![]() The London audience roars its approval as Bruce shifts the setting to New Jersey for “Spirit in the Night,” with the band warmed up and soaring, Stevie Van Zandt and Max Weinberg notably in fighting form. Comparing the old bootleg to the new multitrack edition is like comparing Charli D’Amelio to Misty Copeland. But if there were ever a demonstration of the merit of putting out the best shows out in the best quality, London 11/24/75 is it. True, a mostly complete two-track soundboard recording of Hammersmith 2 has been in circulation for many years. Many pixels have been spent on the topic of Archive releases of shows that “we already have in great quality,” with some questioning the need. Jon Altschiller’s mix, taken from Plangent Processed, 24-track analog master reels, moves beyond HD to something closer to 4K, not merely widescreen but razor-sharp, with tremendous spatial depth and ideal balance between band and fans. ![]() (Five points to the first person to identify who introduces Springsteen to the stage.) The shift to breakneck pace is on full display as the E Street engine turns over and Bruce pushes the gas pedal to the floor on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out.” It remains a bold and vulnerable choice to start a show, and the performance is sublime. The latter aptly describes the show opener, “Thunder Road,” with just Roy on piano, Danny on glockenspiel, and Springsteen on vocals. ![]() Boy do they ever, giving a musical history lesson in the process and performing some of the best live versions of material from Springsteen’s first three albums, shifting effortlessly between full tilt and slow, nuanced majesty. The mindset seems to be, bust out the full arsenal and hit ’em with everything we got. Whether or not there is a causal relationship between the reception to the first gig and the resulting second show, the myth is right about one thing: London 11/24/75 is brilliant.Īfter performing 16 songs at Hammersmith 1, Bruce and the band unleash 22 killer cuts at Hammersmith 2, making eight overall changes to the set, a whopping seven of which are cover versions. The official release of that show in the Born to Run box set on video and subsequent standalone audio blows the myth out of the water, as the performance is excellent and every bit as good as the gigs Springsteen played in the States in the weeks prior.īut the London ’75 narrative was a two-parter, the other half being that the response to the first London show motivated an extraordinary second performance by Springsteen and the band at Hammersmith Odeon six days later, on November 24. The long-standing narrative surrounding Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s four-stop European tour in 1975 was that response to opening night in London on November 18 was mixed, in part because the hype leading up to the show was at Second Coming levels - too much for anyone to live up to, even Springsteen. Performing under pressure can bring out the best in us, but it can also skew perception. Hammersmith Odeon, London, England, November 24, 1975 ![]()
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