Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – 1988/05/16 New York, NY (1988/2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 03:18:01 minutes | 2,56 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © nugs.net

The Tunnel of Love tour again? That’s surely a sentiment some are expressing with this month’s release of New York 5/16/88, the outstanding opening night performance from the final, five-show stand on the US leg of the 1988 tour.

On the surface the POV is understandable, as most shows on the Tunnel of Love Express Tour shared the same narrative arc and core songs. However beautifully realized it was, the argument goes, how distinctive is one Tunnel show from another?

It’s curious that 1988 comes in for such carping when one of Bruce’s most-beloved tours, in support of Darkness on the Edge of Town ten years earlier, followed a similar formula, largely sticking to a consistent group of songs for the core set, augmented by select cover versions and rarities that made a particular show extra special.

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – 1981-06-04 London, UK (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 02:50:09 minutes | 5,72 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © live.brucespringsteen.net

The 1981 European leg of the River tour is a seminal chapter in Springsteen’s performing career, with the six-night stand at Wembley Arena its culmination. London 6/4/81 presents the brilliant fifth show of the run with key changes from the previously released final night including “The Ties That Bind,” “Jackson Cage,” “Racing in the Street” and “Backstreets,” plus vital recent additions “Trapped” (played for only the fourth time), “Follow That Dream” and “Johnny Bye Bye.” The 27-song set wraps with an epic, 15-minute “Detroit Medley” that takes a welcome Memphis detour.

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Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – 1984-08-20 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 03:41:50 minutes | 8,32 GB | Genre: Rock
Official Digital Download – Source: live.brucespringsteen.net | Front Cover | © Live Bruce Springsteen
Recorded: 1984-08-20 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ

The legendary ten-show, August ’84 stand at Brendan Byrne Arena culminates in special performances with the Miami Horns and Stevie Van Zandt, particularly the pitch-perfect cover of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.” Stevie also duets on “Two Hearts”, while the Horns enliven “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Detroit Medley” and “Twist and Shout – Do You Love Me?” With “Cover Me,” “Darlington County,” “I’m Goin’ Down,” “Spirit in the Night,” “Darkness” and more, 8/20/84 is Peak Born in the U.S.A. Tour.

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Bruce Springsteen – 1996-11-24 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 02:27:34 minutes | 1,49 GB | Genre: Rock
Official Digital Download – Source: live.brucespringsteen.net | Front Cover | © Live Bruce Springsteen
Recorded:  1996-11-24 Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, NJ

Making his first full concert appearance in Asbury Park since the ’70s, Springsteen brings the Joad tour to where it all began. Accordingly, Bruce unfurls a Shore-centric set that opens with a three-song blast from Greetings: “Blinded By The Light,” “Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street” and “Growin’ Up.” With sympathetic support from Danny Federici, Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell, Bruce moves through apropos surprises (“Wild Billy’s Circus Story,” “Rosalita” and “Sandy”), moving rarities (“When You’re Alone” and “Shut Out The Light”) and wonderful takes of “Racing In The Street” and “Independence Day” among many highlights.

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Bruce Springsteen – 1996-11-08 St. Rose of Lima Gymnasium, Freehold, NJ (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz  | Time – 02:31:46 minutes | 1,47 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download  | Front Cover | © Live Bruce Springsteen

This memorable homecoming stop on the Tom Joad tour sees Springsteen return to Freehold and his parochial school, St. Rose of Lima. Joined by special guests Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell, Bruce reminisces and tears up the set list for nine tour debuts, including “The River,” “Two Hearts” “Racing in the Street,” a rare “When You’re Alone” and the only tour performances of “Open All Night,” “Used Cars” and “My Hometown.” The show wraps with “Freehold,” an uproarious paean penned for the occasion.

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