The 500 = #133 - The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by New York-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

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Album: #133
Album Title: The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle
Artist: Bruce Springsteen
Genre: Rock
Recorded: 914 Sound Studios, Blauvett, New York.
Released: November, 1973
My age at release: 8
How familiar was I with it before this week: Fairly
Is it on the 2020 list? No
Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

The film Blade Runner, the television series The Wire, and the teen dramedy Freaks and Geeks rank among my all-time favorite works of media. Like this week’s featured record, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, each was hailed by critics, yet initially struggled to find an audience and commercial success.

Thankfully, time changed the trio’s fortunes. Blade Runner became a science fiction classic through home video, and The Wire built a devoted following across five brilliant seasons. To their credit, the HBO network stuck with the gritty crime drama despite lacklustre numbers, and it is often listed as one of the greatest television shows of all time. Only Freaks and Geeks met an untimely end, cancelled after one perfect season. That single season, however, has since achieved cult status, and I’ve used it for years as a creative way to teach Ontario’s Health Curriculum to middle school students.

Recorded in the spring of 1973, the record marked an important shift in Bruce Springsteen's sound. His debut record, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, was heavily influenced by folk traditions. Specifically, Springsteen was inspired by the song-writing approach of Bob Dylan, leaning into dense wordy songs, vivid imagery and stream of consciousness storytelling. This is evident in tracks such as Angel and Mary Queen Of Arkansas, both of which were composed as acoustic pieces in the tradition of the singer/songwriter style.

The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle saw Springsteen learn more into the style found in early rock and roll or the soulful rhythm and blues songs of his youth. I am currently reading his biography, Born To Run, in which he writes that his earliest musical influences came from the transformative impact of Elvis Presley, who represented rebellion and escape from the confines of his working-class upbringing, as well as The Beatles, who opened his eyes to the joy and camaraderie of rock and roll.

He also discusses the impact that soul musicians and Motown artists had on him as a youth. He loved their ability to combine emotional storytelling with irresistible grooves. These influences can be felt, particularly on the record's opening track, The E Street Shuffle, which echoes the rhythmic energy of James Brown and the layered texture found in many Motown hits.

Like his debut, The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle earned glowing reviews but struggled commercially at first. Undeterred, Springsteen and his newly christened E Street Band hit the road, playing relentless, high-energy shows up and down the East Coast. These marathon concerts, equal parts sweat, soul and storytelling, built a fiercely loyal fan base and kept the band afloat despite lacklustre record sales.

Everything changed with Born to Run (#18 on The 500), the breakthrough Springsteen had dreamed of. It quickly went Gold and within a few years surpassed six million copies sold. That success sent fans back to his first two albums, both of which were eventually certified Platinum. For critics, and for Springsteen, the vindication must have been sweet.