The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle departed from the folk influences of Springsteen's 1973 debut album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." and was instead characterized by "a grand fusion of nostalgic rock 'n' roll and soulful R&B". There is disagreement on "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle"'s release date between official sources and third-party sources, including various Springsteen biographies covering the era. Springsteen's official website provides a release date of September 11, 1973; however, it is known that Springsteen was still in the studio recording for the album past this date. The consensus among other sources is that the album was released in
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. Guide to Rock" (2002), William Ruhlmann gave "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." five stars and said that it combined the mid-1960s folk rock music of Bob Dylan, accessible melodies, and elaborate arrangements and lyrics: ""Asbury Park" painted a portrait of teenagers cocksure of themselves, yet bowled over by their discovery of the world. It was saved from pretentiousness (if not preciousness) by its sense of humor and by the careful eye for detail ... that kept even the most high-flown language rooted." In 2003, the album was ranked number 379 on "Rolling Stone"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s list of the 500 greatest albums of