Great Rock Albums of 1986: Bruce Springsteen- Live 1975-85

If aliens from outer space landed on Earth and said they wanted to know about the legend that is Bruce Springsteen, I would put on this “Live 1975-85” album because it stamps with authority, everything that is good about ‘The Boss.’ First, if anyone has been fortunate enough to see him live, I wasn’t as tickets always sold out too quick, would know how truly amazing he is in concert. Renowned for his four hour plus performances, this live album tries to capture the essence of his live performances. After all, the album is over three and a half hours long with forty tracks.

All of Bruce’s classic songs between the years in the title are recorded live and put before you here. The album isn’t just one concert but songs are recorded from various concerts over the decade. Some dates and venues appear more than others and if I wanted to nit pick, I could point out that none of them were recorded in Philadelphia where I went to see a majority of my concerts at the time but I can’t because I’ve never seen him. Some people may prefer recordings from one concert but what Bruce gives you here is his very best efforts over ten years and listening to the album, it works!

Typical of Springsteen, he does throw in what I call a few surprises. Two songs he wrote but were made famous by other artists are on the album. One was the famous “Because the Night,” which he co-wrote with Patti Smith and “Fire,” which was a minor hit for the Pointer Sisters in 1979. Again, I could nit pick because my two favourite songs by other artists, “Blinded by the Light,” made famous in 1977 by Manfred Mann and “From Small Things Momma, Big Things One Day Come” done by Dave Edmunds aren’t here. Oh well. Furthermore, he does a cool cover of Edwin Starr’s “War,” which he released as a single from the album. But my highlight is the live recording of “The River.” It’s not just the fact that it’s a great song, it’s his little talk about his early life before the song that does it for me. It makes this album that much more excellent.

Track Listing:

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
14. Cadillac Ranch
15. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
16. Independence Day
17. Badlands
18. Because the Night
19. Candy’s Room
20. Darkness on the Edge of Town
21. Racing in the Street
22. This is Your Land
23. Nebraska
24. Johnny 99
25. Reason to Believe
26. Born in the USA
27. Seeds
28. The River
29. War
30. Darlington County
31. Working on the Highway
32. The Promised Land
33. I’m On Fire
34. Cover Me
35. Bobby Jean
36. My Hometown
37. Born to Run
38. No Surrender
39. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
40. Jersey Girl

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen- lead vocals, guitar, harmonica

Roy Bittan- piano, synthesizer, backing vocals

Clarence Clemmons- saxophone, percussion, backing vocals

Danny Fereici- organ, accordion, glockenspiel, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals

Nils Lofgren- guitar, backing vocals

Patti Scialfa- backing vocals, synthesizer

Garry Talent- bass, backing vocals

Steven Van Zandt- guitar, backing vocals

Max Weinberg- drums

Additional Musicians

Eddie and Flo- backing vocals on “Hungry Heart”

The Miami Horns on “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”

Steve Harrison- tenor saxophone

Eddie Manion- baritone saxophone

Mark Pender- trumpet

Richie ‘La Bamba’ Rosenberg- trombone

 

Bruce Springsteen was never one to do things by halves. He wanted his fans to have an album worthy of his concert performances. They certainly got it with this one. There’s not much more I can add here.

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