Old-timers might remember that when Bruce Springsteen was first signed to Columbia Records, he was promoted as the “new Dylan” – or, rather, the latest in a long line of new Dylans. Every young troubadour from Donovan on down wore that comparison around his neck with his guitar strap, but a lot tighter. (Marketing aside, Bruce was a lot closer to a more personable Van Morrison, to the point where Van the Dyspeptic Man later accused him of stealing his act.)
If you had seen him at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in March 1973, though, you might have seen him entrancing the audience with this cinematic acoustic performance and making it sound like the marketing might have been right this time.
Springsteen, touring to promote his first album, was opening that night for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show as part of a Columbia Records showcase. The song wasn’t recorded until a few months later for inclusion on his second LP, “The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle,” by which point some of the lyrics had been changed and Bruce was singing all the lyrics. The arrangement isn’t as spare, either, and the song has a jokier feel on its official release.
