| 1. With Elvis Costello This is yet another release from the "no label" or "anonymous" label containing both of Springsteen's excellent shows at Madison Square Garden in the fall of 2009, aquired as a very pricey import. The label bills this release as a "Stereo Soundboard Recording" as it did with the similar release "Giants Stadium 2009." Interestingly enough, I feel the claim of this being an actual soundboard tape may actually be true, even though the last known soundboard tape to leak out of Camp Bruce was from 1993. To my ears, it doesn't have the thin, almost hollow quality of most IEM recordings, and the lack of obnoxious audience noise (like the screamers & the talkers) make it seem less like an IEM-audience recording mix. That is not to say it sounds dry & sterile, which it does not- there is audience noise at the expected parts that are not intrusive to the music. And as far as the music goes-it is grand, with a nice, full balanced mix (for the most part). Therefore, if it is a mix of some variety of multiple IEMs and an audience source, it is one of the most skillfull mixes ever made. I just don't feel that it is. How this tape ever made it out to the public, I don't know-but Springsteen fans everywhere should rejoice to have such fantastic quality shows available given Bruce & his management's obtuse reluctance to just put out live show downloads as many other artists have. I just hope these great tapes keep coming. Although these shows have already made the rounds in great quality, this particular release offers yet more versions to add to the ranks. How does this release rank in comparison to the others? The source of the Wild & Innocent show is the same as the Crystal Cat release from last year, although this version to me is superior. Why? Because it doesn't have the eardrum-splitting, over-the-top compression on it that Crystal Cat unfortunately applied to the source. The music is natural and has room to breathe here, as it sounded that night in the arena. This release also avoids Crystal Cat's problematic choice to split Incident On 57th Street & Rosalita between 2 discs. The natural flow of the show is intact, with the split occuring at the more logical point between Wild Billy's Circus Story & Incident, as it occurs on the original LP. The best part of this release of The River show, which is a completely new source from all of the currently circulating sources. The quality is again outstanding, with a nice natural and full sound. To have an excellent sonic document of the best concert I have ever seen by Bruce (or any other artist) since I started seeing him in 2000 is a blessing. Indeed, I feel November 8, 2009 still stands as the best show Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performed since 1999, through and including the recent 2012 European stadium run. It was simply that good. The band had an energy flowing from that stage that night like I have never witnessed, and were locked into playing off one another, as if they were 30 years younger themselves. The outing of such long-forgotten jems as The Price You Pay, Stolen Car, Fade Away & Wreck On The Highway would expectedly be shaky at best-but the band absolutely nailed each and every song with laser focused intensity. Even the more common tracks like Two Hearts, Ramrod, and Out In The Street seemed to have just a little more joy to them. Most importantly, in playing the whole of The River, the show had that dramatic arc of many emotions which had been so lacking in many of the shows from 2009. Not that November 7, 2009 is anything subpar, for the full performance of The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle is simply exquisite. If the rest of the show feels somewhat "ordinary" it is due to the fact that the album performance overshadows the rest of it by a long mile. Here we have what I consider to be the absolute definitve versions of 2 of my favorite Springsteen songs, Incident On 57th Street and New York City Serenade, bar none. The addition of the strings and the congas to New York City Serenade, as present on the original album version, give it a totally unique feeling and texture that was sorely absent in other performances, and Bruce's vocal delivery is absolutely sublime. On Incident, again the band nails the dynamics of the song with sheer precision, and Bruce concludes it with a fierce guitar solo that launches it into the stratosphere. Elsewhere, E Street Shuffle and Kitty's Back absolutely smoke with the addition of a horn section. Add in fine performances of Human Touch, one of my "guilty pleasures" from the Springsteen songbook, a fantastic Thundercrack, and a seething version of Seeds and you have one fine show indeed. To have them in this sound quality make this a must-have release. In conclusion, I offer this release as a gift to the Springsteen community-to all of those tapers, rippers, and self-made engineers that have plopped down their own hard-earned cash, time, and efforts in bringing the gift of live Springsteen to all of us. I know I have benefitted many times over from their efforts, this is my small offering to give back. I hope this will inspire the continued sharing of rare and great uncirculated tapes (Shea 2003, Philly 2009, St. Louis 2008 IEMs anybody?). I hope you all enjoy this fine release, and in Bruce's words, see you Further On Up The Road! /thecautiousman
August 4, 2012 'Lineage' information: "Stereo Soundboard Recording" (Artwork Info) > Silver Discs > Some Anonymous Vendor > me > EAC (wav conversion) > FLAC (Level 8) > you! |
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