release date: Jan. 5, 1973
format: cd (2010 reissue)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Mike Appel, Jim Cretecos
label: Columbia / Sony Music - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Blinded by the Light" - 2. "Growin' Up" - 4. "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" - 7. "For You" - 8. "Spirit in the Night" - 9. "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City"
Studio album debut by Bruce Springsteen [Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen] originally released on Columbia Records. On this his first effort, Springsteen rises as a talented singer / songwriter of a bluesy folkish piano-and-sax driven r&b conglomerate with bonds to Van Morrison, The Band, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits.
Best tracks here are the story-founded "Blinded by the Lights", "Growin' Up", "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" and the Morrison-clone "Spirit in the Night". These tracks shine through and the backing band supports to a better end result, something that mostly goes missing on the remaining tracks making it a bit of a bland experience where Springsteen seems too keen on sounding like his sources of inspiration.
Allmusic.com reviewer William Ruhlmann is too excited drawing much on his future contributions more than the album in question.
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]
