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List Price: $7.99 | | Label: Sony
Salesrank: 1500
Released: October 25, 1990 |
| Our Price: $5.26 |
| Used Price: $3.99 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle Track Listing:
1. E Street Shuffle
2. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
3. Kitty's Back
4. Wild Billy's Circus Story
5. Incident on 57th Street
6. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
7. New York City Serenade
Editorial Review:
No Description Available.
Genre: Popular Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
Rating:
Release Date: 5-OCT-1989
Description of The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle:
If Springsteen's debut, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. revealed just how ambitious a talent he was, it also fell just short of realizing those ambitions. No such problem with this, his second album. The Dylanesque wordplay is there, but with more narrative detail, as on "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," "Kitty's Back," and "Rosalita," each of which became instant Springsteen classics and were demanded by his concert crowds for years. But even on this record, the music isn't allowed to take a back seat to the words--the latter two, at least, are full-tilt rock & roll numbers, with abrupt tempo shifts, soaring instrumental parts, and production that's just chaotic enough to make you wonder if the whole thing is going to blow apart and then smile in appreciation when it doesn't. The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle was the first time Springsteen scaled the heights of rock & roll greatness--but it wouldn't be the last. --Daniel Durchholz
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle Reviews:
Sparks Will Always Fly 
2009-12-05 - I don't live in New York or Jersey or even in the states. I live in Switzerland, but there isn't a single line or a single note on this album that doesn't have something to do with my teenage years, or my early twenties.
I had a New York City Night more than eight years ago, that included almost everything Springsteen talks and describes in a number of these songs. "The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle" is one of those pieces that, to paraphrase from Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, "you love so much it hurts".
Rock, Jazz, Soul it's all there and will always encapsulate my deep love and gratefulness for Springsteen's music and my own little adventures and experiences that I had so far in my life. It's an album that works as a mirror, a dream or a faithful companion. The rough musical edges are its charm and the words are simply perfect. It's one of those albums where hopeless romantics can be fools and heroes at once, pine for a better day and walk towards the morning light with their heads high, knowing that the sparks flew as they claimed their place in the world.
Everything else is the compromise of life that lies a ahead. But here, within these seven songs, you can just shout out "I'm here, I'm alive and I shall be whatever I want to be".
One of many masterpieces! Indispensable!
2009-07-27 - I've always loved this album but hadn't listened to it for some time. My son is getting interested in Bruce (thankfully) and I put it on for him. It is awe-inspiring stuff! This album is not talked about like Born To Run, Darkness, The River, Born In The USA etc but it is undoubtably a masterpiece and one of his very best. The quality of the songs musically and lyrically) and the arrangements (listen to the intricate rhythms and time changes that form Kitty's Back). He was criticised at the time for being over-romantic with his street imagery but when you listen now it's just brilliant stuff. Some people really need to get out more. The passion is so powerful you can touch it! Buy this put 'Rosalita' on and turn up the volume! You'll never be the same again.
"Sparks fly on E Street..."
2009-07-17 - A seven-track album about life in working class New Jersey. Usually not the sort of thing I go for, but Bruce and the boys manage to pull it off really well. Springsteen sings like he's in his own world, stretching and twisting and teasing at syllables until each one sounds like a little sculpture. The lyrics seek to make epic poetry out of greaser life, and for the most part they all at least sound good, even when they veer into hipster posturing. Meanwhile, the E Street Band turns a blender onto classicist rock 'n' roll, producing what sounds like a prog-jazz take on jukebox fodder. The results are shockingly unpretentious, and more often than not they manage to evoke pure blissful sweaty rock 'n' roll chaos. The overall package is grimy and pretty at once, a gutter-rat romance that's about as convincing, as visceral, and as poetic as you're likely to find. In a way, it's like being at a big party with your entire high school graduating class and every friend you've ever had; it's a lot of fun, punctuated by sudden pinpricks of pure emotion and, somehow, nostalgia. There are also boring bits.
The First Great Bruce Springsteen Album.
2009-07-06 - After the promising but uneven "Greetings From Asbury Park," Bruce Springsteen's second album, "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle," cemented his future's as one of rock music's timeless poets. Already on only his second album, Springsteen has perfected many of the signature trademarks and central themes of his writing style, creating broad epics combined with memorable vignettes of colorful characters whose tales still strike a chord with Boss fans today, from the boardwalk dwellers of "4th of July, Asbury Park" to the horny rabblerousers of "Rosalita" to the doomed lovers of "Incident On 57th Street" (a song whose live performances top its somewhat misguided studio take). While the sound of the record is quite uneven due to the fact that the definitive lineup had not fallen into place - Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg would not join until the next album - it's still a fun slice of early Springsteen that's integral to tracing his evolution as an artist. It's not as cohesive as "Born to Run" or as deep in meter as "Nebraska," but it's a very, very good effort.
A Classic That Gets Better With Age
2009-02-13 - I must admit- When I first heard this album about 20 years ago, I thought it was a little bizarre. Over time, I have realized that it it truly a masterpiece. This album is so creative that it takes music to a whole new level....You can almost feel yourself standing on the street corner watching Bruce and the band on "The E Street Shuffle...you're on the boardwalk for the emotional "Sandy"...you're in a smoky bar for the jazzy "Kitty's Back"..."Wild Billy" is the worst offering here, but still unique in its own way. Incident on 57th Street is a classic Springsteen story song and it blends right into "Rosalita..." As the E Street Band leaves everything on the stage, here comes "New York City Serenade which is possibly the finest piece of music Springsteen has ever penned. If you want Top 40 tunes, then try Born In The USA...If you're looking for raw Springsteen that launched his career- enjoy every second of this album.
