| Columnist CJ
LaCava (Born in NJ and now in the UK) |
| Legendary Night Will Continue To Be Legendary
Posted on February 17, 2001 @ 5:00PM GMT By now most of us have heard and read about the new Springsteen live HBO Special, CD, and DVD all from the last two shows at MSG in 2000. Finally, we are going to get an official release from the reunion tour! Thank goodness all of the audiotape and camera work from the last three MSG shows are not going to be locked away in the vaults. The Pending Live Release Fans were elated, until the setlist was leaked. The backlash on the net was fierce and bitter. Thirteen songs, 100 minutes: My Love Will Not Let You Down Prove It All Night Two Hearts Atlantic City Mansion on the Hill The River Youngstown Murder Incorporated Badlands Out in the Street Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out Land of Hope and Dreams American Skin It's basically the first half of a typical show from the reunion tour with Land of Hope and Dreams tacked onto the end. Rumour has it that American Skin is a studio version. Now please remember, this list is not yet official - but it could very well be the real deal. We'll know for sure in a few weeks. A lot of people are disappointed: Where are other new songs that got a lot of attention during the MSG stand (like Code of Silence, Further On Down The Road, and Another Thin Line)? What about the real rarities from the last three shows (such as Lost in the Flood, E Street Shuffle, Mary Queen of Arkansas, or The Promise)? What about the live tracks that are not officially released (like Jungleland, Ramrod, Blinded By The Light, or The Ties That Bind)? What? You think I might know? It looks like we are getting most of these tracks from the July 1st show - the grand finale from MSG. You can hear this entire show on CC's Legendary Night. The good news is that Atlantic City from this show was amazing - the crowd singing along . . . "meet me tonight in Atlantic City" was so wonderful - almost surreal. The show's core (Youngstown to Tenth Ave) was solid, but not as good as June 27. The press release from HBO says that songs are taken from July 1 and June 29 - it'll be interesting to see which ones. Am I disappointed that more of the shows are not being released? Of course, but I am not bitter. I'm glad to get any official release from the reunion tour. What if Bruce read all of the backlash from the net and decided to scrap the whole thing? How would that make you feel? Let's face it: we know Bruce doesn't enjoy releasing live material - he didn't like putting together the Live 1975/85 box. Jon Landau had to drive that project and probably this one as well. All I can do it hope maybe there are one or two bonus tracks on the DVD that satisfy the more hardcore fans. We all have high hopes for a more complete record of the reunion tour shows. Maybe we will be pleasantly surprised by the DVD. After it is all said and done, I'm sure I will treasure whatever Bruce decides to send out to the fans. CC's Legendary Night I was hoping that the official release would make this boot redundant, but it looks like Legendary Night will most likely remain just that: a legendary bootleg of a legendary concert. There were so many great tapes from this show (MSG 7/1/00). Ironically, CC used a tape from this release made by a member of this community. I think the remastering job makes this boot a bit better than the RMAS tree version: The Promise Delivered, which itself was an monumental effort by fans to make a complete record of the MSG stand. Nice job guys. Your artwork was a lot better than many of CC's covers from the 1999/2000 tours. I had mixed feeling about the last night at MSG in 2000. The show started out in a bit of a rut, but that changed as the band settled into their last stand of the reunion tour. Some of the tracks on this boot are absolutely essential: Atlantic City, a great Tenth Ave, E Street Shuffle, Further on Up the Road, and of course - an outstanding Lost in the Flood and Blood Brother. The crowd cheering for the E Street Band is a paramount moment and a fitting end to the tour: the crowd really lets Bruce and the band know that they . . . well . . . adore and admire them and their music. This is an important bootleg. The only complete record of a very important night in the history of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. E-mail CJ LaCava |