Released in 1973 this album was a big step forward for Springsteen. In many ways this is the most challenging musical album Springsteen has ever made with songs like "New York City Serenade," but the big jump here was lyrically where Springsteen was already starting to pull back and look at the characters in his songs from a distance and with an insight that would be the cornerstone of his best music to come. I find this to be a fun album to listen to for the music. It's interesting to hear Springsteen struggling with all of his influences and trying to find his own sound. This is a great album to play while playing Bowl Bound.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.
Currently this album is sitting at number 87 on the Best of the 1970s list.
This was the Bruce Springsteen album that I liked the least in 1986, and it's the Bruce Springsteen album that I listened to more frequently than any other since then. I've come to love it from beginning to end. "New York City Serenade" is just such a beautiful song on its own, but I think it's importance is heightened because I'm not sure the world would've gotten "Jungleland" without "New York City Serenade" pulling out so fluidly and powerfully to block on the sweep.
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