BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND : LOS ANGELES 2019 FINAL NIGHT

Disc One (55:21)

1. Take 'Em As They Come
2. The Ties That Bind
3. Two Hearts
4. Adam Raised A Cain
5. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
6. The Promised Land
7. Factory
8. Independence Day
9. Youngstown
10. Murder Incorporated

Disc Two (63:02)

1. Badlands
2. Out In The Street
3. Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
4. Incident On 57th Street
5. For You
6. The Ghost Of Tom Joad
7. The Promise

Disc Three (62:43)

1. Backstreets
2. Light Of Day
3. Ramrod
4. Born To Run
5. Thunder Road
6. If I Should Fall Behind
7. Land Of Hope And Dreams
8. Blinded By The Light

Label : Live.BruceSpringsteen.net

Venue : Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, USA

Recording Date : October 23, 2019

Quality : Soundboard Recording (A+)

Review (Kieran's Thoughts) : Delayed a week to avoid clashing with the release of “Sundown” from the upcoming Western Stars film soundtrack on October 25th (that you can read a review of on this website), expectations were both high after the first delay of the year just two months ago – only for the eventual release to be viewed as underwhelming by a selection of the fanbase – and low after the magical release of Passaic 19/9/78 in September. Surely anything that followed such a show would be poor by default? Thankfully Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have quite a strong catalogue of live shows over the years, and while this month’s release is no Passaic, it’s one of the best shows of the Reunion Tour. Los Angeles 23/10/99 is the third Archive Series outing from the 1999-2000 tour and with this being played just twenty-three days after the September 2018 release, Chicago 1999, there isn’t a major contrast in songs performed – eighteen of the twenty-five played here can be heard on Chicago – however, there’s enough of a difference in the seven other tracks and the performances of many of those that were played in Chicago to make this a must-have for any Springsteen fan. The differences to Chicago in favour of this show are evident from the start, with “Take ‘Em as They Come” being preceded by Clarence Clemons, in full reverend persona, asking the crowd to rise as Bruce enters the arena, but that’s not the only change to the opening. While in Chicago “Take ‘Em” begins suddenly with Springsteen not singing greatly, the clergy atmosphere is made even more apparent with the addition of “Meeting in the Town Tonight”, which is a nice addition to the Archive Series, but something that’s overshadowed for me by the fantastic extended intro that effectively removes the suddenness like in Chicago and allows Bruce to ease himself into the song for a better singing performance. It’s not all great as Patti’s harmonies standout for the wrong reasons, with her vocals not contributing a perfect melody to complement Bruce, but as a whole, this is the better of the two versions of “Take ‘Em as They Come” that have been released from 1999. “Take ‘Em’s” not the only song on this show to be the best performance of two from that year either, as this “The Ties That Bind” blows its Chicago counterpart out of the water thanks the change in Springsteen’s singing. I’ve felt since hearing it for the first time that in the September 30th show he’s straining and almost trying to catch up with the instrumentals, whereas in this version he’s much more relaxed and singing with a freedom that leads to far superior outing of the opening track from The River. This performance also gives us better vocal contributions from Patti and an excellent band performance, highlighted by Max – who is on stunning form over the night on songs such as “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” and “Born to Run” – and The Professor, whose work on the keys, alongside Max, is fundamental in pushing the song forward. “Two Hearts” is another Max influenced song, and the first of the night where the chemistry of Bruce and Little Steven is prominent. There’s nothing really standout to it, and if I’m comparing it to the other Reunion Tour versions, it suffers from not having that “Steve I believe!” or ending interpolation of “It Takes Two” like Chicago and MSG do. Following the River duo (which might as well be a trio with outtake “Take ‘Em beforehand) are three Darkness tracks that are absolute highlights of the show. “Adam Raised a Cain” is as spirited as ever and the combination of Bruce’s vivacious vocals, Danny’s eclectic organ and Stevie’s fiery guitar blend together perfectly, before the tempo is brought down only slightly with “Darkness on the Edge of Town”, which is tampered with courtesy of Bruce’s vocal twang – something I never usually have an issue with. Regardless, in general this is fantastic and the moments where Bruce and The E Street Band kicks it up a notch (2:08 and 3:49) are otherworldly. “The Promised Land” ends what can be considered to be the first portion of the show, and though it also starts with the extended intro the version from MSG 2000 does, I prefer the MSG version based on those delicate guitar riffs from Nils in the brief moments just before Bruce starts playing harmonica. This is almost flawless, with the quietness of Danny’s organ in the background at certain points where it should be prominent as the only downside. Other than that, Bruce’s singing, Clarence’s sax and Stevie’s guitar are standouts in a stellar performance of the song. Before bringing the tempo down to its lowest through “Factory” and “Independence Day”, Bruce takes a couple of minutes to converse with his audience of “office supply lovers” and give his thoughts on the Staples Center and the commercialisation of the United States with a series of what can only be described as “dad jokes”. It’s not cringeworthy like him telling Los Angeles he’s “gonna tickle their little tootsies” fourteen years earlier, but it’s certainly one of the cheesier moments released through the Archive Series so far. “Factory” gets the country style performance and duet with Patti that “Mansion on the Hill” has on the other two tour releases. I prefer the bleaker versions from 1978 and 1980 where Max hits that repetitive drumbeat, but it’s nice to have a varying version in the series. “Independence Day” is virtually identical to the Chicago performance, and that’s fine as both are solid. “Youngstown” starts off the five song sequence featuring the tour’s core setlist regulars, and as you can expect it’s a Nils showcase from 3:57 onwards, but that shouldn’t negate Bruce’s stupendous vocals or the contributions of Garry, Max and Roy throughout the song. Where it concerns Nils’ solo overshadowing everything else, though, “Murder Incorporated” definitely has something of an “anything you can do I can do better” approach to it, as Bruce and Stevie’s guitar playing (3:51 onwards) has a competitive edge to it. Alongside the guitar playing we get a great Clarence sax solo in this one and though it’s relatively minor, I love that sweeping organ from 0:14 – 0:19. The highlight of this five-pack is unquestionably “Badlands”, which is unique thanks to that extended intro that allows Roy a few extra moments to shine on piano – which there’s plenty of over the next six minutes. There’s more of those sweeping organ riffs from Danny as well and this is one of the first examples in the show of how great the crowd have been mixed in, as we can hear their participation really well. We can hear them during “Out in the Street” too, and this version doesn’t offer anything massively different to what we’ve heard in other performances of the song, it’s just very enjoyable with good vocals from Bruce and Patti and a rousing solo from Clarence. I also like Little Stevie laughing through his “meet me out in the street” line, because even though it’s nothing special it lets me know everyone on stage was having a hell of a time, and that’s nice to have in your mind when listening. The five-pack, and with it the first half of the show, is brought to an end by one of my favourite live Springsteen performances: the Reunion Tour “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, in all of its twenty minute glory. I’m aware a lot of fans don’t like this because of its length, but when I hear Roy’s piano playing and Max’s drumming in that intro, followed by the audience’s “oh oh ohs“, I can’t help but think, what’s not to love? It doesn’t stop there either, because Steve and Garry then come in with their guitar and bass playing, Clarence builds anticipation through his sax and ultimately we have one of the greatest live intros in E Street history. When it kicks in it’s blissful, Bruce’s vocals are as sublime here as they are in Chicago and New York City, and you can bet he sings that quintessential “with my back to the wall” lyric to perfection at 3:08. Nils, Steve and Patti provide good backing harmonies during the chorus and there’s more amazing singing from Bruce with his “it’s alright” at the five minute mark – the crowd again are tremendous – and those “la la la’s” Bruce sings at 5:41 are stunning. His preacher rant in the middle portion is fine as usual with lines about “beer at a reasonable price” and an interpolation of “Red Headed Woman” to set Patti up for her “Rumble Doll” snippet. Of course, the biggest moment of the song begins at the 14:40 point, where he starts that build up to the introduction of Clarence Clemons. It’s so incredibly powerful and even after multiple listens I found myself overwhelmed (and not for the only time during this show) when Clarence played that sax. All things considered, yeah, this is alright. So, while eleven of the thirteen songs above feature in the Chicago ’99 show, it’s following “Tenth” where we get our two distinct differences, coming in the form of “Incident on 57th Street” and “For You”. Fresh off its first appearance since December 29th, 1980 a few weeks earlier, this “Incident” has one flaw in how Bruce’s botches his opening guitar solo, so don’t go into listening expecting that 1980 version. With the exception of that, this is awesome in so many ways. Roy’s piano playing in the intro and over the rest of the nine minutes is spectacular and Danny complements him regularly with his own work the keyboards. There’s also a calmness and maturity to Bruce’s vocals that beautifully contrasts the rugged defiance of his younger self nineteen years before, and after doing so myself, I’d advise you try listening to both versions back-to-back. It’s great for an appreciation of the Archive Series and for Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. Where “Incident” has one flaw, “For You” has none. Max, Garry and Clarence pull the strings of the performance as Bruce sings immaculately, hitting that high note when he sings “when it was my turn to be the God“. It’s literally perfect. After promoting the Children of the Night organisation in LA, Bruce plays a dedicated “The Ghost of Tom Joad”, with Nils on the pedal steel and it’s very similar to the Chicago performance with its more hopeful than desolate tone. It’s the third in another five-pack that can be called the delicacy of riches sequence, with “The Promise” standing out as the crown jewel. There are a couple of audio issues as Bruce sets up for it, but it’s an in-show problem, not a mistake on the part of Jon Altschiller, and once Bruce starts singing his mic works without fault. This was the second song of the show where I found myself overwhelmed by the music and I’m still not completely sure why. What I am sure of though is that this is much better than the solo piano performance from Madison Square Garden would be the next July. Both sang and played delightfully, this might be the best song performance of the entire show. “Backstreets” isn’t bad either, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you glossed over it in favour of the former and/or in favour of the main set ending “Light of Day”, which is fun, wild and unique with its interpolation of The Ramones’ “California Sun”. I like how there’s now three versions of “Light of Day” from the Reunion Tour with different middle sections that fans can choose to listen to depending on their personal preference: This version with “California Sun”, Chicago ’99 with John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom” added, and the MSG ’00 with Bruce mocking the New York audience in favour of New Jersey. The encore is filled with moments of magic from particular E Streeters. Patti delivers brilliant harmonies in “Ramrod” while Clarence aces another solo. As mentioned earlier, Max owns this “Born to Run”, but he’s not alone in shining during it, as Danny’s prominence can’t go unstated in this, or in “Thunder Road”, which is spurred on by Roy and Garry, and sung excellently by Bruce. He also sings well during the a Garry Tallent inspired “If I Should Fall Behind” – I’d say he sings that little bit better in Chicago – as do Patti, Clarence, Stevie and Nils in particular thanks to his angelic vocals. “Land of Hope and Dreams” is the finest example of the show of The E Street Band working together to try and create a masterclass. Springsteen’s vocal nuances make for a somewhat unique version of the song, but unfortunately I get the same feeling with this as I do the Chicago performance, as something seems “off” about it that fails to make it as epic and as mighty as the version from Madison Square Garden to end the tour in July 2000. That, however, is possibly just me and your reaction to this might be that it’s even better than the essential New York City version. As “LoHaD” was the default tour closer, in E Street fashion it doesn’t close the show as the second “Blinded by The Light” with The E Street Band since 1976 (after being outed in Philadelphia on September 24th) closes us out with a nice laid-back performance that almost sounds too perfected to just be a second full E Street rendition in twenty-three years. What I think stood out most about this particular Blinded was Bruce singing “we were blinded” rather than the usual “I“, which seems to me to be him indicating that Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band were once again a collective unit, one that’s stronger together than they ever would be on their own. Similarly to previous Archive Series releases this year in Tampa 22/4/08 and Los Angeles 27/9/85, Los Angeles 23/10/99 is a show that makes you reevaluate those released before it and one where you can’t help but sit back and marvel at the sheer quality of Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band live. Sometimes with the Archive Series it seems like what we get from a tour one month is the perfect representation of that entire period, and while I’d rated both Chicago ’99 and MSG 2000 10/10, I did so under the mindset that Chicago was a ten based on performance and MSG was a ten courtesy of the performance and context combined. With the release of this show and multiple play-throughs and comparisons with the Chicago show, I feel that LA is stronger, but at the same time it’s not a 10/10. Therefore I’ve decided to lower the rating of Chicago show by .5 – which is in no way a critique, as that’s a tremendous rating – and after September 2019’s Passaic 19/9/78 release broke my rating scale, I’ve decided to make further changes to my rating system and rate this a 9.6.