Bruce Springsteen - Classic or Dud ?

got a wife and kids in baltimore, jack / i went out for a ride and . . . wait, who called me a hack?

Remasters are out now. "The River" sounds great. Biggest boost seems to be the clarity of the horns and Danny's organ playing, but there are all sorts of things I'm noticing - backing vocals, extra guitars. It almost sounds remixed, tbh. Definitely pretty different. FWIW, the little I've listened to the new "Nebraska," despite its lo-fi austerity, has been revelatory as well. Apparently even the recently remastered "Born to Run" and "Darkness' have been re-remastered as well.

Actually, the bass on "The River" - like, there is bass playing - is pretty revelatory at times, too. "Crush On You," of all things, sounds great.

I didn't properly appreciate Tallent until I watched that Houston show on the Darkness box. Really amazing player, as essential to the E Street dynamic as Max.

got a wife and kids in baltimore, jack / i went out for a ride and . . . wait, who called me a hack?

― Daniel, Esq 2, Friday, November 7, 2014 4:58 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I got very confused for a sec because a "hack" is what they call a gypsy cab in Baltimore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np3LcKxolts

Holy crap, "BitUSA" got a bottom end!

And now there are some spooky synths or vox (I can't quite tell) at the end of "My Hometown" that I have never noticed before.

Just officially released the 1978 Cleveland Agora show, a classic, one of his best shows of all time: http://live.brucespringsteen.net/live-music/0,11757/Bruce-Springsteen---The-E-Street-Band-mp3-flac-download-8-9-1978-Agora-Theatre-and-Ballroom-Cleveland-OH.html

Winterland Night is also officially available now and would surely be the one to go for if you only need one '78 show.

There are also these two, which look unofficial to me but are being sold on Amazon so maybe they are kind of semi-official?

This one also from '78:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Theatre-Atlanta-Georgia-30th-September/dp/B00PCJAD3S

and this weird mishmash of live and radio recordings:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LIVE-COLLECTION-Bruce-Springsteen/dp/B00PCWSPP8/

I've long had a bootleg of that Agora show and it is terrific. My understanding is that these are the original source tapes and have been really cleaned up, so I may need to grab the official anyway.

Winterland my all time fave.

way to go, Bruce, for first and letting the bootleg circulate for decades, then finally release it when no one pays for music anymore.

Wow, had never seen this live page before.

Agora show RULES

Looks pretty good.

it's a real rowdy fun show

xpost Winterland is not legit released yet, don't know where you saw that. Agora/Cleveland is the only '78 show he's selling right now.

oh man that agora show is unbelievable and I'm not even the world's hugest springsteen dude.

Winterland is not legit released yet, don't know where you saw that

Oh yeah you're right, I was looking at this and assumed it was official as it is being sold on Amazon but on closer inspection it is a bootleg:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Winterland-Night-3cd-Bruce-Springsteen/dp/B00OU04976

Since when did Amazon start dealing in bootlegs, by the way? Or is this some kind of grey area thing like the two I linked above?

I will say, regardless, that anyone who has never heard the Cleveland show will be absolutely agast and baffled that it was never released in any form before now.

otm

yeah it is maybe the only springsteen anyone needs! ok, maybe not... don't attack me springsteen stans!
bootlegs are always popping up on amazon these days, which does seem weird -- not sure if it has to do w/ copyright loopholes. or it's just illegal!

I think the loophole is that it's a radio broadcast. So, technically/theoretically, whoever owns the broadcast recording (like the radio station) can maybe-not-entirely-illegally release it, or at least license it for release (in Europe, at least).

tyler otm imo, it's pretty definitive

like if you only have one, this is the one to have

though it is also crazy that the agora show was the *norm* for 1978 (at least the recordings I've heard suggest this). dude was operating on a whole other level.

completely!!

Yeah, I don't think there is a single Springsteen show up through the breakup of the E Street Band that could be considered less than great, actually. He was famously grouchy during his I think No Nukes festival set, but it's a killer set, still, and I can't think of any of date he's ever played sick or less than 110%. The Tunnel of Love tour was a pretty set setlist, for once, but those shows were also great. Even post reunion there have been no real stinkers. He's a force of nature, really.

Hope they release Winterland, and Roxy. At least as far as 1978 goes. River and BitUSA, the band is still strong, but 78 is his peak. It's no small wonder that he just managed to stretch that peak for 10 more years of touring.

Wow, he just released the 1980 New Year's Eve Nassau show! This is one of my favorite things ever.

There's people, sir, that'll try to put you down...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1icMiTnz6vY

Roger is only maybe 5 years older than Bruce, but when Bruce hangs with people of that era he seems like such a kid.

Kinda late with this, but last week Columbia dropped individual editions of the remasters from the box. So if (like me) you've been holding out...

I listen a lot to the E Street satellite channel. Came across the Dave Marsh show and man does he suck. Rhetorically wondered why "hipsters" gravitated towards "Nebraska" (he stupidly suggested lack of drums!), then wondered if that album was the only Bruce disc without "a happy ending."/As if BitUSA " Darkness" or Tunnel end on an up note.

Well, maybe Tunnel is ambiguous, but The River sure ends bleak.

So Tunnel of Love has yet to get the remastered treatment, correct? Thought I read that it was in that group that was getting remastered, but maybe not. I can't wait to replace my old crappy-sounding River and BitUSA CDs. Are these remasters 2009 Beatles good?

are the remasters available on CD or just iTunes?

marsh probably means it's the only bruce album that is pretty devoid of lighthearted/upbeat moments. which is mostly true. IIRC christgau said that the unrelentingly bleak worldview of 'nebraska' was more 'left-correct'

that said, i'm not really defending marsh. lord knows using the word 'hipsters' in order to work up a straw man is one of the most unnecessary and lazy things a critic can do.

XP CD--They just broke up that box set from last year. (See my revive upthread).

Although I notice now I wasn't specific about format then.

The Bruce remasters sound great, even Nebraska.

"nebraska remastered" has some nice assonance going on

Live/1975-85 is still insanely good after all these years. The album remasters sound great, but I still find myself gravitating to the live set more than anything (and I still find myself choking up at the prelude to "The River").

Get one of the awesome shows he's selling, like River tour 1980 or the 1978. Live box was edited and fussed with. Still great tho.

Well, I do also love the "true" shows, like the famous Agora one. But edited and fussed with is what makes the boxed set great imo! I'm a sucker for added-in audience noise and the like, if it serves a narrative purpose...

Yeah I have the Winterland and Nassau boots but I'd much rather listen to the live box.

Wow, been a while, Bruce:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-plays-surprise-two-hour-bar-show-in-new-jersey-20150719#ixzz3gM4vWHRZ

Taken in tandem with the Brian Wilson cameo a week or two back, it's nice to see Bruce stage-crashing with some regularity again.

Nice.

This mess could go in a million threads, but I love the look on Bruce's face when he's sharing the mic with Mick Jagger and George Harrison, with Dylan chugging away on guitar behind him. Especially when he forgets the words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCIZaU08aVQ

Can only imagine the drugs coursing through almost everyone.

River box set on it's way.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ties-That-Bind-Collection/dp/B016EAZ6GC?tag=smarturl-20

Already mentioned this on the dedicated River thread, but it's good to have it here as well.