Workout Rating: 4 Side 2 Incident on 57th Street I’m a tuba player and don’t get to hear the instrument much in popular music. I’ll give this one a 4 because it includes a fun tuba part played by bass player Garry Tallent. As I said on 4th of July, Asbury Park, that’s not necessarily great for a workout.
This one, again, has a variable tempo with constant changes that make it interesting to listen to. Notes: The lyrics in this one are fascinating. Workout Rating: 8 Wild Billy’s Circus Story It’s fun to listen to and it kept me moving. This is an example of why the E Street Band is so beloved and revered. The organ in this song sets a great foundation and the horn breaks complete it. It’s very early 1970s, but it’s quite fun to listen to. Notes: I get some Billy Joel and Barry Manilow notes in this one. Just remember that the workout rating score doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t like the song. That’s great for interest and engagement, but maybe not for a workout. It also has variable tempos, as well as tempos that aren’t steady. It’s a cool song that mixes Thunder Road-type storytelling with 50s rock and roll in places. Notes: This is sort of quintessential Bruce. Workout Rating: 8 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)Įnergy: Intense and dark, yet whimsical at times Notes: This has some funk and some jazz, and it’s a great introduction to the E Street Band.
Now that we’ve heard what Apple Music has to say, let’s find out what Mark (that’s me) has to say: Side 1 The E Street Shuffle This is where Springsteen becomes an electric performer, with songs that invent new structures and court deep narratives.” His second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, added his stellar E Street Band. “His first album, the excellent Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., presented a singer/songwriter with sharp lyrical skills and an emotional spectrum that could bring tears to the eyes of attentive listeners. Album Backgroundįor some background, here’s what Apple Music has to say about this album: I’ve heard some of the songs from this album, but not all of them that I could recall, so I was excited to check it out in the gym today. Of course, I’ve spent a ton of time with Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River, and Nebraska, from which the title track was made about our most infamous spree killer here in Nebraska, Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate.īut I haven’t put in the time on Springsteen’s first couple of albums, the first being Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, and the second, The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle. I saw Bruce and his band for the first time about 20 years ago, and became a fan all over again, but started to go deeper into the catalog. I had no idea who the E Street Band was and certainly had no idea about today’s album. I bought that tape and played it non-stop. I spent a lot of time rolling around that wood floor at Skateland, sometimes holding onto a glow stick, but often listening to Bruce. Back in 1984, I was around 8 years old, and the songs from the Born in the USA album were in heavy rotation on pop radio – but also at the roller skating rink. I became a fan of Bruce Springsteen while exercising, technically speaking. In today’s episode, we highlight the second album from Bruce Springsteen, 1973’s The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle.
Welcome to Out of Breath Albums, the show where we exercise while listening to a vinyl record, then talk about it.