SOUNDTRACK4LIFE: THE B-SIDES: Gems From My Collection: Bruce Springsteen Part Two

September 1973 saw the release of the 2nd album by Bruce Springsteen, 'The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle', and it seemed to fair no better than the debut release 'Greetings From Asbury park N.J.'.

In the UK the album peaked at #33 whilst in the States it barely scrapped to #60. It received a lot of critical acclaim at the time but the sales didn't really live up to the expectation. The album is top notch in my opinion and includes the classic 'Rosilita' that for more than a decade closed the shows for Springsteen.

On the night of the 7th November 2009 noting that there were only eight shows left on the tour, Bruce paused before the sixth song of his set on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden to say that he and the band appreciated the support of their fans over the past few years and that they wanted to do something that was a "nice treat for the fans and for us."

So began the first-ever top-to-bottom performance of 'The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle'. Bruce shushed the audience, tapped a baton against his microphone stand and turned to face the horn section (set up on the back riser behind the piano) to conduct them as 'The E Street Shuffle' kicked off an amazing seven-song performance. Bruce completely followed through on his intent to treat the audience, as he unquestionably went above and beyond to ensure a performance that did his second album proud.

The E Street Shuffle