Record basics

Album name: Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.
Artist name: Bruce Springsteen
Year: 1973
Number of discs: one
Label: Columbia Records
Collection: Selman
Distinguishing characteristics: “DEMONSTRATION / Not For Sale” stamped in gold on reverse
Buy it:
- Amazon (Vinyl): $25.25
- Amazon (CD): $7.98

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I think everyone is familiar with Bruce Springsteen. Most people are fans of his work, but I am not. Consequently, I’ve never (intentionally) listened to this record.

What I expected

To paraphrase my grandmother, I don’t like Bruce Springsteen now and I haven’t liked him for years! Why is that? To start, I don’t think he’s a great singer or songwriter. His music is pretty basic and boring, which isn’t necessarily bad – I’m a huge fan of the Ramones, and their music is not complex at all – but Springsteen has always seemed to me like a talentless Bob Dylan. I also don’t appreciate his gratuitous use of saxophone and harmonica.

What it was actually like

One of my least favorite Springsteen songs is Blinded By The Light, but the version of it that I heard on this record is not the same as the radio version that I’ve heard a zillion times in my life, and I thought this version was way better. So that was a great start!

Unfortunately, any goodwill accrued in the first couple of tracks was squandered by Mary Queen Of Arkansas, which I absolutely would have skipped after the first verse if it were easy to do so on a turntable. The Angel was equally bad; Spirit In The Night was ok.

There were multiple points while listening to this record that I hoped and wished it would end sooner.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. by Bruce Springsteen (Vinyl record album review)