GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J.
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. is the debut studio album by Bruce Springsteen. It was produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos during July–September 1972 at the budget-priced 914 Sound Studios. The album was released on January 5, 1973, by Columbia Records to average sales but positive critical reviews, reaching the #60 spot on the Billboard 200 albums listing. “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night” were released as singles by Columbia, both failing to reach the US charts; though “Blinded by the Light” was later covered by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, in 1977 reaching number one in America and Canada. In 2003, it was ranked at #379 in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. (More from Wikipedia)
When Bruce Springsteen was putting together his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. (1973), Columbia Records President Clive Davis said that the album needed a hit single. In response, Bruce wrote “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night”; the two songs, particularly “Blinded by the Light” feature a host of characters and cryptic lyrics whose meaning is hard to follow.
(June 2014)
