# Bruce Springsteen's First Four Albums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371 "2012-01-04T12:21:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/1 "2012-01-04T12:21:58Z")
So, Boss fans, on the strength of _The Esential Bruce Springsteen_ CD, I bought his first four CDs to fill out my library. 1. Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. 2. The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle 3. Born to Run 4. Darkness on the Edge of Town I know all four albums are great and I’m sure I’ll dig each one, but if you were in my shoes and were a virgin listener how would you listen to them? Rush through all four in one day, or savor each one over, say a week each? If this is a dumb question, then let’s turn this into a general Springsteen / E Street Band thread. I’m going to see if I can appreciate the difference that Max Weinberg brings on albums three and four when he joined the band. My favorite early Springsteen songs are “Rosalita” and “Jungle Land”. What are your favorites? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/2 "2012-01-04T12:46:55Z")
I consider early Springsteen to be anything before _Born to Run_; my favorite of those is without a doubt “Blinded by the Light”. One of the most fun songs ever written. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/3 "2012-01-04T12:57:30Z")
Keep in mind that the band on _Greetings_ isn’t the eventual full E Street Band. I would definitely listen in order. Hear the evolution from “new Dylan” to his own voice. _Incident on 57th Street_ is my favorite from the pre-BTR stuff, but over the years I’ve come to love all of the songs. _For You_ and _Spirit in the Night_ are other favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/43a26b/32.png) [@Pine\_Fresh\_Scent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pine_Fresh_Scent)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/4 "2012-01-04T13:10:00Z")
When he sings “Who am I to ask you to lick my sores?” on “For You”, it made me say to myself “he’s doing the Dylan thing.” Doing it well, like Lennon on “Hide Your Love Away”, but even a block head like me could pick up on it. That line could be a thread of its own. Great lyrics aren’t always pretty is what I’m learning. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/5 "2012-01-04T13:20:21Z")
After you’ve digested the first four albums, I highly, highly recommend _Nebraska_. It’s my favorite of all his work. I was too young to appreciate it when it came out, but over the years I’ve really come to view it as a masterpiece. _The River_ has some great songs, and some not-so-great. I really don’t care for _Born in the USA_ much (although I do like the later, acoustic version of the title song much better.) The albums between that and _The Rising_ are not great, IMO. _The Rising_, however, has a number of fantastic songs. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/6 "2012-01-04T13:31:03Z")
I am quite fond of his very first album, loving most of the tunes on it quite a bit. **Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?** is an overlooked treasure, IMHO. Same for **Lost in the flood**. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/7 "2012-01-04T13:43:38Z")
I’m partial to _The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle_. The music is so artistically interesting, such a far cry from the repetitive 4-note slog that is _Born In The USA_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/8 "2012-01-04T13:50:15Z")
His best work are his first four albums, and “Rosalita” is one of the top five great rock songs. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/9 "2012-01-04T14:00:09Z")
I would listen in order. Blinded By The Light, Rosalita and Thunder Road are my favorites from this period. I bought Greetings when it first came out in 1973. In 1977, I was visiting my parents’ house and my then 13 year old brother was playing the heck out of Manfred Mann’s version. I went home and got Greetings and let him hear Bruce’s version for the first time. He went on to become a Bruce fanatic, joining a message board, attending multiple shows on each tour, trading concert tapes. I created a monster. I played and sang Thunder Road at his wedding reception. ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/10 "2012-01-04T14:30:15Z")
I would say that Born to Run is most often seen as his greatest work, and I would say that is justified, but like others, I would listen to them in order to see how he grows. “Greetings” is a terrific album, with few weak tracks, but also very different from BtR. I think that in “Greetings” he probably hadn’t truly found his voice (lyrically) and was relying on imitation to some degree (Dylan). That is balanced out by the fact that he was more imaginitive and experimental than his work once he had really found the Springsteen style. All of the songs comvered by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band (Blinded by the Light, For You, and Spirits in the Night) are excellent, and much better than Manfred Mann’s versions. “The Wild. . .” is probably my least favorite of his early albums, but still has highlights, and shows the transition from “Greetings” to “BtR” I think “BtR” is pretty well known. Personally, I think “Thunder Road” may well be the greatest Rock and Roll song ever recorded. And “Born to Run” is not far behind. Pretty much any of Bruce’s first six albums are awesome. I don’t like the later stuff nearly as much, but for about 10 years, I think he was about as good as anyone ever was. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/11 "2012-01-05T13:11:13Z")
His best albums are Greetings… , Wild…, Darkness…, Nebraska and The River; Clarence Clemons. Born to Run and Born in the USA were too commercial. Ghost of Tom Joad was better. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/12 "2012-01-05T15:08:24Z")
> [@GreenElf](#): > > His best albums are Greetings… , Wild…, Darkness…, Nebraska and The River; Clarence Clemons. Born to Run and Born in the USA were too commercial. Ghost of Tom Joad was better. Disagree, at least about BtR. To me that is an example of a “perfect album.” Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it can’t be good as well. I thing “The River” is a more mature album, but not as perfect a one. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/13 "2012-01-05T15:13:13Z")
Thunder Road. Always Thunder Road. This was the period he was finding his own identity as a songwriter, in particular casting off the simplistic ‘Dylanesque’ comparisons. There are gems scattered throughout but it finally all comes together on Darkness, imo. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/14 "2012-01-05T15:16:06Z")
Everybody should own a copy of “The Promise” as well. Fascinating to see what “Darkness” _could have_ been. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bruce-springsteens-first-four-albums/608371/15 "2012-01-06T13:35:24Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it can’t be good as well. Of course. The Rolling Stones, Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and so on are all massively popular as well as being good. There’s at least six Springsteen albums that I’d rather listen to than Born to Run. That I heard the title track way too many times on the radio doesn’t help any.