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Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973)

Where the lyrics of Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. take you, and where it was really made.

Columbia's president rejected the debut album for lacking a potential hit single, so Springsteen wrote two new songs for it.

Key places

Where the debut album was made (1973)

Recording site 914 Sound Studios — The album was produced from June 7 to October 26, 1972 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, New York. Springsteen and Mike Appel chose the low-priced studio to save the Columbia advance. Most songs were cut in the last week of June 1972. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.: debut studio album by Bruce Springsteen
• Produced from June 7 to October 26, 1972, by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos
• Recorded at 914 Sound Studios, a budget-priced studio based in Blauvelt, New York
• Released January 5, 1973, through Columbia Records
• Average sales, but a positive critical reception
• Two singles: "Blinded by the Light" (February 1973) and "Spirit in the Night" (May 1973), neither of which charted

Background

• First charted in the United Kingdom on June 15, 1985, as Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. tour arrived in Britain
• Remained in the UK top 100 for ten weeks
• Columbia Records president Clive Davis rejected the album when he heard it on August 10, 1972, for lacking a potential hit single
• Springsteen quickly wrote "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit in the Night" and recorded both on September 11, 1972
• David Sancious and Garry Tallent were unavailable, so a four-man band was used for the new recordings

Recording

• Springsteen and first manager Mike Appel chose the low-priced, out-of-the-way 914 Sound Studios to save Columbia's advance
• Most songs were cut during the last week of June 1972
• A dispute followed: Appel and John Hammond preferred the solo tracks, while Springsteen preferred the band songs
• Compromise: five band songs and five solo songs on the album
• Clarence Clemons, previously missing from the sessions, played saxophone on the revised recordings
• Columbia accepted the revised album, and Davis was personally pleased with Springsteen's response

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey; grew up in Freehold, New Jersey.
• Inspired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, began playing with local bands in the 1960s, including the Castiles, Steel Mill and the Bruce Springsteen Band.
• Formed the band that became the E Street Band in October 1972; the name came into use in September 1974.
• Signed to Columbia Records in 1972 by John Hammond; debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. released January 1973.

Members

• Performs solo and with the E Street Band, his backing band since 1972.
• Long-time members include Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, Steven Van Zandt, Roy Bittan, Max Weinberg and Patti Scialfa.
• Clemons died June 18, 2011; Federici died in 2008.

Career

• Born to Run (1975) brought worldwide fame; Born in the U.S.A. (1984) became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• Won an Academy Award in 1994 for "Streets of Philadelphia"; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
• Has sold more than 140 million records worldwide; holds 20 Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award.
• The 2023–2025 tour with the E Street Band was among the highest-grossing tours in history.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Lester Bangs in Rolling Stone (July 1973) hailed Springsteen as a daring new artist who stood apart from his contemporaries
• Bangs praised songwriting that either carried serious meaning or showed an uninhibited gift for verbose, overloaded lyrics
• Peter Knobler in Crawdaddy praised the singer's freshness and urgency and the album's shifts between rocking and gliding
• Robert Christgau in Creem said the songs were dominated by mannered emotional transparency and absurdist energy
• Christgau's Record Guide (1981) said songs such as "Blinded by the Light" and "Growin' Up" foreshadowed Springsteen's teen-underclass poetry

Reappraisal

• William Ruhlmann in All Music Guide to Rock (2002) gave the album five stars
• Ruhlmann said it combined the mid-1960s folk rock of Bob Dylan, accessible melodies, and elaborate arrangements and lyrics
• He credited its sense of humor and careful eye for detail with keeping the high-flown language grounded

Records

• Ranked number 379 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003
• Listed among the 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone in 2013, ranked 37th
• First charted in the UK on June 15, 1985, and stayed in the top 100 for ten weeks
• Released to average sales; neither single charted

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Clive Davis rejected the submitted album because it lacked a potential hit single; Springsteen then wrote two new songs.
• The 914 Sound Studios sessions were chosen to keep costs low and protect the Columbia Records advance.
• Springsteen and the E Street Band played the album in its entirety for the first time on November 22, 2009, at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, to close the Working on a Dream tour.
• Steven Van Zandt reportedly provided sound effects on "Lost in the Flood," although he denied any involvement on his official Twitter page.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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