Live Collection
Live album by Bruce Springsteen
Released 1986
Recorded July 7, 1978, December 16, 1978, December 28, 1980
Genre Rock
Length 28:00
Label CBS/Sony
Producers Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin, Bruce Springsteen
Japanese exclusive live release. Four tracks including two songs that were left off the monumental Live/1975-85 box set, "For You" and "Incident On 57th St." which are exclusive to this release. Also features two tracks from the aforementioned box set, "Rosalita" and "Fire".
Review by Scott Yeaman on amazon:
This import only release is well worth purchasing if only for the epic version of Incident on 57th Street. It contains one of the greatest of Bruce's dramatic, crying guitar solos and is one of the reasons that its rare appearances in Springsteen's setlists are so highly prized by the faithful. The version of "For You" is also a great version that is only available here.
Review by John Hocking on amazon:
Imagine being 23 years old and an aspiring singer/song writer best known for your live shows. Your first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ, released on January 4, 1973, received critical acclaim but only sold about 20,000 units. Your second album is scheduled to be released in September, weeks before you turn 24.
You're stressed out trying to write great songs as a recording session looms. Coincidentally, as you attempt to use your God-given, but raw talent, God herself decides to write a rare song. She thinks, "who will I channel it through? Mozart is gone. The Beatles have broken up. Let's see what that skinny kid from New Jersey can do with this."
She sends down a vague idea, a few bits of melody, and turns him loose. He takes her hints, and pours his soul into a song that may have only one weakness. It's so beautiful that it may be obvious that no mortal, and certainly not a 23 year-old, could write it. He must have somehow cheated. In a way, he did cheat. When God was handing out musical brilliance, he somehow squeezed into the front of the line.
The song is "Incident on 57th Street."
It is an epic, a symphony, a stunning, brilliant, sublime song that can make stable adults weep. It can be played solo, with only a piano, or with full band, and be equally great. It will be played in a hundred years, much as Pacelbel's Canon in D, written in 1699, is played today.
As we now know, nearly 40 years after Incident was composed, Bruce Springsteen is... I almost wrote, an "American Treasure," but he's more than that. He is a Human Treasure. Art has the potential to fundamentally challenge and change us, to help us become a more caring, empathic, and altruistic people. We well know that this potential is rarely realized. The depth and breadth of Mr. Springsteen's contributions, of which, Incident on 57th Street, is an exemplar, reveal an artist whose work fulfills the enormous potential of the medium.
This performance is historic, not just because "Incident" is played perfectly, but because it is the last time the song was played live for 19 years. No one knows why except Mr. Springsteen.
This is a rare, live, soundboard recording, taken from the December 29, 1980, Nassau Coliseum, Long Island, NYC concert. (The cover says the show was on the 28th. Bruce played the second of three Nassau Coliseum shows on the 28th, but only played "Incident" on the 29th.)
The next time the song would be heard was on September 25, 1999, First Union Center, Philadelphia. That show was opened with a full band, anthem-like version of the song. Slowly, the audience recognized what he was playing. By the end, ten minutes later, 20,000 people were singing along. Those who were there will *never* forget the experience.
Bruce Springsteen is arguably the greatest songwriter in the history of amplified music, but it is his live shows that set him apart from his peers, people like Dylan and McCartney.
The live versions of Rosalita, Fire, and For You are all good, but the overwhelming reason to own this import is to hear and possess one of Bruce Springsteen's greatest songs, "Incident on 57th Street," performed and recorded, perfectly, for posterity.
Even at the inflated "Import" price, this otherwise unobtainable presentation of one of the greatest songs God has ever channeled through a human, is a bargain.
LP track listing
All songs written by Bruce Springsteen.
Side One
1. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" Ð 10:01
Recorded July 7, 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, CA.
2. "Fire" Ð 2:51
Recorded December 16, 1978 at the Winterland, CA.
Side Two
3. "Incident on 57th Street" Ð 10:01
Recorded December 28, 1980 at Nassau Coliseum, NY.
4. "For You" Ð 5:07
Recorded July 7, 1978 at The Roxy Theatre, CA.
Personnel
* Bruce Springsteen - guitar, harmonica, acoustic guitar, vocals
* Roy Bittan - piano, synthesizer, vocals
* Clarence Clemons - saxophone, percussion, vocals
* Danny Federici - organ, accordion, glockenspiel, piano, synthesizer, vocals
* Garry Tallent - bass, vocals
* Steve Van Zandt - guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
* Max Weinberg - drums
Thanks to slipkid68 for providing this pristine Japanese pressing.