Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
Studio album by Bruce Springsteen
Released January 5, 1973
Recorded July - September 1972 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, New York
Genre Folk rock, Jersey shore sound
Length 37:08
Label Columbia
Producer Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band chronology
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.
(1973)		 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle
(1973)

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. is the first studio album by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1973. It only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year of its release, but had significant critical impact. It was ranked at #379 by Rolling Stone on its list of 500 greatest albums of all time.[1]

Contents

History

Springsteen and his first manager Mike Appel decided to record the album at the low-priced, out-of-the-way 914 Sound Studios to save as much as possible of the Columbia Records advance and cut the record in a single week. Richard Davis, upright bass player on "The Angel", also played the bass on Van Morrison's Astral Weeks.

Both "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night" were released as singles by Columbia, but neither made a dent in the US charts. Manfred Mann's Earth Band released a version of "Blinded by the Light" on their album The Roaring Silence, which reached #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 on 19 February 1977 and #1 on the Canadian RPM chart the same day. This recording of "Blinded by the Light" is Springsteen's only #1 single as a songwriter on the Hot 100.

On November 22, 2009, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ was played in its entirety for the first time by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, to celebrate the last show of the Working on a Dream tour.[2] This marked the E Street Band's first-ever performance of "The Angel".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
Robert Christgau B+ [4][5]
Rolling Stone (positive) [6]
Rolling Stone Album Guide [7]

Robert Christgau, writing in Creem, praised the album, saying "This boy has a lot more of the Dylan spirit than John Prine. His songs are filled with the absurdist energy and heart on sleeve pretension that made Dylan a genius instead of a talent."[4]

Ken Emerson wrote in his review of The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, "Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ . . . was like 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' played at 78 RPM, a typical five-minute track busting with more words than this review."[8]

In 2003, the album was ranked number 379 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[1]

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.

Side one
  1. "Blinded by the Light" – 5:06
  2. "Growin' Up" – 3:05
  3. "Mary Queen of Arkansas" – 5:21
  4. "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?" – 2:05
  5. "Lost in the Flood" – 5:17
Side two
  1. "The Angel" – 3:24
  2. "For You" – 4:40
  3. "Spirit in the Night" – 5:00
  4. "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" – 3:13

Personnel

The E Street Band

Additional musicians

Production

Song-by-song musician credits

1. Blinded by the Light

2. Growin' Up

3. Mary Queen of Arkansas

4. Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?

5. Lost in the Flood

6. The Angel

7. For You

8. Spirit in the Night

9. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

In popular culture

Professional wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow used a finisher called Greetings from Asbury Park during his spell in Extreme Championship Wrestling.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Levy, Joe; Steven Van Zandt (2006) [2005]. "379 | Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. - Bruce Springsteen". Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (3rd ed.). London: Turnaround. ISBN 1932958614. OCLC 70672814. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/greetings-from-asbury-park-n-j-bruce-springsteen-19691231. Retrieved 5 March 2006. 
  2. ^ Goldstein, Stan (November 15, 2009). "Bruce Springsteen to play the entire 'Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.' album in Buffalo". nj.com. http://www.nj.com/springsteen/index.ssf/2009/11/bruce_springsteen_to_play_the.html. Retrieved 16 November 2009. 
  3. ^ Ruhlmann, William. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. at Allmusic. Retrieved 29 November 2005.
  4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (April 1973). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". Creem: 70. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/crm7304.php. Retrieved 28 October 2011. 
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert. "Bruce Springsteen: Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. > Consumer Guide Album Review". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=468. Retrieved 2 December 2005. 
  6. ^ Bangs, Lester (July 5, 1973). "Bruce Springsteen Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. > Album Review". Rolling Stone (138). Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/greetings-from-asbury-park-nj-19730705. Retrieved 20 March 2004. 
  7. ^ Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Bruce Springsteen". In Brackett, Nathan with Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. London: Fireside. pp. 771–773. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.  Portions posted at "Bruce Springsteen > Album Guide". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/bruce-springsteen//albumguide. Retrieved 7 February 2011. 
  8. ^ Emerson, Ken (January 30, 1974). "Bruce Springsteen The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle > Album Review". Rolling Stone (153). Archived from the original on 24 February 2006. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-wild-the-innocent-the-e-street-shuffle-19740130. Retrieved 20 April 2003. 

External links

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Studio albums

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) · The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973) · Born to Run (1975) · Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) · The River (1980) · Nebraska (1982) · Born in the U.S.A. (1984) · Tunnel of Love (1987) · Human Touch (1992) · Lucky Town (1992) · The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) · The Rising (2002) · Devils & Dust (2005) · We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) · Magic (2007) · Working on a Dream (2009) · The Promise (2010)
Live albums
Other albums

Greatest Hits (1995) · Blood Brothers (EP) (1996) · Tracks (1998) · 18 Tracks (1999) · The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003) · Greatest Hits (2009)
Singles
"Blinded by the Light" (1973) · "Spirit in the Night" (1973) · "Born to Run" (1975) · "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" (1976) · "Prove It All Night" (1978) · "Badlands" (1978) · "The Promised Land" (1978) · "Hungry Heart" (1980) · "Sherry Darling" (1980) · "Fade Away" (1981) · "The River" (1981) · "Cadillac Ranch" (1981) · "Point Blank" (1981) · "Atlantic City" (1982) · "Open All Night" (1982) · "Dancing in the Dark" (1984) · "Cover Me" (1984) · "Born in the U.S.A." (1984) · "I'm on Fire" (1985) · "Glory Days" (1985) · "I'm Goin' Down" (1985) · "My Hometown" (1985) · "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" (1985) · "War" (1986)  · "Fire" (1987) · "Born to Run" (live) (1988) · "Brilliant Disguise" (1987) · "Tunnel of Love" (1987) · "One Step Up" (1988) · "Tougher Than the Rest" (1988) · "Spare Parts" (1988) · "Human Touch" (1992) · "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" (1992) · "Better Days" (1992) · "Leap of Faith" (1992) · "Lucky Town" (1993) · "Streets of Philadelphia" (1994) · "Secret Garden" (1995) · "Murder Incorporated" (1995) · "Hungry Heart" (re-issue) (1995) · "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (1996) · "Secret Garden" (1997) · "Sad Eyes" (1999) · "The Rising" (2002) · "Lonesome Day" (2002) · "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" (2003) · "Devils & Dust" (2005) · "All the Way Home" (2005) · "Radio Nowhere" (2007) · "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" (2007) · "Working on a Dream" (2008) · "My Lucky Day" (2008) · "The Wrestler" (2009)
Video releases
Tours

Born to Run tours (1974–77) · Darkness Tour (1978) · River Tour (1980–81) · Born in the U.S.A. Tour (1984–85) · Tunnel of Love Express (1988) · Human Rights Now! (1988) · "Other Band" Tour (1992–93) · Ghost of Tom Joad Tour (1995–97) · Reunion Tour (1999–2000) · Rising Tour (2002–03) · Vote for Change (2004) · Devils & Dust Tour (2005) · Seeger Sessions Band Tour (2006) · Magic Tour (2007–08) · Working on a Dream Tour (2009)
Related articles
Book:Bruce Springsteen