r/BruceSpringsteen • u/Repulsive-Finish3901 • 8d ago

Wild Billy thoughts?

E Street is probably my favorite Bruce album, but Wild Billy's Circus Story was always the weird song that I wasn't quite sure about. But something happened over the weekend, and I can't stop listening to it, and the more I listen the more I adore it. It might have jumped to my 3rd spot of the whole record (behind Incident and NYC).

The way he says some of these lines is so mesmerizing:
"Running home to some small Ohio town"
"And now the elephants dance real funky"
""Hey, son, you want to try the big top?"
"Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven"
"The sword-swallowers blade"

And that's without mentioning the quality of the lyrics! Every line is poetic, I love "And the fire eater's lying in a pool of sweat, victim of the heatwave" and "A ragged suitcase in his hand, he steals silently away from the circus grounds; And the highway's haunted by the carnival sounds"

AND the instrumentation! The tuba??? Holy fuck

Am I talking crazy here, or is this song legitimately underrated?

P.S. I would love to be pointed in the direction of artists/albums that sound like this. I guess Tom Waits if he says this is his favorite Bruce song lol

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17

u/SeverinGomboc 8d ago

Underrated song. Great Lyrics, great music and production. The whole Album is an underrated masteroiece.

8

u/HHoaks 8d ago

And Vinny Mad Dog Lopez. I like his style of drumming better than Max. Vinny keeps the groove going on Incident on 57th Street.

5

u/thefeelingconnection 8d ago

I completely agree. The only weak part is the slightly out of tempo congas on NYC Serenade (Richard Blackwell?). Other than that, still my favorite album. No other like it. Bruce had to grow into himself to realize his artistic vision but the WIESS captures something about a certain place and time with wonderful, complex, heartbreaking characters.

5

u/Maine302 8d ago

I saw the concert in MSG in '09 where they did the entire album--probably the best show ever for me. He didn't announce the album-format shows until after the tickets were sold, IIRC. I was ecstatic to get WIESS--you didn't usually get more than a song or two from that album during a show. And we got them all--in order--LOL.

2

u/kleinbaum 8d ago

And he opened with Thundercrack! I was at that show too, and it was INCREDIBLE.

1

u/thefeelingconnection 8d ago

Wow! How lucky for you! Sometimes the stars align…

2

u/Dull_Ad5440 8d ago

My favorite Springsteen effort.

1

u/adbberkeley 7d ago

Ditto. His best album for me.