’75 vs. ’78 Boss and Amazon Shenanigans

In Bruce Springsteen bootleg circles, the debate rages whether his finest live year was 1975 (Born to Run tour) or 1978 (Darkness on the Edge of Town). As one of the greatest live acts in rock history, you cannot go wrong with either year. The difference? Both years feature shows of unbridled energy, new discovery (in ’75 he was on the brink of breaking out, in ’78 he had just won freedom after a prolonged legal battle with his first manager), marathon performances. I would say that there is more joy and fun in ’75, but more intensity in ’78. I personally go for ’78 as his finest touring year.

I researched various lists of “the best Springsteen bootlegs” (Rolling Stone magazine even has a Top 20 Springsteen Bootlegs list). Springsteen, like many artists, has had a complicated relationship with bootleggers over the years. At times he has fought them (sometimes in court), but like many prolific artists, he has grudgingly accepted their existence and activities. In fact, on several of the more available bootlegs out there (like from radio broadcasts of shows from both ’75 and ’78) he even addresses them. From a ’75 show before he launches into a rare song, he even says “alright bootleggers, get your tapes ready…” and from ’78: “I am sure this will be available via bootleg.”

In a sense, bootleg music serves the artist. Loyal fans want everything they can get, and I don’t think these recordings cut into the artists’ sales. One who buys Springsteen boots is also going to buy whatever next studio record he puts out. I, for one, would happily buy these shows from Bruce and Columbia Records if they would put them out. But other than the Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 concert, they have not. There are some bands that have completely embraced bootleggers. The Grateful Dead, for instance, famously reserved a section at their shows for bootleggers to sit where they could get the best sounding recordings, and actively encouraged the trading of Dead tapes. Bruce was never that generous, but I think he has accepted their existence. He has had more of a problem with the bootlegs containing unreleased studio tracks vs. live shows. I can understand that. Bruce has also had a much more vicious battle with ticket scalpers (who are true scum bottom feeders) as opposed to bootleggers.

Anyway, I own probably about a dozen Springsteen bootlegs of varying quality. My prized possessions, though, are the ’75 and ’78 shows. The ones to get are:

1. ‘Live at the Main Point,’ 1975: Small club show that was broadcast on the radio, so the sound quality on most boots of this show is superlative. Highlights include a gorgeous piano/violin opener of “Incident on 57th Street,” a blazing and swinging version of “Kitty’s Back,” a stunning 20 minute “New York City Serenade” (notice this is a peak for tunes from his sophomore record, my favorite of his) and the first live performance of what would become “Thunder Road” (here called “Wings For Wheels,” with substantially different lyrics). It is funny to hear the crowd get much more excited when he launches into tunes from his first two records than from the new one. Usually the “new songs” at concerts are a time to go get a drink, right? Songs like “Thunder Road,” “Born To Run” and “Jungleland” are just new tunes to sit through while waiting to hear “Rosalita” and “Spirit in the Night,” and not the institutions that they are now. ***** out of *****.

2. ‘The Bottom Line,’ 1975. Also a club gig that was also broadcast on the radio. The boot is fun too because you hear the DJ’s interject between songs and they are just slackjawed at what they are hearing and witnessing. It starts good, but about halfway through the first disc (of two) it kicks into classic territory, when he goes into a groovy, lengthy, playful “E Street Shuffle.” **** out of *****.

3. ‘The Roxy’, 1978. Absolutely legendary show, about 10 tunes from this show ended up (in edited form) on Bruce’s Live 1975/85 box set. Bruce is particularly talkative here, with long narratives before and during songs, some very humorous. Highlights are many, but a spirited “For You,” a fiery (and rare) “Adam Raised a Cain,” an emotional “Backstreets” (here about 15 minutes, a six or seven minute edit was on Live 1975/85), and a rumbling, primal “Mona” into “She’s The One.” Essential. ***** out of *****.

4. ‘Winterlands,’ 1978. Holy grail for me. The greatest live recording I’ve ever heard. Three and half exhausting hours that are superhuman. Almost the whole thing is a highlight, a blistering “Streets of Fire,” swinging “Spirit in the Night,” epic “Jungleland”, “Racing in the Street” and “Backstreets,” joyous “Rosalita,” definitive versions of “Candy’s Room” and “Because the Night,” a killer rarity like “The Fever,” and the pinnacle of Brucedom, the 15 minute “Prove It All Night” that has more energy than any live recording of any song I’ve ever come across. (How did he not put a version of that on his box set from his ’78 shows?!? Idiot.) It just does not get better than this for live rock and roll. ****** out of ***** (that’s right, six out of five stars!)

The funny thing is that a few weeks ago I found all of these for sale on Amazon.com. Now, you couldn’t find them on the first or second page of Bruce items. But once you clicked to about the 16th or 17th page of Bruce stuff, way into the muck of old t-shirts and bumper stickers, lo and behold were a bunch of bootlegs onsale. Now they were not labeled as “bootlegs.” They were “imports” of quality “soundboard recordings.” Bootlegs. And they were onsale for about $20 a piece. I have seen these go for $60 or $80. Too good to be true. I ordered about four of them (already owned Winterlands, but got a better sounding version. Also picked up Roxy and Bottom Line. Also a 2007 show when he closed Giants Stadium right before it was leveled and played the Born in the USA record from start to finish…that is still on the way). They have been all that I had hoped.

Looking back a couple of days later I found this, no other way to describe him, tool of a guy who had given all of these boots one star reviews raving that his wife had ordered these live records for his birthday and they turned out to be CD-R discs that wouldn’t play on his ancient stereo. He was shocked, shocked! He complained to Amazon and Amazon told him they were “investigating.” He said there is no way that Bruce authorized these to be released. He was very proud of himself, looking out for the “unsuspecting customer.” I went off on the guy. I told him if he was really “unsuspecting” he was one of the dumbest music listeners I’ve ever come across. I wrote responses and counterreviews to every one of his reviews (and there were about ten of them). The description said “sound board recordings” and said CD-R! He had to be an idiot if he did not know what these were! Of course they were illegal. But these were a treasure trove at unbelievable prices, and if Amazon chose to sell them (even though they shouldn’t), he needed to keep his trap shut and let the fans get the Bruce that they need. I quickly placed more orders. As I feared, within days, all of these “imports” were taken off Amazon. I got lucky, because I had already received the “your orders have been shipped” e-mails before they were yanked.