What grabbed me from the outset listening to New York City Serenade was the classical music resonance in the introduction piano solo which transforms into a jazz sound. It compares to the standout piano introduction also by Roy Bittan on Backstreets and paints such a ceremonious and rich scene from the beginning. It would have been hard for Bruce to sustain that throughout, but he did just that in both cases. As I wrote in the Incident on 57th Street article back in October last year: ‘From Bruce Springsteen’s 1973 record -The Wild the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, I played the following 4 songs incessantly in my early adolescence‘:
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Wild Billy’s Circus Story
Incident on 57th Street
New York City Serenade
‘These 4 songs enabled me to enjoy great story telling about topics and scenarios I wasn’t privy to, up until then. Not only did I appreciate the music, but I internalised the words because they transported me to another time and place.….There was a small band of us at school who cherished his music. We felt through his (The Boss) music we could sidestep some of those landmines in middle school. You see, he had already loved and lost. He was someone much older than us and had got out the other end and was telling us stories of what he had seen and learnt growing up.
– Incident on 57th Street
[Verse 1]
Billy, he’s down by the railroad tracks
Sitting low in the back seat of his Cadillac
Diamond Jackie, she’s so intact
As she falls so softly beneath him
Jackie’s heels are stacked
Billy’s got cleats on his boots
Together they’re gonna boogaloo down Broadway
And come back home with the loot
It’s midnight in Manhattan, this is no time to get cute
It’s a mad dog’s promenade
So walk tall
Or baby, don’t walk at all
[Verse 2]
Fish lady, oh, fish lady, fish lady
She baits them tenement walls
She won’t take corner boys
They ain’t got no money
And they’re so easy
I said, “Hey, baby won’t you take my hand?
Walk with me down Broadway
Well mama, take my arm and move with me down Broadway,” yeah
I’m a young man, I talk real loud
Yeah babe, I walk real proud for you
Ah, so shake it away
So shake away your street life
Shake away your city life
Hook up to the train
And hook up to the night train
Hook it up
Hook up to the, hook up to the train
I consider New York City Serenade one of Bruce’s crowning achievements in his music career. It is befitting this song concludes the record. I think the moment where he sings at (3:40) is one of my favourite music moments in Bruce’s career:
So walk tall
Or baby, don’t walk at all
The rich texture of the instrumentals and his vocal input is sublime. The whole song at 10 minutes duration I believe is atmospherically and musically one of (if not) Bruce Springsteen best songwriting feats. It has everything this song.
The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle is Bruce Springsteen’s second studio album. It was well-received critically but had little commercial success at the time, nationally but locally sold well. There was very little press, no advertisements in the trade papers and no release party, possibly because of Springsteen’s deteriorating relationship with Columbia Records. Springsteen and the E Street Band played the album in its entirety for the first time during a concert at Madison Square Garden. In the 2020 updated version of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, the album was ranked at number 345.
Reference:
1. The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I like that album a lot…not as good as the debut but I do like it. I think his first classic was on there…Rosalita…but this one is epic as well.
I like this album a lot more than the debut. I like Rosalita, but not as much as those other 4 songs. ‘Epic’ was the word I was looking for. hehe
Rosalita…it comes down to that break… “Because a record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance”….that made me fall for it.
Many of Bruce’s songs are epic at this time…
Great line from ‘Rosalita’, Max. Also, he was backed by an awesome band who had spectacular musicianship.
His songwriting on these early albums is just brilliant storytelling. The creativity and exuberance of youth is so pervasive in his early works. Born to Run he went more theatrical and was the pinnacle of that time. I love his early stuff!
I do also Matt….I don’t know about you but sometimes a lyric or even a small guitar riff will make me like the song right away…
His early music was the defintion of epic… even his titles are…like It’s Hard To Be A Saint in the City…the title alone is great lol.
I know what you mean about that small moment that can melt ya. That happens at 3:40 for me. I’m just listening to NYC Serenade again writing this and it’s as spellbinding as when I first heard it. His vocal technique is probably better than I think ever hearing from him.
what a phenomenal song. I will never forget listening to this song (again) after moving to NYC. damn, if i thought it had blown away before… it floored me on that first NYC listen. Thanks for reminding me
I think music – genre wise NYC Serenade is his most eclectic song. Thanks Keith for your reflections on this legendary track.
Epic!
Hi Sharon. That was the word I was missing. This song is indeed ‘Epic’.
Hi Matt, here’s another word ‘colossal’! Great song. Hope all is well. X
I need to have Sharon’s synonyms on hand lol Not bad Sharon. I hope you are well.
Thanks Matt! I’m OK!
I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve never listened to this album, even though one of my long-time best friends had it, and I remember seeing it quite a bit in her collection. To quote Sharon, “New York City Serenade” is an epic song. Now off to listen to the entire album.
I hope you enjoy it Jeff.
If I was running out of a burning house and could only grab a few album this would be one of them.
Hey buddy, it’s been a while! Your description hits all the right buttons of how monumental this album is. I think this song is in my top 10 Bruce.
The individual songs make up a an album that just keeps me listening after all these years. The Bruce record that Ive listened to the most and I’ve listened to his music a lot. The band is perfect. It’s just one long great piece of music for me
I can only nod my head at everything you wrote. It’s definitely a keeper. My favourite still is ‘Born To Run’ but that’s probably more for sentimental reasons. ‘Lucky Town’ has been growing on me heaps too. There are too many good albums to mention haha
Why music is such a personal experience. ‘Lucky Town’ is a great record. I saw that tour and it delivered. ‘The Big Muddy’ is such a cool song. He quotes one of my favorite authors in the lyric, Pete Dexter.
I haven’t heard ‘The Big Muddy’ in years. Great song. “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy” is a song written by Pete Seeger in 1967
I like the Pete tune.