The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle

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The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
File:TheWildTheInnocent.jpg
Studio album by Bruce Springsteen
Released September 11, 1973[1]
Recorded May - September 1973
Studio 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York
Genre Rock and roll, R&B
Length 46:47
Label Columbia
Producer Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
(1973)Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.1973		 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
(1973)		 Born to Run
(1975)Born to Run1975
Singles from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
  1. "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"
    Released: 1975 (Germany only)
  2. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"
    Released: 1979

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on September 11, 1973, by Columbia Records. It was recorded by Springsteen with the E Street Band at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York. The album includes the song "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", the band's most-used set-closing song for the first 10 years of its career.

As with Springsteen's first album released earlier in the year, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle was well-received critically but had little commercial success at the time. However, once Springsteen achieved popularity with Born to Run, several selections from this album became popular FM radio airplay and concert favorites. On November 7, 2009, Springsteen and the E Street Band played the album in its entirety for the first time ever in a concert at Madison Square Garden.[2]

Background

The E Street Band is known to have taken its name from David Sancious' home in Belmar, New Jersey.[3] The back photo on the album has the six band members standing in a doorway.[4] The picture was of an antique store on Sairs Ave in the West End section of Long Branch, New Jersey.[3] The building was down the street from West End Elementary School, and for years was Tommy Reeds bicycle repair shop and penny candy store; it has since been demolished and its former location is occupied by a parking lot.[3]

According to biographer Peter Ames Carlin, Springsteen had developed a "renewed passion for full-band rock 'n' roll" when he started to record The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle in May 1973.[5] Sputnikmusic critic Adam Thomas later wrote that the album departed from the folk influences of Springsteen's 1973 debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. and was instead characterized by "a grand fusion of nostalgic rock 'n' roll and soulful R&B".[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Retrospective reviews
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 5/5 stars[7]
Chicago Tribune 3/4 stars[8]
Christgau's Record Guide A–[9]
Goldmine 5/5 stars[10]
Q 4/5 stars[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 5/5 stars[12]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5[6]

The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle sold poorly when it was released, but received acclaim from critics.[6] Rolling Stone magazine's Ken Emerson said that its lengthy, vividly written songs make for a more challenging and romantic album than Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., but still retain that album's ebullient music because of Springsteen and the E Street Band's masterful playing.[13] In a less enthusiastic review for Creem, Robert Christgau graded the album a "B+" and wrote that it does not cohere as a whole, although its livelier songs make it "the kind of album that will be fun to go back to" if Springsteen improves upon it.[14] He later gave the album an "A–" in a 1981 review and said that Springsteen eschewed the limiting folk conventions of his first album for a vibrant, quirky style of rock and roll that balances his celebrations of wild youth with a mature embrace of city life: "This guy may not be God yet, but he has his sleeveless undershirt in the ring."[9]

In a retrospective review, The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) called The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle a "masterpiece" that is "cinematic in its sweep" and densely poetic with "vignettes of urban dreams and adolescent restlessness".[12] Goldmine magazine's Rush Evans said it is not only a five-star album but also Springsteen's "most overlooked album ... to those who know its seven richly vivid songs, it is recognized as an innovative masterpiece."[10] In a review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann felt the record epitomized Springsteen's romanticized songwriting and diversity as a composer, which makes it his best work and "one of the greatest albums in the history of rock & roll".[7] In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it number 132 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[15] Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot was less enthusiastic and remarked only on how the record is highlighted by the beautiful three-song suite that ends it.[8]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Bruce Springsteen.

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "The E Street Shuffle"   4:31
2. "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"   5:36
3. "Kitty's Back"   7:09
4. "Wild Billy's Circus Story"   4:47
Side two
No. Title Length
5. "Incident on 57th Street"   7:45
6. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"   7:04
7. "New York City Serenade"   9:55

Unreleased outtakes

Springsteen recorded many songs for his second album; at least eleven are known not to have made the final cut. Out of those eleven, "Zero and Blind Terry", "Thundercrack", "Seaside Bar Song" and "Santa Ana" were released on the Tracks box set, whereas "The Fever", a song which had also been recorded by Southside Johnny, was released on 18 Tracks.

The following songs from the album's recording sessions remain officially unreleased:[16]

  • "Evacuation of the West". Recorded without Sancious and with no overdubs. It circulates in several bootlegs.
  • "Phantoms" (aka "Over the Hills of St George"). An early version of "Zero and Blind Terry". It circulates in the bootleg Deep Down in the Vaults.
  • "Fire on the Wing". Considered for inclusion in Tracks. The song remains uncirculated.
  • "New York Song". An early version of "New York City Serenade", which also included parts of an earlier song called "Vibes Man". The song remains uncirculated.
  • "Secret to the Blues". Reworking of a previous Springsteen song called "The Band's Just Boppin' the Blues". The song remains uncirculated.
  • "Angel's Blues" (aka "She So Fine" or "Ride On Sweet William"). Another uncirculated song.

Personnel

The E Street Band

Additional musicians

  • Richard Blackwell – conga, percussion
  • Albany "Al" Tellone – baritone saxophone on "The E Street Shuffle"
  • Suki Lahav - choir vocals on "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and "Incident on 57th Street" (uncredited)

Production

References

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  16. ↑ http://brucebase.wikispaces.com/The+Wild%2C+The+Innocent+%26+The+E+Street+Shuffle+-+Studio+Sessions

External links

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