Five Springsteen Songs You Don’t Know But Should

The ‘Shed a Little Light Music Challenge’

When legendary troublemaker Buddy Gott issued the Plethora of Pop writing challenge for this month, I was nearly overwhelmed with possibilities. The “Shed a Little Light Music Challenge” calls for bringing attention to little-known albums or songs that deserve more exposure, and I immediately thought of albums by 10,000 Maniacs, Gin Blossoms, Social Distortion, and Taylor Swift (ok, none of hers need any more exposure). If you wonder why Springsteen wasn’t my first choice, it’s simply because I have been bringing attention to him for three years over 82 stories already.

I could have chosen underappreciated Bruce albums like The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, Magic, or Letter to You, but you can see from the links that I’ve done that already. Thus, my first response to the challenge (there will be several) was going to be the 10,000 Maniacs album In My Tribe. Before I could even start, however, the ghost of Clarence “Big Man” Clemons took time out from jamming with Elvis, Buddy Holly, and James Brown to come down from musical Valhalla to tell me that I am an idiot.

“How many of the nine people that read your ramblings know the deep cuts from the early albums?” he asked me. “Most of them know the Born in the U.S.A. album and maybe “Hungry Heart,” and that’s it. Except for Mark Holburn and Alex Markham; those two know E Street songs even I’ve forgotten.”

“Everyone knows “Born to Run,” I protested to the god of the saxophone. “I’ve made sure of that.”

“True,” he conceded. “That will take a couple thousand years off your time in Purgatory, which is nice. That still leaves a lot of unknown songs. Get writing.”

Thus, suitably chastened by my late hero, I have chosen five Springsteen songs well known to hardcore fans but not by the casual listeners I have spent my life attempting to convert to the Fellowship of the E Street Band. Let’s get started.

“The Price You Pay” (from The River). Starting with a deep cut from Alex Markham’s favorite Springsteen album, this is one of the most haunting songs Springsteen has ever written, which is no small feat. It’s one of many where he weaves in biblical imagery in one verse, this time from the story of Moses being denied entry into the Promised Land. It could be a complete downer, but it’s not; even here there is hope at the end. Bruce always leaves us with hope.

“I’ll Work for Your Love” (from Magic). This is my favorite track from the sadly overlooked Magic album. Bruce has said on numerous occasions that while he’s not particularly religious, “once you’re a Catholic, you’re always a Catholic.” Truer words were never spoken, and in this song he pours in more Catholic imagery than in any song he’s written (and that includes “Adam Raised a Cain” and “Land of Hopes and Dreams”). The imagery in no way diminishes what is a truly rockin’ love song, however. I was sad when this song didn’t make the setlist for his 2008 Dallas show during the Magic tour, which was, of course, otherwise amazing.

The next three songs make up what I call Bruce’s “Gangster Trilogy,” with one from each of his first three albums.

“Lost in the Flood” (from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.). One of mega-fan Mark Holburn’s favorite songs, this one tells the tale of Jimmy the Saint, a returning Vietnam veteran navigating the mean streets of the Bronx. Like every song on that debut album, the poetry of this song is simply wild, and the live version below is amazing.

“Incident on 57th Street” (from The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle). This song from Bruce’s second album tells the story of Spanish Johnny and Puerto Rican Jane, and is essentially a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, this time in New York City and set to music. Like the entire album, it gives a glimpse into the timeless masterpiece that was to come on August 25, 1975, with the release of Born to Run. As with “Lost in the Flood,” the version Bruce plays in concert is superior to the studio version.

“Jungleland” (from Born to Run). The final song in the Gangster Trilogy is probably the best-known of the songs here, in no small part because it contains the greatest saxophone solo ever recorded (I had to choose it to prevent further scolding from the Big Man). It is easily the most epic, most cinematic piece of songwriting in Bruce’s fifty-year career, but being the final song on an album that includes “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” and “Backstreets” (as well as being nearly ten minutes long), it often gets overlooked by casual fans. Unlike the previous two, the studio version will never be surpassed.

Bonus:

“Born to Run” (from Born to Run). Is this a “little-known” song? No. Have I written about it countless times before? Yes. Do I post a different live version to Facebook at the start of each month and drop in a reference to it in articles where it logically has no place? Also yes. But on the off chance that someone is reading one of my Bruce stories for the first time and has somehow never heard the song, not including it would be like a 16th century Jesuit traveling all the way to Japan and not mentioning Jesus. Simply put, it is everything, and I mean absolutely everything, a rock song is meant to be. And for those of you who have read all my Springsteen stories, admit it: when you hear this song now, you automatically think of me. Since spreading the gospel of Bruce has been my goal since I was a pre-teen, I couldn’t ask for more. Tramps like us…

Let me know what you think of the songs in the comments and give the challenge a try yourself. Just leave In My Tribe alone…I have that one halfway written already.

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