What about _The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle

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It might be that I'm too young to understand, and it might be that TWTITESS (ha) was my first Springsteen album, but why do I always hear people ranting about Born To Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town without any mention of his second album? Is it because those two albums established Springsteen as a major songwriter? TWTITESS seems to me to be definitive "Springsteen": Asbury Park as the backdrop, wide-range of characters, rockin'. Not only that, it seems to be the most consistent Springsteen album when it comes to good songs (ignoring that circus one). Maybe the other albums are more mature in their contextual expression. I'm at a loss. I love Born To Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, but it seems that TWTITESS never gets acknowledged as much as it should.

― shanecavanaugh (shanecavanaugh), Monday, 16 May 2005 07:05 (twenty-one years ago)

people mention it all the time.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 16 May 2005 07:10 (twenty-one years ago)

Cherrypicking and compiling select portions of Shuffle, Born to Run and Darkness would result in the definitive (well, MY definitive) Springsteen album. (Never heard his debut.)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 16 May 2005 07:55 (twenty-one years ago)

To my mind, The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle is a superb album. The songs (Lyrics), as noted, are interesting and of a time and place, and the music is different from what comes later, probably because two of the musicians, David Sancious and Vin Mad Dog Lopez, were replaced with people who had a much straighter rock approach, rather than a wilder, jazzier even, approach. It's also got a feeling fun about some of it (eg Cathy's Back), with all the band and friends joining in the chorus and playing instruments they might not usually play. What also happened after this was that he got "taken over" by the record company and his producer (Jon Landau if my memory serves me), and some of us would contend that Born to Run is a very "over produced" album. So to some of us, TWTITESS is the best Springsteen album.

― andyjack (andyjack), Monday, 16 May 2005 09:46 (twenty-one years ago)

three years pass...

I LOVE the way the drums and bass sound on this album.

― Mark, Wednesday, 4 February 2009 20:17 (seventeen years ago)

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

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

I love the sense of fun and absurdity on this album. The band never sounded as loose and free as it does on this release. If Bruce was the new Dylan, it was the absurd Dylan of Million Dollar Bash and not the message-oriented, folkie Dylan of Masters of War. I wouldn't go so far as to say Jon Landau ruined him, but I do think he wiped away a lot of the fun by making him into the "future of rock n' roll." My favorite Bruce album by a mile.

― leavethecapital, Thursday, 5 February 2009 00:35 (seventeen years ago)

I love Born to Run, like Darkness a lot, but can't resist the E Street shufflin'. Despite worthy comparisons to Van Morrison, this is one of the most unique rock and roll records I've ever heard. And I've shocked a roomful of people by playing the "title" tune.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 5 February 2009 01:23 (seventeen years ago)

This is the Bruce album I've listened to the most. Born to Run & Darkness are great and all but this is the one I love. And what a perfect title - conveys exactly what the album is about thematically & musically.

― that's not my post, Thursday, 5 February 2009 05:11 (seventeen years ago)

The front cover always reminded me of a book jacket.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 5 February 2009 07:23 (seventeen years ago)

w/ Bruce-as-author photo and that lettering.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Thursday, 5 February 2009 07:24 (seventeen years ago)

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What about _The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle_?