Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.

[Source:  Google]

I spent my day in Asbury Park, NJ, the topic of Bruce Springsteen's debut studio album.

The record was released on January 5, 1973 through Columbia.  It has nine tracks:

Side One:

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

Side Two:

1. The Angel
2. For You
3. Spirit in the Night*
4. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

*Singles

You would think the album would've sold thousands because, well, it's The Boss.  Actually, it only sold about 25,000 copies in the first year.

But despite the poor first year sales, the album was ranked by Rolling Stone as #379 on their list of 500 greatest albums of all time.  They also ranked it as 37 on their list of greatest debut albums.

His E Street Band consisted of Clarence Clemons (clapping, saxophone, vocals), Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez (clapping, drums, vocals), David Sancious (keyboard, organ, piano), Bruce Springsteen (acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clapping, congas, electric guitar, harmonica, keyboard, piano, vocals), and Garry Tallent (bass guitar).

Steven Van Zandt was the sound effect expert for "Lost in the Flood," Richard Davis played the upright double bass on "The Angel," and Harold Wheeler played the piano on "Blinded By the Light" and "Spirit in the Night."

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live/1975-85

I thought that Bruce Springsteen would be an appropriate person to talk about because I go to the high school he graduated from. When going through my parents' records, I found one of my mom's: a Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band set of five LPs. The set includes a booklet of lyrics and pictures along with several live performances:

Side One:
Thunder Road
Adam Raised a Cain
Spirit in the Night
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

Side Two:
Paradise by the "C"
Fire
Growin' Up
It's Hard to be a Saint in the City

Side Three:
Backstreets
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Raise Your Hand

Side Four:
Hungry Heart
Two Hearts
Cadillac Ranch
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
Independence Day

Side Five:
Badlands
Because the Night
Candy's Room
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Racing in the Street

Side Six:
This Land is Your Land
Nebraska
Johnny 99
Reason to Believe

Side Seven:
Born in the U.S.A.
Seeds
The River

Side Eight:
War
Darlington County
Working on the Highway
The Promised Land

Side Nine:
Cover Me
I'm on Fire
Bobby Jean
My Hometown

Side Ten:
Born to Run
No Surrender
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
Jersey Girl

The live recordings were from places like Roxy, Nassau Coliseum, Meadowlands Arena, Giants Stadium, and Los Angeles Coliseum.

There are so many great things about Bruce Springsteen - too many to list here. I went to one of his concerts around 2007 or 2008 and there is a certain feeling about his shows. The crowd knows to do certain things at certain parts of certain songs. They know when the venue should be silent. They know the drill with all of his performances because they never change - everyone knows what to expect. He plays songs that the audience wants to hear. My parents have their personal favorites that they always looked forward to hearing. The classics like Born to Run and Thunder Road are songs known by pretty much everyone. And if you don't know them, you should most definitely check out those tracks.
All I'm saying is that this record is the perfect representation of what to expect from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. No surprise tunes, just his rock and roll.