Bruce Springsteen has released 18 studio albums, many of them classics. But his sophomore record, released 42 years ago, may well remain his most ambitious.
The Wild, The Innocent & the E Street Shuffle runs just seven songs long, but each of them is a sprawling left-field masterpiece. Best-known are ‘Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)’ and ‘4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy),’ tracks that (like the whole album) perfectly capture the adolescent yearning of Springsteen’s New Jersey.
A couple of months back I spent a few weeks on the albums of 1982, both my personal favorites and ones with which I’m unfamiliar despite their receiving lavish critical acclaim.
Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly was one of the latter. I own the album but have never given it a good listen. I gave it a spin in my car after featuring it on the blog and definitely appreciated its quality.
The other day I made an unlikely comparison between Jimmy Buffett and Elton John. Both artists, I argued, have put out a dozen or more excellent songs — songs that endure after decades and are among the most moving ever committed to record — but both have also released so many albums over the years that the majority of their work is completely foreign to me.
Can it be that all of those unheard albums are filled with songs just as good as ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ‘Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,’ ‘Come Monday, ‘Margaritaville’ and the rest of the classics? Or did these guys strike gold once or twice per album and I’m better off just knowing the hits?
Probably somewhere in between.
Florence + the Machine feels like a fitting band for my Halloween Random Song of the Day. The band, and Florence Welch herself, have a gothic quality that’s appropriate for the holiday.
I’m a big fan of Florence + the Machine’s second album, Ceremonials, but it’s taken longer for their debut, Lungs, to grow on me. I don’t know if that’s an issue with me or the album, as the music seems pretty much in line with their sophomore effort.
Here’s a song that’s nearly 50 years old but doesn’t sound a day over 25.
1966’s ‘Paint It Black’ was The Rolling Stones’ third #1 single in the U.S. (following ‘I Can’t Get No Satisfaction’ and ‘Get Off of My Cloud). They would release five more over the next 12 years and never again reach the top of the charts (barring a surprise new release by the octogenarians).
Meet Me In Montauk 