Live in New York City (2001)
Disc One
1. My Love Will Not Let You Down
2. Prove it All Night
3. Two Hearts
4. Atlantic City
5. Mansion on the Hill
6. The River
7. Youngstown
8. Murder Incorporated
9. Badlands
10.Out in the Street
11.Born to Run
Disc Two
1. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
2. Land of Hopes and Dreams
3. American Skin (41 Shots)
4. Lost in the Flood
5. Born in the U.S.A.
6. Don't Look Back
7. Jungleland
8. Ramrod
9. If I Should Fall Behind
 
It was a great day for rock and roll
when the E Street Band reunited for some new songs on Bruce's Greatest Hits compilation. It was even a
better day when they decided to get back together for an indefinite time
period and kick off a tour with no album to support (unless
you count the box set Tracks). And of course,
what better place to record a video and audio momento such as this than
Madison Square Garden in New York City? So all of the pieces were in
place for something phenomenal. Yet for some reason, this release falls
a bit short of being the incredible listening experience that it should be.
It's great - no mistake there - but it seems like something is
missing. So what exactly is it?
Well, it's definitely not the song selection. Springsteen is one of
those rare artists that can play a concert for two hours (actually,
three hours, in his case) and play virtually anything from his catalog
and have it warmly received. He rarely plays many of his "hits" in
concert (the exception may be Born to Run), and, because of the
level of intensity at every Springsteen show, no one really seems to
care. Plus, there's the fact that most of these songs here are
appearing in a live format for the first time. Even though he put out
the mammoth collection, 3 disc set Live
1975-1985 right as this band was parting ways, there's not a lot
of duplication here from that record.
When I listen to this collection, there are a few things that stand out
as being less than stellar. For one, some of the songs simply go on too
long. I have no problem with a 10 minute song (such as
Jungleland), but I do have a problem with a 10 minute song
that should probably only be about half that length (such as The
River and/or Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out). The extra length
seems to serve no real purpose and just causes these great tunes to
drag. The latter song is particularly offensive as Springsteen uses the
track to try to pump up the crowd by talking about making this a "rock
and roll revival" and laboriously introduces every member of the band. I mean,
this goes on and on and on and on. I
wish he would just take two minutes between songs rather than making the
introductions a "song" themselves. It may have its benefits in an
actual show, but doesn't translate well onto a made for home recording.
Then, at the risk of sounding blasphemous, it almost sounds like there's
a little too much E Street Band here. During several songs, he
lets many of the members sing a line or a whole group of lines during
the songs. Now, I'm sorry, but apart from Steven Van Zandt, none of
these guys are very good singers. Even his wife, Patty Scialfa sounds
better accompanying her husband with background vocals then taking the
lead. Maybe that's just my taste, but witness the fiasco of the last
song If I Should Fall Behind as he lets everyone sing a line as a
way to close the show. Ironic since this is one of the few "non" E
Street Bands on the album. Even more ironic that the original version without
the E Street Band sounds much better than what is here.
Even though I'm harping on the negative, there's a lot more here to like
than to dislike. It's nice to see several newer songs (Land of Hope and
Dreams, Murder Incorporated and American Skin (41 Shots)) appear
here, especially since some had never been released in any format
whatsoever before they were released on this record. It's also nice to hear some
older songs resurrected, such as the aforementioned Jungleland
and the brilliant Lost in the Flood. I've also become a much
bigger fan of the "alternate" version of Born in the U.S.A. that
appeared on Tracks that's much more somber and
haunting. The version here is more faithful to stripped down version than the
original that was so misunderstood by so many people.
The two songs from the "new" box set, you could argue, could have been
replaced by better ones, but that's being nitpicky. There was just too
much to choose from when selecting material. Ultimately, every fan of The Boss will like this
one - and it was great to see the old band back together again.
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