Also, Bruce isn't the Grateful Dead. He isn't going to be able to sell boxes of multiple nights from the same run. Outside of the most extreme fanatics, two or three shows per tour would be the most anyone would buy.
Does that Helsinki show REALLY have a 10+ minute "Sunny Day"??? Funny he'd play it so close to Switzerland - doesn't the Geneva Convention prohibit a "Sunny Day" that goes past the 3-minute mark?
Agree, but I suspect it's also much cheaper/easier for them to put out these newer shows. I doubt they require much work to be mastered/released, whereas older stuff is more complicated. I'd love a 1992-93 show - that's tops on my list!
David Lemieux and Jeff Norman have done an outstanding job with the Dead reissues and catalog milking. My guess is that they're too busy to advise Landau and his team.
So which bootlegs sound better? I have Summertime Bruce and The Classic Cleveland Broadcast and I don't find either sounds any better than the version Bruce put out. Also in the notes for the Agora show it says that the stereo reels they used were most likely the master tapes or the only ones they knew of. "After comparison to other copies of this show, this was the best version and potentially the original master tapes."
I understand they were not going to tell us there's also a multitrack recording - recorded in the studio instead of the truck where Iovine made his FM mastertape - in private hands that demand a percentage of the profit of sales. And this leaves the possibilty of a Sony release from the multitracks.
I think there is some truth to that. In general, I think many artists do not hold what is often considered their "classic" or "vintage" eras of work in the same high regard that the respective fan-bases do. Granted, Springsteen knows Born To Run, Darkness, and The River are classics. He knows Nebraska is an artistic triumph. However, I do think that he likely views his contemporary studio work and live shows as being just as good, if not better, than his work from 30 years ago (Landau raves about Springsteen's shows to the press as being better than ever, and one suspects Springsteen probably shares that view). While I do think Springsteen knows some of his fan-base is stuck in the past so-to-speak and knows they want more vintage live shows from the archives, I also would not be surprised if he felt his contemporary work is just as valuable and worthy of release.
That may be true, but there are already dozens of recent shows available for sale/download. I guess only they know their stats. If the modern shows aren't badly outsold by the vintage ones, their strategy makes sense.
I know but for some reason many Americans get Sweden and Switzerland mixed up. One of these is close to Finland.
"Tougher Than The Rest" is probably my favorite Bruce Springsteen track and the live version on the '88 live set cuts the studio version by a mile. Didn't see that one coming.
I'm an extreme fanatic, and even I don't need more than two or three shows from a tour. If they ever did some kind of tour compilations, compiling highlights and rarer songs, I'd be all over that. Like, I don't need 40 versions of "Working On A Dream," but I'd be all over a release of just the one-offs and covers Bruce did on that tour.
Crystal Cat had it right. Pick a good sounding show and fill out disc 3-4 (or 5-6!) with selections from other contemporary shows. I'd buy a 5 disc tour compilation before a single show.
Me three. I was hoping that the archive series would allow me to pare down my bloated download folder of boots. I''ve grabbed some tour compilations from 75, 76, Darkness, River, BITUSA and TOL. Those plus one or two full shows are probably enough. The radio broadcasts from Darkness are better sounding than the archive release. I'll buy pretty much anything pre-Darkness but other than that, I've got enough from the classic years. A good 92-93 compilation would also be welcome.
I'm certainly glad that the Springsteen organization has started releasing the archives, but for the most part, so far it's been pretty unadventurous with the releases. I didn't bother picking up the previously bootlegged shows. I'm so used to my boots that I don't really need so-called upgrades. The 1975 show was the only big surprise that I've grabbed. I also picked up half a dozen 2016 shows on sale and made my own tour comp. Hopefully well see more interesting choices in the future.
Nah - I know the difference. I thought "both countries in Europe" was close enough for "cheap crack about that stupid 'Sunny Day' song"!
A tour compilation would be an easy way to keep interest in the archive series going, even after they've already released 2 or 3 shows from any given tour/era. I'm not really a purist, I just want a good listening experience.
They don't even edit the eight minutes of crowd murmuring out of these things. Compiling tracks from a tour isn't going to happen. They're as is recordings at premium prices.
On the one hand, I'm glad Landsteen is doing anything. On the other, the only people interested are fanatics so they should be catering to us.
Another 2009 show just got posted Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - October 20, 2009 Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA
While it's good to see a quicker turnaround on releases again, I have no interest in another modern show. This is noted on the site, however: "Following the release of Philadelphia 2009, the Archival Download series will shift its attention even further back in time to cover more historic tours and performances. " Is it too cynical of me to think this will end up being a 1999 show?
Yes, way too cynical! I think the next handful of releases will all be from the Classic E St era...hopefully they hit us with something from 1973-74. Or hell...Steel Mill!