I am no fan of the Joad album or shows, but I have them. I am listening to the Asbury show now because I got it over the weekend. It's the best of the bunch, in my opinion, because it only has five Joad songs (fewest of the three).
Was waiting for a sale, but there isn't that much that appeals to me. I would never listen to a reunion or later show, so all those are out. I'll grab the 93 show, since I don't have any boots from that tour. Otherwise, I think I've got way more Bruce that I will ever listen to. Unless they come up with something amazing sounding from The River or pre-Darkness, I'm done.
I hear you. I have all of the shows I need right now. I am pretty much up-t0-date on the 1970's and 1980's era shows, plus the few of interest from the 1990's and the 2005 tour. There are one or two from the 2000's/2010's that I loosely have on my radar for this sort of sale (e.g. Buffalo 2009 with the complete Greetings album), but I am not really in the mood because I know I will rarely spin anything from that era. Plus I just downloaded way too many Buckethead Pikes releases that are currently on sale for $2 a pop, so I am finished with Black Friday download acquisitions.
I prefer the Devils And Dust shows because there is more light and shade than the fairly austere Joad shows.My picks of those would be Columbus and Grand Rapids.
The St. Rose of Lima show is my favorite acoustic show in the Archive series. It has a very Nebraska feel to me, though it’s the Joad tour. I’d put the Christic set close behind that. I’d go with one of the Devils & Dust shows next—I love the deep tracks and the unique arrangements on that tour (even though I can’t bear to listen to anything sung with the bullet mic and I think “Dream Baby Dream” is the single worst song in all of Bruce’s catalog). I pick Trenton for the most unique set list. Then I’d probably go with the Asbury Park Joad show, then the rest of the Devils & Dust shows, then the Belfast Joad show. (There’s nothing wrong with Belfast—it’s just that St. Lima and Asbury Park cover a lot of that territory.) To me, the Bridge school show suffers from being both uneven and short, so I personally rank it last among the acoustic shows. It does have its moments, though, and one could easily make an argument for choosing that ahead of a second (or third or fourth) Joad or D&D show.
I’d respectfully dissent on the Bridge. That show, and the Christic, Joad and D&D shows are all so completely different from one another that a preference among them ultimately hinges on taste; one might reasonably prefer one to the others as a simple matter of category. But I think the Bridge show has long been underrated. It should have been released a long time ago. I side with Charley Cross, who praised it at the time as romantic, and against Dave Marsh, who thought it weird. The show has a simplicity, earnestness and joy that are missing from the others: Danny’s accordion, Nils’s guitar and backing vocals; the pure presentation of truly beautiful songs like “Follow That Dream” and “Mansion on the Hill”; the distillation and elevation of lesser songs like “Darlington County” and “Dancing in the Dark”; and a top-flight “Fire.” Danny especially shines here, with the accordion on “Darlington County” and “Fire,” and the interludes of “Satin Doll” and “Lady of Spain.” It’s the closest thing we’ve gotten to one of those in-studio broadcasts from 1973 and 1974, which the series really ought to deliver at some point. So I say — one man’s opinion — buy it!
Several years ago (just prior to the announcement of the ongoing live archival series), fans on the Backstreets message board posted their lists of their top 10 favorite Springsteen bootlegs. The only entry on my list not from the '70s or The River tour of '80 - '81 was the first night of the Christic Institute benefit concerts (November 16, 1990). That show (coming a full two years after the final concert with The E Street Band and a year and a half before Springsteen would tour again) was, and remains, a major highlight of Springsteen's storied live performance career. Vulnerable, confessional, occasionally corny, and frequently insightful, it's the performance that allayed any fears I had about Springsteen's ability to connect without The E Street Band. The official archive is mastered from a soundboard source, not a multitrack source, so the mix is what it is. But aside from one particularly memorable moment of audience interaction that is lacking on the official release (for that moment, this show might actually be better served with one of the stellar audience captures from that night, as both Marc Persic and Mike Millard were on hand to work their magic), it's a solid and worthy presentation. Aside from Brian_Svoboda's characterization of "Dancing in the Dark" as a "lesser song," I fully agree with his assessment of the Bridge Benefit concert from a few years prior, which is also sourced from a soundboard and not from a multitrack source. It was a commonly traded bootleg (both audio and video) and it captures a master craftsman taking some risks, particularly with the acapella "You Can Look" to kick off the set immediately followed by the bluesy, brooding acoustic version of "Born in the USA," which was his first public performance of that landmark song in its skeletal form. The Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils and Dust tours provided us with the multitrack sources. The Devils tour was doubtlessly the more rewarding tour to follow on account of the wildly varied setlists from night to night. But in terms of an artistic statement, the Tom Joad performances, particularly in late '95 and early '96, are tough to beat. Belfast is an excellent presentation of a highly representative performance from the early months of the tour. Asbury Park and Freehold are probably more appealing for the casual fan on account of the guest appearances and the temporary sidelining of some of the new material in favor of favorites from yesteryear but those performances are not really representative of the tour like Belfast.
This is an excellent, thoughtful summary, even if we evidently disagree about “Dancing in the Dark”! The comment on 11/16/1990’s limitations is spot on. To not hear the crowd yelling “ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven!” during “Wild Billy’s Circus Story” (what a crowd!), or the veritable roar when Bruce remembers again the lyrics to “Thunder Road” materially alters the show. For pure, if looser and more accessible Joad, I’d really like to hear the Ryman Auditorium show in Nashville from 12/12/96, which has Patti and Soozie, but in the context of a normal set from that leg, with a really intense performance.
I agree with Brian_Svoboda. I really like the Bridge Show performance and CD. It's nice to have a recording of Bruce, arguably one of the biggest rock stars in the world following the Born in the U.S.A. album and tour, in a setting where it's just him, Nils, and Danny performing. Here's my review from about a year ago about the nugs Bruce Bridge School release: Bruce Springsteen Bridge School Benefit Concert 1986 Album Review
I bought 4 shows. The Nugster Download App didn't work as it didn't last time and the time before that. It quits immediately upon opening. So, I had to go the through the long slog of downloading 150 tracks or so one by one by clicking on them. I didn't bother complaining because I complained the last two times and they didn't give a damn and did nothing. For a company that is substantially in the business of downloading music they are completely incompetent.
I have problems with the Nugster App as well. Everytime I need to download the latest Springsteen live release i uninstall the Nugster App, reinstall it and it works. A bit annoying but it works for me.
Nugster was a great source of frustration for me this time. Granted, I was downloading a lot of shows.
East Rutherford 7-9-81 and Detroit 1988 seem to get a lot of love here. I think the 1984-85nall sound fine.
