Track Listing

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. Angel
7. For You
8. Spirit In The Night
9. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6526 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-05
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
Hailed early on by Columbia producer and talent scout John Hammond as "the new Dylan", Bruce Springsteen has always shared many of the folky, poetic, word-savvy tendencies of his hero and predecessor. Nowhere is this more evident than on Springsteen's debut, GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, NJ, which veritably bursts at the seams with lyrical invention, pell-mell imagery, and acoustic-guitar driven troubadour tunes. Yet Springsteen trades in on Dylan's pensive and bitter sides for dew-eyed optimism and exuberance.
While there is spare,folkie fare like "The Angel" and "Mary Queen Of Arkansas", on which Springsteen sings of his local New Jersey colour inhis uniquely passionate voice, there is also something fresh and irrepressible here. A rock & roll heart beats at the centre of GREETINGS, with a spunk and spirit that push the whole affair along. "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City" and "Growin' Up" are fueled by David Sancious's rollicking piano, wailing tenor sax, and Springsteen's husky voice. Togetherthese elements defined a James Dean rebel persona and a giant rock & roll ambition that would guide Springsteen's musicfor the rest of his career.

Customer Reviews

A solid start from the Boss!
Bruce Springsteen's debut album was a solid start to his long partnership with Columbia Records. Recorded with the original lineup of the E-Street Band, featuring Gary Tallent & Clarence Clements, the songs proved to be some of Springsteen's best, and highlighted the future paths he would move towards on his later work. 'Mary, Queen Of Arkansas' is a moving acoustic ballad, which could have easily fitted in on Nebraska, while fans of Manfred Mann would have recognised the original 'Blinded By The Light' with its brilliant lyrical wordplay. Other highlights include the funky 'Spirit In The Night' & the upbeat 'It's Hard To be A Saint In The City,' contrasting with the powerful 'Growin' Up'. While he would go on to create more well known albums, Springsteen's first album is the best way to understand the true style of the man they call the Boss.

Superb Debut from The Boss
What a start! A fresh young product of the Jersey Shore seen producing his first album. Sometimes the first is poor, but this is great. All the songs are so deep and the lyrics are finely written. Lost In The Flood gives a touch of darkness to the album, and It's Hard to Be a Saint is just superb. A great album for any fan of music.

Boss's underrated gem
First off I should say that I'm a pretty big fan of Springsteen, and my opinion of this album was formed after having listened to, and grown attached to his best known works such as Born to Run, the River, Darkness on the Edge of Town etc. However I think my opinion is just as relevant to people who know little of the great man's music as it is to the cognoscenti.

As the other reviews say this is the first album from the boss & the E street band, and it's got the same early sound which as The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, and which is lost in the production of Born to Run. The band incidentaly are truly excellent throughout the album, from the funky style of It's hard to be a saint in the city to the urgency of Lost in the Flood.

I strongly disagree with those who criticise the album for having simple, or bad lyrics. I think the songs have the classic springsteen mix of poetry and gritty realism as any of his finest works, you've really got to be looking for weaknesses to find any bad points, rather than enjoying the beauty of songs like Spirits in the Night of It's hard to be a saint.

As for the songs, the pick of the bunch for me is Lost in the Flood! If you're a fan of his urban epics, à la Jungleland or Born to Run then this song is simply awesome! The ultimate version of this is on the Hammersmith '75 live CD, it's so powerful it's incredible. Also It's Hard to be a Saint in the City, Spirit in the Night, Blinded by the Light and Grown' Up are the other real standouts, and are among my favourite Springsteen songs.

In summary, I would say if you like anything off Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, anything before Born in the USA or rock music in general then this album really is essential listening!