established on this release, Bruce's second album.
Some albums have a unique sound. Some albums have a distinct vibe. This is an album with a strong sense of place, largely conveyed through the stories that Bruce tells through the lyrics, his last Dylanesque album where he stuffs as many words as possible into each bar.
It opens with a cacophonous fugue of horns, a warning shot that tells the listener that this party is definitely going to get weird. “The E Street Shuffle” is a blast, indeed, pushed by Garry Tallent’s propulsive bass-line. And right when it seems like things might go off the rails there’s a transition into “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”, a gorgeous ballad that features a tender vocal by Bruce, a surprisingly-enjoyable accordion by Danny Federici, and a cinematic montage of life on the boardwalk so vivid you can smell the fried dough and taste the salt air. Next up we get another rave-up in “Kitty’s Back” - a song with a discordant jam in the middle that can challenge even the most dedicated listeners. Right when the jam is screeching and honking and you’re about to hit the skip button, they pull it back and David Sancious drops an incredible organ solo that brings it all back home. From there we get a slight breather with “Wild Billy's Circus Story” - which shouldn’t work at all (tuba!), but inexplicably does (tuba?)
Side 2 features three long epics about Spanish Johnny, Rosalita, and Diamond Jackie and Billy (no known relation to Wild Billy). These songs are so stuffed with ideas that it can be overwhelming at times, and yet, they all work. From the piano-driven “Incident on 57th Street” to the high-energy rock of “Rosalita” to the dramalicious ‘New York City Serenade”, this is the sound of a band that swings - largely credited to the drumming of ‘Mad Dog’ Lopez (who would ultimately be replaced by Max “The Human Metronome” Weinberg, transforming the E Street Band into a straight-up rock and roll unit.)
A near-flawless album that features cinematic storytelling and shambolic, swinging rock and soul. What more do you need? Will you meet this Jersey boy down on the corner and do that lazy E Street shuffle?
CJ’s Response:
Mitch knows that I’m an on again/off again Springsteen fan. I’ve never owned a Springsteen album, tape or CD, but I’ve seen him about a dozen times in concert. I consider songs like “Lost in the Flood”, “The River” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad” to be national treasures. While I find whole albums like Tunnel of Love, Human Touch and, ugh, The Seeger Sessions to be completely unlistenable.
To me, Bruce is at his best when he’s singing about two-bit hoods, grinders, losers, grifters and dreamers. My favorite song on Born in the USA isn’t the title track or “Glory Days” or even “Dancing in the Dark”. It’s “Darlington County”. I can relate to the tale of two city boys showing off for some pretty farmer’s daughters and getting a little too far out over their skis. That’s an American story.
Luckily for Mr. Blum’s scorecard, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle finds Bruce staying firmly in his lane. The “E Street Shuffle” is pure fun, even if it does nearly degenerate into the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Running” at one point. (Side note: Mitch is a huge Michael McDonald fan and has been known to karaoke several tracks from the Doobie songbook.) “4th of July” is a staple that I’ve enjoyed many times in concert. And “Rosalita” contains some of the best Bruce characters of all time—Jack the Rabbit, Weak Knees Willy, Sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billy. And those lyrics!
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Oh, closets are for hangers, winners use the door
It makes me wish my in-laws didn’t like me so much just so I could sneak around with my wife and use this song as our anthem.
As good as “Rosalita” is, the sneaky best song on this album is “Kitty’s Back.” Even with that nonsense in the middle, the slinky guitar that anchors the opening and the group sing-along at the end transport me to the middle of a crowded Jersey Shore bar where I’m grooving to a 20-piece band. And Southside Johnny is there because of course he is.
I can take or leave the rest of the album, but I’ll say this: All the songs fit. They make sense by themselves and together as a unit. They evoke a time and place that is uniquely 1970s New Jersey. And nobody does that better than Mr. Springsteen.
So, do I love this album? Not quite. But, I do love the way it makes me feel. Because when it comes to Bruce, “I ain’t here on business, baby. I’m only here for fun.”
Pitch Successful (Conspiracy Theory: Sloppy Sue and Crazy Janey are the same person.)
Ken’s Response:
Mitch didn’t even get one full sentence out before mentioning his karate dojo. He’s been telling the tale of the great Gingah Ninjah to anyone who will listen since 4th period lunch at Needham High some 33 years ago. Mitch believes that if his life was a sports movie, he’d be Daniel LaRusso, but if we’re being honest, he’s much more like Corey Haim’s Lucas. But if we go back just 14 years from when Mitch started telling superhero stories, Bruce Springsteen gave us a new record.
If there’s a better opening 20 seconds to an album, I’d love to hear it! It is indeed “going to get weird” as Mitch points out, and when horns stop and that funky guitar riff starts, so does the party. That’s what Bruce does as well as anyone; his music transports you to a time and a place and immerses you in the sounds, sights, smells and tastes of the song. I remember buying Born in the USA in 1984 (my introduction to Springsteen). Like most teenagers I liked the hits, the stuff Casey Kasem would do long-distance dedications to. It’s the reason there are still cassettes in my father’s basement with titles like Business As Usual, Freeze Frame, and Sports. But in 1984, my only real credential as a rock fan was that I was a huge Beatles fan, and (to paraphrase Tommy Lasorda) I had forgotten more about the Beatles than most people ever knew. So when I listened to Born in the USA for the first time, what struck me was that the tracks I liked best weren’t the hits. I loved “Born in the USA”, “Glory Days”, and “Dancing in the Dark”, but what made me immediately beg my dad to take me all the way back to Strawberries Records and Tapes (in Natick, MA) were “My Hometown” and “Darlington County”. Those were the songs that transported me, and I needed to hear more of it…now!
Bruce is a masterful songwriter and a great musician, so his stability both on-stage and in the studio has allowed for some substantial changes to his band without interrupting the flow, the consistency, and the artisanship of the music. If I had to change one thing about the E Street Band over the years, it would be to give drummer Mad Dog Lopez whatever amount of money and concessions he wanted to stay in the band. His work, along with the driving bass lines of Garry Tallent are what put this album over the top.
In writing this I’ve been trying to pinpoint the one thing, everything’s got that one thing, right? Well, for The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle it’s that these songs don’t seem to go together and yet they somehow work. We go from the aforementioned neighborhood street party on “E Street Shuffle” right into the somewhat depressing “Sandy”, and we finish it off with “Rosalita” a fantastic, upbeat story of forbidden love, right into “New York City Serenade”. They don’t seem to want to fit together or compliment each other. And if you listened to them separately, you’d never guess that these songs were all on the same album. But they are, and they do work together, and their differences in sound and style help to make The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle one of the best albums of its time.
Pitch Successful (There’s no such thing as a bad teacher, only bad students)
Don’s Response:
Annnnnd we’re off just like that, with a patented Mitch name drop, but no *real* connection to the subject. A magnificent sleight of hand to take the listener off the scent. Yet one thing Mitch can’t hide is beneath his wondrously good taste in music is that, deep down, he is cheesy. A lovable combination of Northeast elitist savvy and unabashed enthusiasm for fun.
So no wonder he leads us off with Bruce Springsteen. And not just any Springsteen record, but The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle.
Like CJ, I’m in and out on The Boss. Other than Born To Run, I didn’t really give him a chance until his mid-80’s live box set, which I wore out while trying to love it. I gave it my all, but it felt obligatory, like it was important to know his catalog. Now that I’ve seen him live a few times, it’s evident that the collection couldn’t possibly capture the magnificence of his shows (you have to be there to really get it), nor the intimacy of his records, as this listening experience revealed to me.
Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve listened to The E Street Shuffle, even though I was familiar with some of its songs. I needed a few spins to appreciate it, but I must say it’s marvelous.
Each song is a revelation. The aforementioned weird opening cannonball of crazy, “The E Street Shuffle.” The tasteful intimacy of the closing “New York City Serenade.” And everything in between just works.
’“Rosalita” is a masterpiece. It’s epic Bruce, a cavalcade of fun. I love how he changes his delivery sometimes even in the same verse, alternating between growling and crooning in his patented Jersey drawl. Lyrics about characters you’ve previously never heard of but immediately know intimately. The musicianship, driven by The Big Man’s saxophone, swells and crests like the best roller coasters. And inside this delicious pastry is a big ball of cheese - the “Johnny says he knows” sing-a-long. More please.
Way to go Mitch, you sold me.
Pitch Successful (I think this Springsteen fella has a chance to make it big.)
Mitch’s pitch was successful and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle has been added to the Newbury St. Collection.
Thanks for reading! Do you also love Bruce Springsteen, “The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle” or the Jersey shore? Join the conversation and tell us what you think: