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Welcome to Out of Breath Albums, the show where we exercise while listening to a vinyl record, then talk about it. In today's episode, we highlight the second album from Bruce Springsteen, 1973's The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle.
I became a fan of Bruce Springsteen while exercising, technically speaking. 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 spent a lot of time rolling around that wood floor at Skateland, sometimes holding onto a glow stick, but often listening to Bruce. I bought that tape and played it non-stop. I had no idea who the E Street Band was and certainly had no idea about today's album.
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. 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.
But 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'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.
Album Background
For some background, here's what Apple Music has to say about this album:
"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. His second album, The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle, added his stellar E Street Band. This is where Springsteen becomes an electric performer, with songs that invent new structures and court deep narratives."
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
Tempo: 132 bpm
Energy: Fun and energetic
Notes: This has some funk and some jazz, and it's a great introduction to the E Street Band. It's a lot of fun to listen to. It's a great start to the album.
Workout Rating: 8
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Tempo: 101 bpm
Energy: Intense and dark, yet whimsical at times
Notes: This is sort of quintessential Bruce. It's a cool song that mixes Thunder Road-type storytelling with 50s rock and roll in places. It also has variable tempos, as well as tempos that aren't steady. That's great for interest and engagement, but maybe not for a workout. Just remember that the workout rating score doesn't necessarily mean I don't like the song. I quite like this song.
Workout Rating: 3
Kitty's Back
Tempo: 73 bpm and 145bpm
Energy: Soulful and bluesy
Notes: I get some Billy Joel and Barry Manilow notes in this one. It's very early 1970s, but it's quite fun to listen to. The organ in this song sets a great foundation and the horn breaks complete it. This is an example of why the E Street Band is so beloved and revered. It's fun to listen to and it kept me moving.
Workout Rating: 8
Wild Billy's Circus Story
Tempo: 75bpm but it changes constantly
Energy: Old-timey and odd
Notes: The lyrics in this one are fascinating. Check them out here. They're weird and interesting. This one, again, has a variable tempo with constant changes that make it interesting to listen to. As I said on 4th of July, Asbury Park, that's not necessarily great for a workout. I rated 4th of July, Asbury Park a 3. I'll give this one a 4 because it includes a fun tuba part played by bass player Garry Tallent. I'm a tuba player and don't get to hear the instrument much in popular music.
Workout Rating: 4
Side 2
Incident on 57th Street
Tempo: 110 bpm
Energy: Like a dream
Notes: This one sounds like quintessential Bruce again, but it also sounds a little like later Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits work a little bit. The chorus has a bit of that 1950s rock and roll feel as well. It's a very interesting song. There's a thing I've noticed in Springsteen's music quite often related to tempo again. The band is often right on time, in the pocket, playing everything right on tempo, and then Bruce alternates tempo up and down just a touch on top of it, never quite singing on the beat. It makes his music so interesting. Incident on 57th Street is not necessarily a great workout song, but it's got a moderate tempo and it's fun to listen to.
Workout Rating: 6
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Tempo: 152 bpm but it changes often reaching tempos as high as 170 bpm
Energy: High energy and upbeat
Notes: This is one of my favorite Springsteen songs. The live version is better, but the studio version is pretty good too. It moves and it's got a great groove. Clarence Clemons' sax parts are so good in this one and I love the guitar on the verses. The song ebbs and flows. You think it's going to grow and then it drops back down until it finally gets to the epic "Rosalita" chorus. It keeps moving and moving towards the end and just keeps building. I love this song.
Some have called it the perfect rock and roll song. I don't know about that, but it has finally come to this:
Remember that this is my opinion. It doesn't have to be yours. I'm giving this the first Out of Breath Albums perfect 10/10 rating.
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) gives me visions of the times I've seen Bruce, watching him run around like a madman at the end of the show playing tunes like Rosalita and a few other audience requests before finally turning the house lights on and closing with Born to Run. It's so good.
Workout Rating: 10
New York City Serenade
Tempo: 85 - 110 bpm
Energy: New York and monumental
Notes: Hey is that an autoharp at the beginning? I'm not sure what it is. If you know let me know, please. Then you've got the gorgeous piano and acoustic guitar. This is a New York City song in more than just name. The song just feels like New York. I mentioned Billy Joel earlier, and yeah, I hear him here again in moments. It sounds so good, even on the scratchy copy of the record that I have. Is it an exercise song? No. It's slow and it's 10 minutes long at the end of the album/workout so I guess it might be a good one to cool down on after getting your heart rate up with Rosalita.
It's also engaging and emotional. The epic closer picks up a bit at the end with the band doing a "call and response" gospel choir homage. As you reach the end you get some nice flourishes from Clarence's saxophone along with some nice organ and percussion.
"Hey jazzman, play me a serenade".
For a slow tempo tune, it's interesting enough to give it an average rating.
Workout Rating: 6
The Bottom Line on The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
This is a beautiful album from Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. It's often overlooked, including by me, because of the epic albums that follow it in the second half of the 1970s. It shouldn't be. This is the first of Bruce Springsteen's truly great albums. I love it. From an exercise perspective, it's sort of all over the place. This album has the song with the lowest rating we've done on Out of Breath Albums so far - 4th of July, Asbury Park, with a rating of 3. It's also got a track with a perfect 10 score in Rosalita. So where does that leave us?
Overall Album Rating: 6.4
Rosalita and The E Street Shuffle were not enough to overcome some of the lower-scoring tracks. 6.4 puts the album in last place right now. That seems right to me. It was rather difficult to get through due to some of those tracks. It's also one of the longer albums I've had on the show at 47 minutes. It seems like shorter albums with shorter songs tend to rate higher for a workout - at least for now.
What do you think of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle? Let me know in the comments, or on social media.
