BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN& THE E STREET BAND
LIVE 1975-85 (1986)
320 KBPS
Long before he sold substantial numbers of records, Bruce Springsteen began to earn a reputation as the best live act in rock & roll. Fans had been clamoring for a live album for a long time, and with Live/1975-85 they got what they wanted, at least in terms of bulk. His concerts were marathons, and this box set, including 40 tracks and running over three and a half hours, was about the average length of a show. In his brief liner notes, Springsteen spoke of the emergence of the album's "story" as he reviewed live tapes, and that story seems nothing less than a history of his life, his concerns, and his career. The first cuts present the Springsteen of the early to mid-'70s; these performances, most of them drawn from a July 1978 show at the Roxy in Los Angeles, present the romantic, hopeful, earnest Springsteen. The second section begins with his first Top Ten hit, "Hungry Heart" — this is the Springsteen of the late '70s and early '80s, an arena rock star with working-class concerns. After an acoustic mini set given largely to material from Nebraska — songs of economic desperation and crime — comes a reshuffling of Born in the U.S.A., songs in which the artist and his characters start to fight back and rock out. Finally, he brings it all back home to New Jersey, starting with the unofficial state anthem, "Born to Run." Fans could rejoice in the seven previously unreleased songs, but Live/1975-85 wasn't as funny, moving, or exhilarating as a Springsteen show could be. Maybe no single album could have been, but where Springsteen impressed in concert because he tried so hard, here he seemed to have tried a little too hard to make a live album carry the freight of everything he had to say.
Disc 1
1. Thunder Road
2. Adam Raised a Cain
3. Spirit in the Night
4. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
5. Paradise by the "C"
6. Fire
7. Growin' Up
8. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
9. Backstreets
10. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
11. Raise Your Hand
12. Hungry Heart
13. Two Hearts
1. Thunder Road
2. Adam Raised a Cain
3. Spirit in the Night
4. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
5. Paradise by the "C"
6. Fire
7. Growin' Up
8. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City
9. Backstreets
10. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
11. Raise Your Hand
12. Hungry Heart
13. Two Hearts
Disc 2
1. Cadillac Ranch
2. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
3. Independence Day
4. Badlands
5. Because the Night
6. Candy's Room
7. Darkness on the Edge of Town
8. Racing in the Streets
9. This Land Is Your Land
10. Nebraska
11. Johnny 99
12. Reason to Believe
13. Born in the U.S.A.
14. Seeds
1. Cadillac Ranch
2. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
3. Independence Day
4. Badlands
5. Because the Night
6. Candy's Room
7. Darkness on the Edge of Town
8. Racing in the Streets
9. This Land Is Your Land
10. Nebraska
11. Johnny 99
12. Reason to Believe
13. Born in the U.S.A.
14. Seeds
Disc 3
1. River
2. War
3. Darlington County
4. Working on the Highway
5. Promised Land
6. Cover Me
7. I'm on Fire
8. Bobby Jean
9. My Hometown
10. Born to Run
11. No Surrender
12. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
13. Jersey Girl
1. River
2. War
3. Darlington County
4. Working on the Highway
5. Promised Land
6. Cover Me
7. I'm on Fire
8. Bobby Jean
9. My Hometown
10. Born to Run
11. No Surrender
12. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
13. Jersey Girl
1 comment:
Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town broke new ground for The Boss in 1978. A counterpoint to the operatic elegance of Born to Run, the album was an angry, raw record that burst forth after a three-year hiatus.
Because of its darker tones, some might call Darkness a difficult album, but despite this, it's a cherished gem for many.
Collecting stories and photos from hundreds of fans, The Light in Darkness celebrates this classic record, allowing readers to revisit the excitement of that moment when the needle found the grooves in that first cut and the thundering power of "Badlands" shook across the hi-fi for the very first time. Or the uninitiated, but soon-to-be-converted teenager, brought along by friends and finding salvation at one of the legendary three-plus hour concerts - shows that embodied all the manic fury of a revival meeting.
The book is also for those more recent converts to The Boss who may have stumbled across a dusty bootleg in a used record store - discovering the magic of the Agora or the Winterland shows.
Finally, The Light in Darkness is for those who never gave Bruce's fourth album much consideration; those more partial to the high-polished sounds of Born to Run or the stadium-rousing choruses of Born in the U.S.A. For the skeptics, just read the tales of those who struggle with the dark and trembling frustration of "Something in the Night," the open-road emptiness of "Racing in the Street," and the too-faraway hope of "The Promised Land." A troubling album indeed. But the passion, the connection, the thrill of the fans as they explore this classic record will make a convert of anyone.
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