3 keepers
keeper avg .428
The Boss' second album is the sound of a singer-songwriter trying to find his voice, a band trying to find their sound, and it was the last by the original E Street Band line-up with Vini Lopez, David Sancious, and Springsteen as the sole axe-man (Steven Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, and the illustrious Jon Landau would join for Born To Run and become synonymous with the band's commercial peak). But it's fitting that this funky little album by a hard-scrabble little band starts with the eponymous "The E Street Shuffle"****, full of quirky, filtered synth, hollers, celebratory group vocals ("ohh ohh, everybody form a line"), and two party-down rave-up codas, all in 4 and a half minutes (though rhythmically it's more of a boogaloo than a shuffle).
The equally celebratory live favorite "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"****, on the other hand, stretches out with several rhythmic changes and narrative twists over 7-minutes-plus; this album isn't one for those with short attention spans, as this generous length is the rule rather than the exception. Though the album received little promotion as Springsteen was on the outs with Columbia at the time, the song's generous length probably didn't help its chances as a single; however it was probably the template for the more-concise future mega-hit "Born To Run." The equally imposing (and long) "Kitty's Back"*****, which is an R&B shuffle (ironically the only shuffle on the album, resembling a brassed-up "Moondance"), is the best opportunity for the backing E Street Band to flex its muscles, stretching out over several rhythmic breaks and solos (by David Sancious and Springsteen) while never losing focus. Over the years live versions of the song have become increasingly more monumental, but even this early version is impressive.
The rest of the album is a relative downer, closer to the folk of Springsteen's previous album. "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" and "Wild Billy's Circus Story" are flavored by the local ethnic folk, with accordion on the former, oom-pah band the latter. "Incident on 57th Street" isn't awful as a song, but a grating mix (a monkey could have placed the organ better) and some rough vocals make it a difficult listen. And "New York City Serenade" is almost 10-minuites of singer songwriter folkie. Do I want to hear young Bruce ballad-ing around for almost a half-hour? NNNNNNNOOO, I wanna hear him rock, and fortunately his next album, the iconic Born To Run, delivered more of it.
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