BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LA SPORTS ARENA, CALIFORNIA 1988

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LA SPORTS ARENA, CALIFORNIA 1988

Disc One (78:57)

Tunnel Of Love
Be True
Adam Raised A Cain
Two Faces
All That Heaven Will Allow
Seeds
Roulette
Cover Me
Brilliant Disguise
Spare Parts
War
Born In The U.S.A.

Disc Two (76:42)

Tougher Than The Rest
Ain't Got You
She's The One
You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
I'm A Coward
I'm On Fire
One Step Up
Part Man, Part Monkey
Backstreets
Dancing In The Dark
Light Of Day
Happy Birthday To Roy Orbison
Born To Run

Disc Three (44:49)

Hungry Heart
Glory Days
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Have Love Will Travel
Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
Sweet Soul Music
Raise Your Hand

Label : Nugs.net

Venue : The Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA

Recording Date : April 23, 1988

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : Unearthed from the Springsteen vault back in July 2015, the second show of a five night run inside the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was the first ever full concert from the Tunnel of Love Express Tour to be officially released, and while the concerts from Detroit, New York and Stockholm that have been released since show improvement both in regards to the quality of E Street performance and the quality of mastering and mixing audio, there are still plenty of strengths to be found in this one. Recorded and mixed by Toby Scott and later mastered for release by Adam Ayan, this has always faced some criticism for Bruce sounding ‘muffled’ throughout. We all hear these Archive Series releases differently though, and I can’t say my enjoyment of this show has been affected by the audio quality. Honestly, I wouldn’t say there’s anything about this release that’s prevented me from enjoying it over the last several years. Yeah, there are a few minor aspects on certain tracks that could have, and in future downloads have, been improved upon prior to the release, but there’s nothing major bringing this one down (Especially in July 2020 seeing as I can’t chastise the lack of “Walk Like a Man” with the two versions we’ve now got in the Series). Not even Bruce with his less upbeat demeanour on the night is an issue. In the past I’ve referred to him as ‘Moody Bruce’ in this show, but in listening to this again maybe ‘Moody’ isn’t the right word given there are a fair few songs – mostly in the second set – where he sounds looser and like he’s enjoying himself. That being said, there does seem to be something ‘off’ about him at the start of the concert (knowing the context of the tour I won’t blame you for guessing it’s related to a personal matter) and this seems to have an impact on his phrasing of certain lyrics, and ultimately the effort he appears to putting in. I can’t say that he isn’t “in the mood” or, God forbid, phoning it in, it just feels like he’s performing without properly utilising his Magic Trick of making the audience feel like he’s there for them and that they’re what matters on the night. Basically, the early impression we get is that he’s here for business more than he is for fun. When we compare this “Tunnel of Love” with its other three released versions from the tour, the above mentioned oddness where it concerns Bruce behaviour and vocal phrasing is almost immediately evident. The “You ready to ride?” (2:18) is a nice way of exciting the audience, but to me it doesn’t sound as personal or as rousing as his “My date didn’t show up, d’ya wanna go out?” in Detroit and the “Ready for a hell of a ride?!?” in New York. It’s very to the point and it gives the early impression of a “get in and get out” mindset, that’s only more so emphasised when we hear him sing select lyrics in a similar style. Listen to how he sings “in this tunnel of love” from 4:07 – 4:10 on this one in contrast to the passionately drawn out “in this Tuuuunnel of Looove” in Stockholm (3:54 – 3:58), as well as the rather basic delivery of the title lyric from 5:43 – 5:53 compared to the Madison Square Garden version and his stretching out of “lo-o-ovee” around the 5:56 – 6:08 mark. The only thing that casts doubt over that “get in and get out” theory is the slower tempo of his strumming compared to Detroit, New York and Stockholm. There’s a lack of intensity to his playing that makes it seem like he doesn’t have any pent up frustration to let out, which is initially great to realise until it hits us that it’s more indicative of him being deflated than anything else. Fortunately The E Street Band and The Horns of Love (Mario Cruz, Ed Manion, Mark Pender, Richie ‘La Bamba’ Rosenberg, Mike Spengler) are in good form to start the night, with the five horns-men adding a fine kick to the track with their involvements from 5:11, while Patti wows us with her astounding backing vocals and harmonies throughout, particularly between 5:23 and 5:51. I’d go as far as to say in 1988 Patti Scialfa was in a league of her own. And seeing as I mentioned Stockholm I have to say that this version has the benefit of Nils’ solo (4:17 – 4:58) being fantastic courtesy of the sound effects not messing up like they would on the radio broadcast from early July. It mightn’t be the best version of the song when put up against others, but it’s far from being a bad one. On the subject of best versions of songs, though, our second song of the night is one of my Archive Series essentials and one that features such a fantastic little moment of ‘Essence’ that the almost equally excellent renditions from Detroit and New York ultimately pale in comparison. Kicked off with a nearly twenty-five second straight sax siren from Clarence and spurred on by the delicate piano playing of Roy throughout, this version of “Be True” sees Bruce very quickly makes me eat my words coming off of “Tunnel” by singing with the perfect balance of tenderness and passion, motivated by the woman whose love he wants to keep as well as the woman whose love he wants to get. Despite being a song that’s somewhat spiteful, there’s no malice noticeable in Bruce’s voice, and while his vocals are spot on there are no all timer calibre vocal nuances, which allows for the song’s highlight at 3:06 to standout even more. It’s funny in a way given what I’ve just said about the very forward, “You ready to ride?” above, but I genuinely adore the simplicity of Bruce asking “Alright?!” here. The way that last “be true to you” line and Max’s thudding drumbeat flow into it, in addition to the tone of Bruce’s voice when he asks it, is absolutely magical and it’s one of the few occasions on the night where the Magic Trick is utilised to the fullest. For me that line is up there with Bruce stating “It’s just me and you tonight” and “Tonight’s the night!“, and as I’ve said in the past I can’t help but say it every time I listen to the song, studio or live, regardless of whether he’s asking “So how about it?” or “Is it a deal?” instead. It’s just one minor aspect in this gem of a track that’s become quintessential to me, and that may well highlight the importance of the Archive Series in general for Springsteen fans. “Adam Raised a Cain” follows tenderness with acidity courtesy of scathing guitar from Bruce, sorrowful organ from Danny and heavy horns from Ed Manion and company (and that’s only the opening forty-five seconds let alone the other 4:06!). Similarly to the opening track, however, this one feels different when we compare it with the renditions from Detroit and New York. There’s no denying Bruce’s efforts, it’s a spectacular performance and there’s even a couple of instances where his vocals are superb – “they ask you why you’re back” (1:32 – 1:34), “the places, the names” (1:52) – but in contrast to Detroit in particular where he, again, stretches out a fair amount of the lyrics this performance feels much more direct and his delivery almost sounds spoken at times. And of course in New York there’s the added “Break that chain, baby!” towards the end (3:51) that brings so much to the song and connects it with the “Long Time Comin'” intro on Broadway, which Bruce hadn’t yet attached to the song at this point of the tour. If anything though I think that just highlights how much this tour evolved despite the setlist remaining as tightly constructed as it was, and likewise with “Be True” this gives us another example of just how crucial these Archive releases are. There may be song repetition, but it’s very likely you’re going to spot something unique in every other song performance, as evidenced in the opening of this concert. Before moving on, it’s also really worth noting how prominent Garry’s bass is on this track, and this is a trend that continues as the show progresses. Toby Scott gets a lot of flack for his mixes – including this one – compared to the work of Jon Altschiller and Bob Clearmountain, but this release genuinely does serve as one of the finest examples of Garry’s contributions to The E Street sound, so Scott deserves some credit for that. “Two Faces” is similar to “Adam” in how it isn’t better than its counterparts from March and April, but it’s a riveting listen nonetheless, and it shares with Detroit and New York what is perhaps the fundamental element of the song: Bruce singing with a tone that can only be described as shame. He mightn’t be stretching out lyrics, but you can still sense in his vocals the disappointment he feels about himself, and this disappointment is only further emphasised in the cutting instrumentals of his bandmates. Nils’ solo from 1:49 – 2:06 is essentially a wail, while Danny’s instrumental on the keyboards from 2:33 offers a glimmer of hope that we know is all going to be in the vain – I’d also recommend checking out the small build between Danny, Nils and Roy from 2:26 before The Phantom lets loose too, it’s outstanding! The only issue with this track is that Clarence’s opening sax for “All That Heaven Will Allow” is attached to the end from 3:52. I’ve never had any issues with details such as monologues for a song being included on the end of the previous one, but there was really no reason to separate this instrumental. At least the fact that this is corrected on the March 28th and May 23rd releases shows improvement in the Series from 2015 onwards. “All That Heaven Will Allow” as an actual song doesn’t start until 8:02 into the track, so this allows for Bruce’s first monologue of the show, and I feel that this is another instance of his Magic Trick being very different to 1985. It’s not that he’s in any sort of bad mood during this very micromanaged story, and that’s highlighted by his chuckling when talking about the contrasts in reactions to sunny weather in Los Angeles and back home in New Jersey, as well as when he shoots the breeze with Clarence on the ‘Park Bench’. It’s more so that he’s clearly in a wistful state of mind for both the past and the future, giving a shout out to Clarence’s son, “The Little Big Man” (“He’s three years old now… three years old, he’s almost as big as me!“) and mentioning how so many of his bandmates now have children, that “in about fifteen years there’s gonna be E Street Band volume two!“. To me, this focus on the maturing of himself and his friends isn’t as much a sadness at the notion of the girls in their summer clothes starting to pass him by, but rather the fact that his friends have found living proof with a son or daughter at this point, and he hasn’t. The final aspect of this monologue I continually find interesting happens just before the Horns start harmonising, when Bruce mentions the night Clarence met his wife and describes the scene of her walking into the room, stating, “you gotta act like a whole lot nicer than you really are, you know… can’t show your real self yet…”. On paper “Two Faces” and “All That Heaven Will Allow” are very dissimilar, but with those last six words they’re connected arguably as well as any other song on the night, and even though this show was released two years before Bruce stepped on the Walter Kerr stage, his monologue prior to “Brilliant Disguise” on Broadway about the many masks we wear to hide our true selves is justified even more. The Tunnel of Love Express Tour is very notable for its thematic sequencing, and thirty years later it’s still presenting new themes given how many times I’m finding myself mentioning the importance of the Archive Series allowing us to connect Bruce’s songs and monologues from over the years. And seeing as we haven’t got stuck into this actual song yet, we’re not even five songs into this show! The song performance itself sees Bruce singing with a bit of strain the voice, but that neither hinders or ruins it, and to a degree it benefits the song by making it feel like an ongoing conversation. This one also features some really nice harmonies by the Horns from 9:18, with the finest moment coming at 9:26 (and again at 9:42) with the delivery of that “woo-oo-oo-oo“. Following the deflation of “Tunnel” and “Two Faces”, the underlying spite of “Be True”, and the ferocity of “Adam”, the lighter sax and guitar riffs of Clarence (9:48) and Nils (10:20), as well as the sound rhythm of Garry’s bass really help bring the first half hour of this show to an end on a hopeful note. As we’ve noticed in these Archive releases however, and as even confirmed by Bruce at one point, his songs of hope are balanced out by those of eternal damnation, so it’s only right that “All That Heaven Will Allow” is followed by his Dystopian Trilogy: “Seeds”, “Roulette” and “Cover Me”. Not only is this impressive in how Bruce used two outtakes as the spine of one of the most riveting core sequences of the entire tour, but also because of how these three combine fiery instrumentals and vocals to tell an incredibly despondent story. The opening thirty seconds of “Seeds” are absolutely scorching thanks to Nils’ guitar playing and Bruce’s delivery of the opening lyrics (they’re not bad throughout either, listen to how he sings, “send you on your way back ho-o-o-ome” from 2:29), and if we compare this to the lighter, easier listen from The Bridge School Benefit two years earlier, I think it’s safe to say the snake that had began to eat its own tail in ’86 had achieved that and feasted on many others by 1988. While Nils is also prominent in the opening of “Roulette”, he takes a backseat to Max, The Horns and Clarence who for those opening forty seconds (and in Max’s case for the full 4:22) create the rumbling sound of stirring nuclear weapons, sirens and panic in the streets. Seeing as both “Seeds” and “Roulette” tell the story of hard working men dealt a cruel hand by a careless overseeing higher power, it’s only right that both songs evoke the same horrifying image of a world deteriorating into total anarchy. Similarly to “Adam”, Bruce again tries to increase the seriousness of the song by almost talking through certain lyrics – listen to his “I grew up here on this street, where nothing moves, just a strange breeze” from 1:32 – and as was the case in “All That Heaven Will Allow” too, this song becomes a personal, ongoing conversation with the audience. This tour was very much a case of art imitating life, and I believe that’s what’s happening here. I also really like how the anger of this track is complemented by the beauty of specific instrumentals and harmonies, whether it’s the staccato of Roy’s piano around the above-mentioned verse Bruce sings at 1:35 and the melody played at 2:49 that follows Bruce’s and Nils’ blazing duel guitar instrumental (2:32 – 2:47), or the harmonies of Nils and Patti (2:09 – 2:18 / 3:32 – 3:56) that add a grace to the damning lyrics Bruce is singing. In particular, our ending lyric, “Pull the trigger feel the click, no further danger… no further danger” (3:55 – 4:04) is harrowing in how it suggests the consequences of a government’s actions can be so severe, in the end there’s only one way out for these suffering citizens. After those final words of “Roulette”, several aspects of this “Cover Me” afterwards take on an entirely different meaning, starting with Patti’s ghostly, “Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide“. If the end of “Roulette” didn’t emphasise the seriousness enough, this should do the trick, and when Bruce starts singing at 0:45, these lyrics that he’d sang about one hundred and thirty-five times from 1984-85 have new purpose in becoming one last prayer for the protagonist of “Roulette”, who has “seen enough, I don’t wanna see anymore“. With as much raging guitar playing (the kick in at 1:22 and the instrumentals from 2:55 and 3:42 onwards are immense) and rousing horns (2:02 – 2:54 / 3:18 onwards) to boot as the two songs prior, the only thing missing from this one is that Bruce doesn’t add the “I’m slipping in the darkness… Watch out” at the end of his “Gimme Shelter” interpolation like he’d do in Stockholm. So instead of this ending with Bruce warning his lover, and rest of us, that he’s ready to falter, we just get a man pleading for some kind of love and support. It’s another instance of those many masks in full effect, which is perfect leading into the next song. “Brilliant Disguise”, for me, falls in the same category as “Lost in the Flood”, where you know it’s a great song and know that it’s always going to be an enjoyable listen. It’s not until the song begins, though, and you hear those opening drums and that guitar riff that you truly appreciate just how great a song it is. Take this version where Bruce’s vocals are constantly drifting from intense to tender, to fiery then tender and so on (remember those many masks), and you’ve got one of his all time greatest tracks. That’s not where this version peaks either, as we’ve got Patti’s tremendous harmonies (I’d say 2:13 – 2:43 is her finest contribution) and while their Broadway duet thirty years later would make this a song of redemption for the two of them, this is still very much a confession of guilt, topped off by the sublime crescendoing of horns, drums, bass, piano and organ at 3:16 when Bruce starts singing, “so when you look at me, you better look hard and look twice.” I said earlier on how I can’t say he “isn’t in the mood”, and these four tracks put a stamp on that. This brings us to the end of the first set, another trilogy and one of my all time favourite song sequences from Springsteen. Where “Seeds”, “Roulette” and “Cover Me” were themed on the idea of a post-apocalyptic dystopia, the trio of “Spare Parts”, “War” and “Born in the U.S.A.” are essentially the prequel. These three songs firstly explore the birth of a child to a strong-willed, single mother in “Spare Parts”, and “War” next shows us the impact of a child growing up without the influence, or more aptly, the rivalry of a father figure. Listening to these three I always think of the intro to “The River” on Live 1975-85 and the story Bruce tells us about his dad where he states, “I can’t wait ’til the army gets you. When the army gets you they’re gonna make a man out of ya“. We know that comments like this inspired Bruce Springsteen to pull out all the stops to fail his draft physical, but as per “War”, some weren’t so lucky, and because of that Bruce’s final lyrics in “Brilliant Disguise” have more weight for runaway dads like Bobby who “heard about his son being born, swore he ain’t ever goin’ back“. Bobby doesn’t doubt what he was sure of, so there will be no mercy from God. And then, of course, “Born in the U.S.A.” is the song about the consequences of war and likewise with “Seeds” and “Roulette” it tells a story about a hard working man done dirty by a government he believed in. Within these song performances, as always I love Roy’s instrumental during the opening four minutes of “Spare Parts”, particularly the first two where it’s just him with the odd contribution from Danny every now and then (1:09). Alongside that we’ve got that interesting line from Bruce in his tender monologue, “He reminded her of Marlon Brando“, and how that can lead us to wonder if he’s describing to us how he sees himself, given the “I could walk like Brando right into the sun” line in “Saint in the City”, as well as the contrast of vocal delivery from 5:00 with his gravelly “Spare parts and broken hearts keep a dirty world turnin’ around” and his wild man-esque “Janey had a baBYYYY!” at 5:53. The next four minutes feature more of these gritty, savage vocals while Danny plays with unmitigated freedom on the organ and the Horns and Patti try their very best to make this the most powerful performance of this trilogy. They almost succeed too, but there’s the matter of 4:56 onwards in “Born in the U.S.A.”. Remember when I mentioned pent up frustration being released through guitar playing earlier on? Following a excellently sang version of “Tougher Than the Rest” to start it off (listen to how he sings “watching you a while” at 0:57 and “Maybe your other boyfriends” at both 2:28 and 3:50), the sequencing of the second set allows us to hark back to my last Previously review from Houston ’78, with this one having even more of a focus on the theme of restricted love and of the many obstacles that can get in the way. And funnily enough the next two tracks even manage to connect to “Tougher”. If I had the option between the two I’d probably opt for “Who Do You Love” over “Ain’t Got You” to always precede “She’s The One”, but the Tunnel of Love opener has its benefits in Max’s tempo, Bruce’s brooding vocals and his “And I wantcha!” (1:49) before that guitar coda transitions into a splendid guitar intro. What I like most about this “She’s The One” is, similarly to Houston, it’s possible the restriction of love is in how the lust and teasing of this girl Bruce is infatuated with isn’t just limited to him, but rather than potentially take the same action in response as the younger Springsteen did in ’78, this may well be why the Springsteen of 1988 ten minutes earlier sang, “if you’re looking for love, well baby I’m tougher than the rest“. It doesn’t trigger his dangerous side that this girl might like someone else, instead he accepts that, but opens it up to her to decide what she wants to do just as long as she knows – in his mind – he’s the best option. The high guitar, sax and organ-fuelled intensity of the Born to Run track is then contrasted with the lighthearted and comical “You Can Look” in its pure rockabilly style (Not to be confused with any varied version from The River era or the version from Stockholm in July). So with that said, instead of “son don’t you touch that thing” intro the opening minute of this sees Bruce call-back to the “Open All Night” performances from 84-85 by claiming a saleswoman asked him, “Are you that rock and roll singer?“, before questioning whether Courtney Cox was a plant or not in the “Dancing in the Dark” music video (the audience pop BIG for her too). The next four and a half minutes are driven on by Max and Roy in particular (Bruce’s “PROFESSA!!!!” at 2:18 is mandatory listening) and it’s a nice change of pace from the seriousness of the night in a thematic sense, as the girl has evidently chosen Bruce over those Dan’s, Joe’s and Romeo’s and everything seems to be going well, but when it gets down to “cementing” the relationship, something always gets in the way. Even though “I’m a Coward” afterwards is just as ridiculous, this is really needed as a moment of respite before the next twenty minutes. While not straying from the notion of restricted love (the obstacle here is Bruce himself and his inability to truly commit), “I’m a Coward” starts its own little sequence of acceptance, lust, shame, more lust and the eventual heartbreaking confession of betrayal. At this point it seems Bruce has definitely eased up in his demeanour as unlike in “All That Heaven Will Allow” and “Spare Parts” we can hear the change in how he recites the song’s opening monologue and everything that comes with it, from the mocking of Jerry Falwell to the art imitating life cry of “I have sinned!“. The tone in his voice during these opening three minutes is reminiscent of the Springsteen fans had known for over ten years, so it’s fitting that this song has him acknowledging and responding to personal matters the same way he did for several of them back in the 70s and early 80s, by simply letting the music take over and enjoying himself. And that’s exactly what happens when those Horns kick in for five minutes of bliss and he starts calling out Hulk Hogan, King Kong Bundy, Mike Tyson and a bunch of wild animals. This mightn’t have been the acceptance and ‘confession’ some ‘in the know’ fans in L.A. will have been expecting after that “I have sinned!“, but I’m certain it’s the one they’ll have been happy with after that Clarence solo from 5:08 – 5:40. As always, a very fun performance. “She’s The One” touched on the notion of lusting over someone you can’t have, and “I’m on Fire” – to the absolute delight of the women in the audience – follows up on that in a much more forward manner. This is unsurprisingly a very good performance and Bruce’s delivery of every lyric is superb, as Nils plays that steady riff in the background. I believe I’ve said in the past that you can’t go wrong with any version of this song, so even though it mightn’t be as good as others from 1988 or even the rest of the catalogue, there’s still no reason whatsoever to not listen to this – it’ll probably be over before you know it! Speaking of song performances that are/aren’t as good as others from this tour, “One Step Up” brings us back to the start of this review in regards to the way Bruce phrases certain lyrics compared to the Detroit and New York shows. The first example of this comes with Bruce’s delivery of “we ain’t learning” at 0:44, which is sang in a very conservative way. When we hear the contrast of how he sings this line in the Joe Louis Arena (0:46 – 0:48) and in MSG (0:42 – 0:45), the disappointment he feels in himself that’s preventing him from “fully committing” to the song is once again very evident, and unfortunately it doesn’t stop here. The Madison Square Garden concert has a drawn out “but all I’m thinkiiiin’” from 1:25 – 1:28, and while he does seem to extend “thinkin’” in this one, the lack of power in his voice is notable. The only instance here where his delivery is comparable to New York is the “when I look at myself I don’t see, the man I wanted to be” lyric (2:05 – 2:11), which I feel says more than enough about his state of mind during this song performance, and this entire show. Having said that, what this version does have on the other two released from the tour is Bruce’s ghostly howls and “la la la’s” from 3:35, which makes for a chilling finale and depending on how we view his lack of vocal nuances, a much sadder version of the song. And from the sad we go to the sultry silliness of “Part Man, Part Monkey”. Not too dissimilar to the versions from Detroit and New York, this one also features a plethora of tempting guitar, bass, organ and sax playing from the very start, with the instrumentals of Nils, Danny and Garry helping Bruce set the mood in the opening as he quickly talks about the 1988 TV film Inherit the Wind starring Kirk Douglas and Jason Robards. When this one kicks in at 1:22 we can note that his vocals aren’t as soft as they were in Detroit, but we can also relax as he still sings “man in a monkey SUIT!” with the same wild vigour, and the same can be said about his laughing when he sings “Part man, part monkey, looks like to me” from 2:23 – 2:28. After the bleakness of “One Step Up”, this is a refreshing change of pace, even if it somewhat disrupts the sequencing. Following “Part Man, Part Monkey” is another moment that I feel adds to the oddness of the night, and perhaps the whole tour too. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with Bruce dedicating “Backstreets” to the diehards who’d been following him and The E Street Band for years, but there’s something about his “This is for our old fans out there” that’s always rubbed me the wrong way. To me it seems like this is Bruce acknowledging a true changing of the times and almost suggesting that there’s a divide between the older fans and the newer ones post-1984, and off the top of my head I can’t recall many other instances of him doing this before or after 1988. Add to that the extended electric intro from 0:16 – 1:17 and we immediately have a “Backstreets” that just feels different (and that’s also taking into account the ’84 versions with the extended intro too). Regardless, that doesn’t make Danny’s organ swells or Nils’ riffs (2:00 – 2:14 / 6:08 – 6:34) any less marvellous, neither does it make Bruce’s vocals automatically poor either. I may have grown too attached to how he sings the chorus of the song on the May 23rd release (2:08 – 2:17 in New York) to enjoy this song performance to its fullest, but Bruce still sings a bunch of a remarkable vocals: “Catching rides from the outskirts“ (1:48 – 1:51), “Where dancers scraped the tears up off the street dressed down in rags” (3:22 – 3:27) and even during the aforementioned chorus. He doesn’t defer from how the chorus normally sounds like in MSG, but his delivery of “Hidin’ on the backstreets” (2:00 – 2:09 / 5:00 – 5:09 / 5:39 – 7:03) is tremendous and while there’s no “I don’t wanna hide no more, baby” in the latter like there would be in the Garden, I can only imagine that’s because our protagonist hasn’t started moving on from his confession yet, and moving on from this betrayal is still a work in progress. From a song for the old fans to a song for the newer ones, “Dancing in the Dark” is, as per usual in these ’80s versions, a delight to listen to with some of Bruce’s best vocals on the night (as well as a “FOWAAAA!!” at 0:30), more magic from Nils on the guitar and on vocals with his “even if we’re just dancin‘” (3:27 – 3:49), and this is also a showcase for every Horns-man onstage. Cruz, Manion, Pender, Rosenberg and Spengler do the business throughout until The Big Man takes over for what I’m tempted to call his consistently finest moment of the 1988 tour from 4:54 onwards – as Bruce says at the finish, “How sweet it is!“. What isn’t sweet however, is the mixing in of the audience during this track (1:12, 1:59), which is frustrating given how we can hear the audience very well during other parts of the show, whether they’re cheering at the reference of Courtney Cox or they’re singing “Happy Birthday” to Roy Orbison. Listening to the Detroit and Stockholm renditions highlight this greatly as well as how the Series has improved over time in regards to including audience participation. It doesn’t completely ruin this song, but it’s just awkward to hear Bruce open it up to the crowd and hear virtually nothing in return. Of course, it’s very possible that the awkwardness of that slight issue will be overshadowed for you by the awkwardness of Bruce forgetting Max during “Light of Day”. Again, this is another simple mistake during the Horns steered main set closer, and it’s quite funny to a degree with Max’s signalling from 3:35 when Bruce prepares himself to introduce Clarence with “Last but not least!“, but from the very first moment I heard this years ago I’ve felt it epitomised the cracks in Bruce’s relationship with The E Street Band at this point (“Anybody else!?”). Mind you, he doesn’t half cast doubt over that theory with his introduction for Clarence as he proclaims him to be, “THE HANDSOMEST MAN YOU EVER SEEN! THE GREATEST MAN IN THE HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILISATION!“. We mightn’t be sure about the first statement initially, but once we hear it enough times Bruce’s certainty might rub off on us! Where it concerns the reasoning behind Bruce’s demeanour on the night, the likely factor is his personal life falling apart behind the scenes, but it could also be said that his intensity (or lack of in some cases) and uneasiness is down to the fact one of his heroes is sitting in the audience watching him. And in considering how Bruce tells us it was Roy Orbison’s influence that led to Born to Run and how, as a result, he is basically responsible for everything that came afterwards, I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to think Bruce was feeling some pressure in trying to appease The Big O on his birthday. As the Springsteen fandom know, though, Bruce doesn’t exactly crumble under pressure, and he decides to start this first encore by taking the once in a lifetime opportunity into his hands of leading the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to his idol (Orbison would return the favour by flying into Bruce’s September 23rd show in Oakland and leading the audience in a rendition before the show) before performing what I believe to be the definitive acoustic “Born to Run”. I’ve mentioned in the past that sometimes despite future additional releases of a unique track, I always return to and enjoy the first version released most, and this rendition of Bruce’s magnum opus is a main example of that. Stunningly sang and played with immense purpose on the acoustic, this remains my absolute favourite performance on the night, and like “Be True” it’s one of the Archive Series tracks I can’t do without. With just under forty-five minutes left, Bruce takes a departure from the volatile, personal ballads and instead performs seven rousers to end the night on a lively note, starting with “Hungry Heart” and “Glory Days” – on this occasion we’ll look past both songs mentioning relationships ending. There’s definitely an extra ‘oomph’ added to these two with the addition of the Horns, but honestly I have to be a certain mood to enjoy these versions as I sometimes think that ‘oomph’ can be unnecessary overkill. Aside from that these bring us one more fine Danny solo (2:18 – 2:32), well mixed in audience participation (0:22 – 0:55) and nice harmonies to complement Bruce’s excellent vocals in “Hungry Heart”. “Glory Days” features just as good vocals and harmonies, and most importantly those two class statements from Bruce: “ALRIGHT L.A. EXPRESS YOURSELVES!” (2:02) and the “Glory Days” all-timer line, “HEY BIG MAN, I SEE THAT CLOCK ON THE WALL, BABY, IT SAYS… IT SAYS I’M THIRTY-FIVE, THIRTY-SIX, THIRTY-SEVEN, THIRTY-EIGHT, THIRTY… THIRTY… THIRTY!!” (3:50). It’s just a shame that this line is immediately outdone by Bruce’s introduction for the next song. I wrote back in December that Bruce’s prelude to “Rosie” in Winterland is the best ever, but this was an instant second, and like I did in December I’ve taken great pleasure in listening to this intro again and writing it down below: “It’s time to answer the questions of the evening! And they are as follows: Does the hero get the girl? Does her mama come down and stop her? Does her daddy come down and ring his neck? Does he end up broke, busted and disgusted! The answer to these mysteries and others will now be revealed...” Even though the Detroit release in March 2020 would bring us a version once again featuring that intro as well as a better sang and all round better performed version of the song, this is still enjoyable with the Horns and Clarence once again being prominent throughout (3:20 – 4:25 really highlights their involvement). I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention how, while I think Bruce’s vocals in the Detroit version are far superior, Bruce also gives us a couple of gems in this performance, as his delivery of “Somewhere in the swamps of Jersey (7:18) and “Rosie I’m comin’ on strong” (7:25) are ‘Essence’ calibre. And in regards to that former lyric, that’s only preceded by another dime of an altered lyric from 6:55: “This is his last chance, to get his daughter in a fine romance! The record company, Rosie… you wouldn’t believe it!” (6:55). As is the case with several song performances in this concert, it’s not the best, but most certainly not the worst. Bruce keeps the trend going following the previous two tracks with another banger of a statement during the opening of tour debut, “Have Love, Will Travel”, declaring at 0:45, ““We didn’t take no fancy rockstar airplanes… we, we… alright, alright, we did take a fancy rockstar airplane! But we thought about drivin’!“. It’s a great way of keeping the audience buoyed up and despite this not being my favourite song that Springsteen has ever covered, there’s even more vibrant moments within. I really like Bruce’s gritty vocals, especially when he brings the band down from 3:56 and starts riffing the lyrics in the most nonchalant manner possible – “Anywhere, anytime, any hour!” (4:28) – but my favourite aspect of this one is undoubtedly during “La Bamba’s” trombone solo (3:13) with Clarence giving those motivating shouts of “RICHIE, RICHIE!” from 3:28. Everyone needs a Clarence Clemons in their life, don’t they? The only thing about this performance that I’m still not sure about all these years is that whinnying to follow Bruce saying, “Hi ho silver, awayyyyy” – it’s not the oddest part of the night, but it’s up there. A good, fast tempo “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” gives us another instance of Garry’s bass playing being mixed into the recording very well, as well as more brilliance from Roy, Danny and the Horns of Love and it’s a testament to the contributions of the latter given “Tenth” with prominent horns isn’t my desired choice. Bruce sounds good too, singing and hitting impressive notes from 1:04 – 1:10 with his delivery of “you can’t find the room to move” and again at 2:15 with “And I can’t go hooooome“. You’ll know fine well by now how important I consider Bruce’s vocals to be in regards to the quality of a song performance, and I’d say “Tenth” is the most important of the lot. Saying that, I’m not too bothered by Bruce’s vocals not being as sweet and soulful in the first ever performance of “Sweet Soul Music” by itself in the U.S.A. (It was usually interpolated into “Detroit Medley” beforehand), but that’s also down to how good he sounds during the New York and Stockholm versions – just listen to how he sings the line, “sweet soul music, as long as it’s swingin’” for the first time (0:10 – 0:18) in this one compared with Stockholm (0:10 – 0:15). Needless to say, this being good or not doesn’t just revolve around Bruce and fortunately The Horns bring that literal sweet soul music with their playing and Patti’s harmonies aren’t half bad either, providing a nice contrast to the harder vocals of Springsteen. And just under three hours and fifteen minutes later, the adulation of the audience to their hardworking hero gives Bruce the energy for one more with “Raise Your Hand” – this is the first show of the tour to not feature “Detroit Medley” – which is a strong way to finish as every band member gets a chance to shine, and while this release doesn’t feature a unique soundcheck performance attached to the end like Detroit and New York do, the finale of this one more than satisfies. What looks like your typical Tunnel of Love Express Tour concert on paper is actually one of the most fascinating releases from the Springsteen archive. Featuring several stunning song performances, highlighted by “Be True” and “Born to Run”, as well as the engrossing attitude of Springsteen (I believe this is very important to hear either before or after listening to the other releases from the tour) there’s more than enough in this one to make up for the lesser audio compared to other tour releases and the inconsistent audience noise within.