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| Tonight! |
Bryan: Ho Ho Ho, good people of Earth! As I type these words, Santa's sleigh is on its way to the U.S.A. so it's an appropriate time to link to this, even though it's not from the album at hand. (Though the performance is from 2007, so pretty close to its release date.) I'm here once again with Bryant - Bryant, what'd you think of this when it came out? I only heard it for the first time doing this project, and I love it.
Bryant: I don't know that I ever sat down and listened to this album. I didn't buy it, so probably not. I watched the concert when it aired, though, and thought it was awesome. (Edit: First things first: I ain't never seen this concert. What I saw was a PBS Great Performances special, which I think is the same thing you can find here.)
Bryan: 5/5 Love this version. Is it better? I have no idea anymore. It's equal to the task of conveying the awesomeness of the song while being a new approach so that's pretty cool.
Bryant: Obviously a very different take on this song, but I don’t mind one bit. The DVD documentary The Seeger Sessions makes it clear that part of Springsteen’s aims in recording the album was to, by recontextualization, reinvigorate those songs (which in some cases were in danger of being lost to the cultural consciousness). It makes perfect sense to me to take the band with which he did that and put them to use on his own songs. Even if the recontextualization doesn’t work, it’s a worthy experiment. I think it works okay here, though the power of the original recording is so mighty that this recontextualized version can only seem unnecessary. But so what? It’s still pretty great. 3/5 I’m not AS high on it as you, but we’re parsing.
Bryan: 5/5 I still get such a kick out of the Wiggles/ Springsteen overlap in my life, here. Love the crowd singing at the beginning. Is it a 5? Again, I have no idea anymore. I know I love it though.
Bryant: You’ve got no soul and are probably going to Hell if the cheer that accompanies the beginning of this song (and, as you point out, the crowd singing) doesn’t put a smile on your face. 4/5 Fun fact: last night, upon returning home from work, I sang to one of my cats, who was very excited to see me and was determined to get me to feed her, “Get out the way, motherfucker, it’s too soon to get your supper!” I give myself a thumbs-up on that one.
"Eyes on the Prize"
Bryan: 4.5/5 Those New Orleans-y horns totally make this one.
Bryant: 4/5 Even better than the studio version, which is saying something.
"Jesse James"
Bryan: 4.5/5 I could listen to this Celtic Cajun blend of Springsteen for the rest of my days and be quite happy. Of all the non E-Street bands Bruce has played with over the years, these Seeger Sessions guys are my favorite.
Bryant: Bruce’s vocals are rough as a corn cob on this one toward the beginning. But the band kicks elephant asses, so who cares? 3/5
Bryan: 4.75/5 Why not a 5? I don't know. I can't firmly recall the studio version enough right now to determine whether or not this is a superior version to it, but I like it so much I'm going to just assume that's the case.
Bryant: I think I actually DO like this better than the studio version. 3.75/5 The sound of these songs is amazing. I totally agree that this band is perfectly in sync with Springsteen’s sensibilities. I’m not sure they aren’t better than the E Street Band themselves. (I don’t think they are, for the record; I’m just not sure they aren’t, the way I would be regarding, say, Bang Tango.)
"O Mary Don't You Weep"
Bryan: 4.5/5 Not sure why this one earns an extra point either. But man this song is a good time.
Bryant: 3.5/5 Does Bruce muff up a line at one point? If so, so be it.
"Erie Canal"
Bryan: 4.25/5 I think Bruce's vocals are a tad better on the album, although this does have the crowd singing and a fine performance all around from anyone.
Bryant: Bruce’s vocals in general are not at their finest during this show. You’ve got to figure shit like that happens every so often. I agree with you that everything else makes up for it. 3/5
"If I Should Fall Behind"
Bryan: 3/5 I like it about the same (as the studio version) I guess.
Bryant: Turning this into a waltz was a nice move. Nothing will ever top that Live In NYC version for me, though; not unless somebody gets a time machine and goes back to reunite The Beatles to sing it. That might do it. This is great, though. 4/5 Patti adds a lot here.
Bryan: 4.75/5 Sometime around turning 30 I (more or less) gave up going to live shows. I hate crowds and they were too expensive and basically just felt I'd gotten my life's fill of it all in my 20s. That said, I wish I could transport myself into this room/ this show. Even if we were packed like sardines, I was holding a coat, no bathroom access, and beer and tickets were overpriced. It'd be worth it. This sure sounds like a fun room to be in. When I first saw the length of this performance I assumed I'd think it was too much. Nope!
Bryant: As I listen to this, a hurricane has made landfall in Texas, so there’s that. I like the image of a grumpy McMolo being in the room for this and being totally won over by the experience. The live thing isn’t really for me anymore, either, I guess. I’d make an exception here and there, though. I give this a 3.5/5.
"Highway Patrolman"
Bryan: 3.5/5 I like the different spin he gives it here but I prefer the studio version I guess.
Bryant: This is a blatantly country/western take on this song, which, frankly, makes sense. It’s pretty great. I will equal your 3.5/5.
"Mrs. McGrath"
Bryan: 4/5 Love it. While we're here I wish I could have convinced Bruce to include any of the St. Patrick's songs from that one episode of "Cheers." ("Twas a baby's crib that floated by…" "OKAY, THAT'S IT!")
Bryant: Bitch, how the fuck ‘m I s’posed to run from a cannonball?!? I ain’t freakin’ Quicksilver! 3/5
"How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live"
Bryan: 3.5/5 Not bad. I was cringing in anticipation for the "Hurricane Katrina" extra lyrics but they're universal enough to not alienate. I hate when my Springsteen fan-ness (or King fan-ness or so many others) comes to wreck upon those kind of shores.
Bryant: 3/5 Better than the studio version, and by a good margin.
"Jacob's Ladder"
Bryan: 3.75/5 Okay, to extend my going-to-a-show remarks, this might be the point where I'm getting antsy to get out of there. Still a good time, spirited performance, etc.
Bryant: This does have an end-of-the-show feel, doesn’t it? Goes on much too long for my tastes, but I don’t begrudge them the time. You can’t get a band like this together and expect such not to happen. 2/5
"Long Time Comin'"
Bryan: 3.5/5 Prefer the studio version but not a bad take.
Bryant: This is fine, but it’s the same arrangement as the studio version, for the most part; which makes it a bit of a missed opportunity, in my book. There are some nice horn flourishes right at the end, though. 3/5
Bryan: 5.5/5 Wow! I did not see this coming at all. How did they manage this with this song? Masterful. I love everything that's happening here.
Bryant: Man, talk about a recontextualization…! This one doesn’t work quite as well for me as it does for you, but it’s unquestionably a heck of a thing. 3.25/5
"Pay Me My Money Down"
Bryan: 3.5/5 You can hear the toil the night's taken on Bruce's vocals here! Hard to argue with this one, but I'll give it the same score as the studio version.
Bryant: This is the sound of people having a good time. 3.25/5
Bryan: 5/5 Amazing he can still mine new gold from this old ore! Another one I never would figure on ever giving a 5 but wow.
Bryant: As much as I like the studio version, I’d be hard pressed to say it’s better than this version. In fact, this version probably smothers it in its crib. 4/5
"When the Saints Go Marching In"
Bryan: 2.5/5 I kept waiting for the uptempo stuff to kick in but I guess the last track was so uptempo it would've been redundant. (Link to Simpsons)
Bryant: This fits in perfectly with Bruce’s thesis of recontextualizing old songs. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard this song played this way, and it makes me pay a different kind of attention to it. Works for me. 3/5
"This Little Light of Mine"
Bryan: 3.5/5 A little too much for me but it's cool and all. Nice musical breaks. Special shout-out to the background soaring-gospel vocals. I'll give that section of the song a full-on 5 stars.
Bryant: 2/5 Very well-played, but it takes a LOT to get me into gospel.
Bryan: 5/5 This one really hits me. I can't help but think of the Scots-Irish diaspora and Bruce heading back to deliver this to Dublin. Reminds me a bit of the Pogues' "Body of an American."
Bryant: More elephants’ asses were kicked in the performing of this song. 4/5 Great lyrics. Fuck you, Klan. For you, the shit from my asshole.
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| Bonus tracks: |
"Blinded by the Light"
Bryan: 4.25/5 Here's another one I like significantly more when re-arranged in this sort of yiddish/klezmer-sounding way.
Bryant: Jeez, man. On the one hand, I cannot in good conscience give this a higher score than I gave the studio version (which was 3.75), because I love that. I think that may mean I scored it too low, though, because my gut impulse is to give this version about a 4.5/5. It’s great! I will have to think of this, but for now, I’ll say 3.74/5.
"Love of the Common People"
Bryan: 4.25/5 This live CD captures Bruce effortlessly going through so many different styles of music. It's really a treasure. I like the performance here more than the song itself. Whenever I hear the sax I wonder if Bruce gave the guy (Ed Manion) a lot of crap all the time.
Bryant: Whose song is this? To Google, away…! [tick-tick-tick…] Well, the Wikipedia page informs me that it was originally performed by The Four Preps, but notable cover-ers include The Everly Brothers, Waylon Jennings, Wayne Newton, John Denver, Paul Young, and LEONARD FUCKING NIMOY. I don’t think I’ve heard any of those, but I’m pretty sure I agree it’s a better performance than a song. 2.25/5
"We Shall Overcome"
Bryan: 2.5/5 Not my thing but I get it.
Bryant: This is better than the studio version, but still nothing super-duper special. 2.25/5 It serves as an album-closer so adequately, however, that I really don’t understand why isn’t this album’s album closer. This is especially confusing considering it closes the CD set, if not the album itself. As Khan said of a certain captain, this shit tasks me.
~
Bryant: Total 73.99 Avg 3.22Bryan: Total 94.5 Avg. 4.11 With quite a few "5"s. Let's see where that places in the Rankings.
Bryan:
Lucky Town 2.15
Greetings from Asbury Park 2.19
The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.44
In Concert / MTV Plugged 2.82
Tracks 2.83
Chimes of Freedom 2.86
Blood Brothers 2.88
Human Touch 2.9
Book of Dreams 3.1
Hammersmith Odeon, London 3.1
The Rising 3.3
Devils and Dust 3.36
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.43
Live in New York City 3.5
Loose Ends 3.63
Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.65
We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.67
The River 3.71
Tunnel of Love 3.8
Darkness on the Edge of Town 3.82
Live ’75 - ‘85 4
Live in Dublin 4.11
Born to Run 4.41
Nebraska 4.5
Born in the USA 5.4
Bryant:
Human Touch 1.7
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 2.04
Lucky Town 2.15
The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.46
Devils and Dust 2.48
Book of Dreams 2.58
Chimes of Freedom 2.69
In Concert / Mtv Plugged 2.75
Greetings from Asbury Park 2.75
Tracks 2.81
Blood Brothers 2.9
The Rising 3.1
Live in Dublin 3.22
Tunnel of Love 3.35
We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.37
Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.38
The River 3.39
Live in New York City 3.48
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.68
Live ’75 - ‘85 3.7
Loose Ends 3.92
Born to Run 4.35
Darkness on the Edge of Town 4.4
Nebraska 4.63
Born in the USA 4.88
Bryan: Makes sense to me. It feels like one of my faves, so seeing it up there in the top 5 makes sense to me. We've got a special Christmas Eve special for you before we close up shop. Take it away, sir!
Bryant: There was also, evidently, an EP featuring other Dublin performances. (It can be found on YouTube here.)
(1) “Bobby Jean” – Shit, this is great. It doesn’t top the studio version, but that’s no sin. 4.25/5
(2) “The Ghost of Tom Joad” – I wish he’d taken a few of the blander songs on that album and tried to gussie ‘em up with this band. Maybe he felt they were all lost causes. This one wasn’t, but then, it never was. This is a country version, and it’s worth about a 3/5 from me. I like the song no matter what guise you put it in.
(3) “Johnny 99” – Impossible to rock harder than the original rocks. Why even try? Well, because I guess you can rock in a different way, which is what this does. I can’t honestly say I’m that into it, though. 2.25/5
(4) “For You” – He should have just redone the entirety of Asbury Park with this band. They might could have even got something decent out of “The Angel.” Lol, what am I saying, of course they couldn’t! They sure did out of “For You,” though. About 4/5 worth. This IS better than the studio version; I got no compunctions about saying that.
(5) “My City of Ruins” – This is my third-favorite version of this song (behind the studio and the Tribute to Heroes live version), and it trails the others by a substantial margin. 2/5 Some of Bruce’s vocals are iffy. You’re not cut out to belt out gospel-style, Boss; you’re just not.
Third:
Holy God, this version of "Because the Night" rules. I'd forgotten all about it! I saw that as a bonus performance tacked onto the end of Springsteen and I, which played at my theatre a few years back one night. I thought I was going to freak out during that Nils solo.
