Album : The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle – Bruce Springsteen

Don’t know if this was the sound Cincinnati Babyhead was looking for but it found him and it changed the game.  Instantly.

He heard a cut on a late night FM station and it was like he had to get that and now.  He couldn’t remember the name of the tune but he did remember the guys name.  Off to the record store, “Yeah the guys name is ah.. Bruce Springsteen?  He sounds a little like Van Morrison” Luckily CB ran into a hip record guy because this wasn’t an easy record to find at the time.

Went home and played the record.  From the first cut to the last it did it for him.  Images, lyrics, voice, the sound.  It was all there and it spoke his language.  There was no trying to like it , he just dug it.  Really dug it!  It was like he discovered something new.  What he discovered was music that moved him in a lot of ways.  The music and lyrics were describing the environment BH was living in.  Romanticized but it still rang true.

The singer was painting a world that was seductive, forbidden for a young kid.  Pool halls,  arcades,  greasers,  girls,  fights,  hustlers.  Things he knew like beaches,  circuses,  midways,  railroad tracks,  nicknames.  This Bruce guy knew this world and he filtered it through his talent,  his music.  Magic!!

The music.  Horns,  organ,  drums,  guitars,  congas, accordion, backing vocals and Bruce Springsteen’s voice.  Perfect.  ‘Kitty’s Back’.  What a song. ( BH knew a kitten or two )  The story,  the set up.  The organ rips it up.  Wow!  The boys on the chorus “Here she come here she comes…”.  Sax at the end.  Yup!  Babyhead never heard anyone blow like that before.  Goosebumps.  Take a bow boys.

‘Wild Billy’s Circus’.  You’re there in the song.  The images, the smells.  Tuba?  Yeah and it works.  “Oh, God save the human cannonball”.  A fave lyric. Another fave on this song is.  “Jesus sent some good woman to save all ya clowns”

‘4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)’.  Another story with great images and lyrics.  Springsteen’s phrasing on the lyric “Love you forever?” Love that piece.  Someone help that goofball that’s caught on the tilt-a- whirl.  Love this tune.

‘The E Street Shuffle’ sets up the record.  Puts you in the mood for what’s coming.  This was Babyhead’s intro to this music other than the cut he heard on the radio.  He was getting a big taste of that sound he heard. There  was still another side to listen to.  This was some good shit.

More images with ‘Incident On 57th Street’.  Not a lot of Puerto Rican Janes in Babyheads neighborhood but a lot of Italian Marias and other girls.  Love this song.  Springsteen sings it like he sings everything, like he means it.  The organ nails it.  “Those romantic young boys, all they want to do is fight”  Yup that’s right.

First note of ‘Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)’,  yeah that’s the song BH heard on the radio.  Like to find that DJ and give him a big kiss.  This was the sound that caught Babyheads ear, that Van Morrison style.  Guess they had the same influences or Van crept into Springsteen’s music.  “I ain’t here on business baby, I’m only here for fun”.  That was and still is BH’s head space.  His girl friend’s parents didn’t dig him either. Justified.  Maybe it was the sax on this song that hooked Babyhead.  Clarence Clemons sounds like an orchestra.  ‘Rosilita’ will always have a special place for Cincinnati.  It’s a great rock n roll song.  BH loves nicknames.  Lots of them in this song.  The cheers at the end are great.

Opening of ‘New York Serenade’ is setting something up.  Something good.  David Sancious starts with some classical piano and then hits the jazz, blues riff and you know it’s going to be good.  It’s the last cut on the record.  It has to be good.  The piano is joined by acoustic guitar and a little bongo action.  Then the voice and the lyrics.  You’re in the story.  Blues, jazz and strings.  This is good.  The E street orchestra.  Do you need anything else?  Let the song serenade you.  “Together they’re gonna to boogaloo down Broadway”. “Hey jazz-man..”.  The sax is beautiful.  The song is beautiful.  Springsteen nails this song.

After listening to this record, it’s like walking out of a movie theater after a matinee and having the sun hit you.  You have to adjust to reality.  The record is like a movie with the world’s coolest soundtrack.  It stays with you.  It stayed with Babyhead.

Vini “Mad dog” Lopez,  Gary W. Tallent,  Danny Federici,  Clarence “Nick” Clemons,  David L Sancious.  Cameo appearances by Richard Blakwell and Albany “Al” Tellone.  These guys with Bruce Springsteen made the music.  “They played like a jungle fire”.  They also looked like guys in Babyhead’s neighborhood.

This is an album that did it for CB.  Can’t forget how much  he liked it and how excited he was about this Springsteen guy..  His lyrics, his story telling moved CB.  The music just enhanced it or vice versa.  This guy was the real deal.  Under it all was rock n roll his style.  Cincinnati Babyhead was on a mission.  What else has this guy got?  He had the goods so there had to be more.  This was no fluke.  It was too good.

One of the best albums ever.  At least for Babyhead it was.

“Sparks fly on E street….” When I hear that I’m gonesville.  The best!!!