The Early Years

So I bought this last Wednesday.

I have listened to it only once so far.  First impressions?  Well... it's interesting.   Here is a customer review from Amazon which pretty much sums up how I feel.

I didn't really know what to expect from this release and it certainly isn't for newbies to E Street, but for existing fans there is a lot to be gleaned and enjoyed.

I recommend this to anyone with a true interest in the origins of the Springsteen sound, the recordings are fine and listenable given their source and the sleeve notes are interesting. I hope there are more to this series of radio shows in the future.

I understand there is some legal loophole that is allowing this sort of recording to be released and the same reviewer also covers this topic :-

These are not bootleg releases either. Because of a legal loophole live recordings over 25 years old can be released without the artists permission. If this had been included in a box set of rarities to support Greetings from Asbury Park, people may see it in a different way.

Anyway the recordings are taken from way back in 1973.  Bruce, bless him, sounds really nervous and shy.

Now in 1973 some of my Bruce buddies were barely old enough to talk so whether or not they would've liked this at the time isn't an issue. I was 14 years old and into music in a big way.  Not this sort of music though. I really wouldn't have liked it at all.  In fact to be honest I'm not even sure if I like it now!  I'm pleased I've heard it and I will listen to it again, but really, if it wasn't a Bruce recording it would be filed at the back of the cupboard never to surface again.

When I listen to Bruce's early stuff I can understand why he was likened to Bob Dylan.  I didn't do Dylan back in the seventies although I like some of his more familiar songs now - Just Like A Woman, Lay Lady Lay, Like a Rolling Stone etc.  Chimes of Freedom is one of my favourite Bruce covers.  I didn't know it was a Dylan song when I first heard it.



A few months ago I bought Live at the Main Point .  This is a recording from a couple of years later and the songs on this are obviously more familiar than those on 'Bound for Glory' but I'm still not sure about the early stuff.

My final recent purchase is Live on Air

I thought it sounded somewhat familiar and - well - I was right.  It's highlights from The Main Point! Anyway all is not lost. There is a bonus DVD featuring some of Bruce's appearances on the TV. You can get the DVD on it's own. The reviews aren't great but this, from the same reviewer I quoted above, is a fair summing up

As a Springsteen collector the criticism regarding the quality of this product is, I beleive, unfair. How many Springsteen fans have bought bootleg recordings of very dubious quality without complaint, and at extortionate prices, and in many ways this DVD should be seen in the same way. For the European market these are rare recordings and a little dated but should be seen as such. The price is reasonable and I enjoyed watching it given the limitations. This DVD is not trying to be something it isn't and at the end of the day you get what you pay for. If you want top quality live footage there is plenty available and as a greatest video hits the Springsteen Video Anthology is hard to beat. Like they say you pays your money and makes your choice.

I assumed that unless you lived in the USA and saw/taped them at the time this release is the only chance you would have to see them but I've found Lucky Town on the good old internet.  You will see that the picture quality is, indeed, awful and so is Bruce's shirt!!



Lucky town (live 92 snl) bruce springsteen by runawaydream

Some of you may know that we take a keen interest in Joe Grushecky.  We have several of his albums and Mike, in particular, likes his music. He will be uppermost in your minds lately following the fantastic shows in Pittsburg the other week.  There is a great interview with Joe in Rolling Stone Magazine.  Amazingly he has a day job as a special education teacher because he can't make a living as a musician.

Joe met Bruce in 1980 when Stevie was playing on the recordings of The River and Grushecky's album of the time.  They had a lot in common so became friends.

There's a funny little piece in The Daily Express in which Nils tells us about Bruce's secret band.  Apparently they get together and jam round the kitchen table.

Finally as I've been rummaging around the internet I may have stumbled upon some more rumours about a tour next year.  This time it's about the Isle of Wight Festival and is discussed on this forum.  Although it's headed 'Isle of Wight Festival 2011' they are discussing headliners for 2012.