Springsteen’s Archive Series: The possibilities for 2022 (and the Series’ Top 10 songs of 2021)

The seventh year of Springsteen’s Live Archive Series has come to an end, and it’s another year that brought us long-anticipated releases – as well as a couple we never really expected – with remarkable performances and plenty of magic moments that made for a lot of enjoyable repeated listening. Thirteen releases accompanied a wider album and film release of The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts for a year that really accentuated the live legend of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (hype for an upcoming tour, maybe?) and out of those thirteen I successfully predicted… one in last year’s preview, so I have to try harder this year. Of course, I imagine there’ll be less room to be right as the possibility of a world tour seems more in sight this year than any other while I’ve been writing these New Year’s Day blogs, and in the event that happens the Archive Series will very likely be put on hold as Nugs work on the touring Live Downloads of 2022.

As for the Archive Series in 2021, there appeared to be more criticism for this slate of releases than I can recall in the past, with several believing the project to be “going stale” because of the focus placed on expected releases rather than eras and tours underrepresented over the last seven years. With many famed nights already released and Nugs only having access to what’s at hand, while it would have been lovely to have seen something from prior to 1975 and from 2002-03, their unavailability certainly doesn’t hinder the quality of the shows and songs we’ve been able to listen to over the last three hundred and sixty-five days.
As to whether multi-track recordings can be found and/or salvaged in the next year, or whether the Series will simply continue to deal us delights from the years we know they have is ready to be seen, and with that being the case, let’s have a look at some possibilities for the year ahead!

July 2nd, 1981 – East Rutherford, NJ – Brendan Byrne Arena

Following the release of December 28th, 1980 in December, and the confirmation that the much desired Night For The Vietnam Veteran was not professionally recorded, it seems that there isn’t much of The River Tour left in the vault. What we are confident of, though, is that there still are a few shows left to release. If Live 1975-85 is anything to go by (and judging on many releases in the Series, it very much is), we can look to the Summer ’81 homecoming in New Jersey to find them. May 2020 brought us the final night from the stand, highlighted by that essential “Jersey Girl”, and it certainly stands out on this night too in its live debut. As far as Archive Series essentials are concerned, though, the song that catches the eye and would most likely catch our ear is the one that follows, the also debuting “I Don’t Want To Go Home”. We can feel the emotion, energy and chemistry surging between Bruce, Miami Steve and the E Street Band in the audience recording of this track, but with a far greater quality recording, the words of this song will sound so much more real.

November 26th, 1996 – Asbury Park, NJ – Paramount Theatre

Four Joad Tour releases in now, I’m starting to crave a 1995 release if solely for the comfort that they were recording on that stage of the tour, but if they want to go back to 1996 after last year’s look at the last waltz in Nice, 1997, that’s alright with me. There are plenty of contenders for a spotlight release as well, however maybe it’s time for a show many have been asking for since the first night of the trio in Asbury Park popped up in late 2019. Following on from November 24th, this sees a looser Bruce having tons of fun, calling upon Patti Scialfa and Soozie Tyrell for lovely renditions of songs like “Tougher Than the Rest” “Two Hearts” and “Racing in the Street”, as well as old friends in Danny Federici, Big Danny Gallagher and Richard Blackwell for thrilling versions of “For You”, “All That Heaven Will Allow” and “Wild Billy’s Circus Story”. They aren’t the only friends making an appearance either, as Mad Dog Vini Lopez joins communal performances of “Spirit”, “Rosie” and “Sandy”; and cementing this night as a legendary one alongside them is Little Stevie Van Zandt, who steals the show with Bruce on a stunning – funnily enough – “I Don’t Want To Go Home”. A tender contrast to the one above fifteen years prior; the one in Helsinki 2012 further down the road is full of soul, but this one is something even greater.

August 12th, 1999 – East Rutherford, NJ – Continental Airlines Arena

One more from New Jersey, and while the mini-reunion above would be bittersweet as Bruce continued his solo mission for the next six months, on this August night in East Rutherford three years later the task at hand is more akin to that night in the Brendan Byrne as a true celebration of E Street in front of the home faithful. The final night of a fifteen show stand to kick off the U.S. leg of the Reunion Tour, quite simply this is similar to when I talked about The Bottom Line stand back in 2019 because Nugs could point to a show without looking and we’d be sure of a gem. I do love the way this finale shapes up, though, kicking off with “Jersey Girl”, bookended by “Rosie’s” only outing of the tour – if she stayed home for the rest, given what we’ve heard so far, what does that say about this one?! And in-between are superb versions of the core setlist, also featuring a Soozie appearance on “Factory”, giving us a more complete feeling of this century’s E Street Band, a spirited “Hungry Heart” with some help from Bon Jovi, Sambora, and Etheridge, and the double feature of “Meeting” into “Jungleland” might be the pick of the bunch.

June 6th, 2005 – Rome, IT – Palalottomatica

While a New Jersey audience may be fervent, an Italian audience are that extra touch more rapturous, so what happens when they attend a Bruce show where he demands quiet? We’d need to hear it to find out, and there are many more reasons why we’d need to hear this show. Regular readers will know that I love an opportunity to talk about Sergio Leone’s films, and thankfully many Springsteen shows aren’t short on a homage to the music of Ennio Morricone. This night is the culmination of all of those tributes. Playing in the city where Morricone was born, Bruce enters to “Once Upon a Time in the West”, and with the man himself seated in the audience, he begins this journey with an “I’m on Fire” coated in harmonica that we can envision Charles Bronson playing. Mint. Elsewhere in the show, this one really blends the best of what we’ve heard so far from the tour in the Series into one glorious story: “Incident on 57th Street”, “State Trooper”, “Real World”, “Racing in the Street”, “Lucky Town”, “Leah” and “Land of Hope and Dreams” all shine bright here, and based on what 2021 told us in regards to song similarity, plenty of essence is bound to be heard in this show, whether the arrangement is new to us or not.

November 28th, 2007 – Milan, IT – DatchForum

If we were to get an Italian show where the audience are rather subdued, then it’s only right we get one where they’re allowed to lose their minds. Naturally I’d lean towards a San Siro show for that, and for some June 25th, 2008 might be the greater shout for release, but I think we need a Magic Tour release from Europe, and the enthusiasm we’d be able to hear from this arena crowd would just amplify what we hear from Bruce and the E Street Band, leading to an even more enjoyable experience for us. There’s certainly reason for Milan to be enthused here too, as adding to the core tour tracks and the expected setlist hymns for this occasion such as “The Promised Land”, “Badlands” and “Born to Run”, are thrilling versions of “Incident on 57th Street”, “The E Street Shuffle” and “I’ll Work For Your Love”, which is perfectly slotted in-between “The Promised Land” and “Incident” as an affirmation of connection between the man and his audience. On paper this one may seem straightforward and not overly dissimilar in setlist to what we’ve heard so far, but the magic in the Milanese night is very different to that in Indianapolis, Greensboro, and maybe even St Louis.

July 18th, 2013 – Cork, IE – Páirc Uí Chaoimh

A double shot of 2012 in 2021 might mean we go without a Wrecking Ball release at all this year, especially if the Archive Series is limited in favour of Live Downloads, but there are too many fantastic nights from this tour to go without one being spotlighted in this write-up, if not in the Series itself. It’s no surprise Nugs have been focusing on the 2012 stage of the tour since the project began, and there are still so many shows left to unearth, but with six 2012 releases since 2014, and only two from the year 2013 – Rome in 2015 and Leeds in 2018 – I think we need to start working on fixing that ratio. A year that drifted from full album sequences to rarity filled sets, this night in Cork is very much the latter. Not only would a release of it mean we have every version of “The Price You Pay” from this century at our fingertips, but it would also mean we’re able to hear the night’s riveting renditions of “Wild Thing”, “Prove It” with a ’78 intro, “Adam Raised a Cain”, “Frankie” and “Real World” (played on solo piano) that come with it. 2021 gave us night two from both St. Paul and Boston, highlighting the motivation Bruce and the Band were playing with this on this tour. Cork – or anymore of these late July shows in Europe – would stress how they retained that purpose close to one year later.

Time will tell as to what shows are released – and how many of them are released – in this New Year, but up to now the Archive Series certainly hasn’t let me down, and even with so many anticipated releases already there to be played, I’m sure what we get next will bring us an equal amount of joy. And even if that’s not to be the case, 2021 left us with thirteen shows to more than fill any void.

The Best of the Archive Series in 2021:

With many of us frustratingly back in Lockdown as the year 2021 began, the Archive Series provided an additional sense of comfort to whatever else was filling our time, and as we moved out of the darkness looking forward, albeit still weary of setbacks, these live releases continued to fill us with joy and a feeling of escapism as we envisioned the next time we could experience this music in the flesh, without any restrictions ridding us of an enthralling, communal E Street experience.
Helping us out with this were two very fine 2012 shows, one that may be the purest Wrecking Ball release yet, and a surprising second that complements the former’s purity as an exhibition of 2012 marathon stadium shows at their best; the Christmas bonus finally gave “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” its essential home; a 1997 release from a largely under appreciated final leg of the tour, and a first 2005 release from the opening stages of that specific solo tour spotlighted Bruce at his most intimate; we heard Springsteen and the E Street Band on amazing form in 1980, 1985, 1988, 2000 and 2008, with the former completing a terrific trilogy, and the latter serving as an ode to that golden era as the final time Danny Federici played onstage; another 1992-93 show with Bruce’s touring band altered our opinions of their quality, thanks to a setlist comprised primarily of ’92-93 tracks, and the songs that have a karaoke touch on those prior respective tour releases were arguably highlighted best on a 1978 show that never circulated in its entirety prior to 2021, one that offers several song performances that even challenge the most famous of nights on Bruce’s most revered tour.

On that note, what continues to be the case with these releases is the quality of the song performances within them, and once again we weren’t even halfway through the year before a prospective top ten list became a growing list of sixty songs. I’d go as far as to say this was the most difficult whittling process yet, and by that I mean it was of course an outright thrill to play what I believe to be the year’s best over and over. That ‘I’ is also important here, because as always this is so subjective and what I’ve loved and loved less won’t be shared with everyone, so if by the end of this list you feel like I missed one out or I’ve included one that doesn’t deserve to be in this conversation, please get involved in the discussion!

So as to not make complete waste of that sixty+ song shortlist, though, let’s see what songs just missed the cut, but are still more than worthy of an honourable mention…

The Honourable Mentions:

– “Sherry Darling“, August 22nd, 1985 – East Rutherford, NJ: If I was to pick one Springsteen song that has gone up in my estimation in 2021, it’s “Sherry”. These party noises don’t always hit the spot for me, but this finale from Giants Stadium hits the spot like no other. Exquisitely played, charisma oozes from Bruce who knows fine well he’s the biggest star in the world at this moment. “Jane Fonda look out!“
– “Stolen Car”, November 12th, 2012 – St. Paul, MN: When Backstreets Magazine asked me to write their review for the release of this show, of just about every song featured on this crazy night, my focus couldn’t help but linger – and it’s since remained – on this towering performance.
– “Devils & Dust“, November 12th, 2012 – St. Paul, MN: The exception. Driven forward by its dazzling Horns and harmonies, and highlighted by Bruce’s intensity and searing guitar solos, where the above grabs our focus, this one demands it. And Goddamn deserves it.
– “Adam Raised a Cain“, July 1st, 1978 – Berkeley, CA: The Live 1975-85 version from The Roxy is the most famous, but it isn’t the only one from 1978, and this burst out of the vault in the most scorching of entrances.
– “Blinded by the Light“, June 27th, 2000 – New York, NY: “Blinded” doesn’t always do the trick for me either, but 2021 brought what also may be my new favourite version of the song. A joyous, communal feeling flows as we get closer to the finish line of the tour and its moments of excitement that ‘derail’ a scrumptious Bruce vocal are great indicators that his search for perfection while filming LINYC could take a backseat. When that’s the case, we don’t need to look much further to see “where the fun is!“. Ain’t it true baby!

And now, the Top 10:

10. “Born to Run” – March 20th, 2008 – Indianapolis, IN:

A modern day “Born to Run” is a rarely a must listen with these Live Series releases, but this rendition is important, immense, flowing with history and memories of times shared between Bruce Springsteen, Danny Federici and the rest of the E Street Band. For some of you I expect “Sandy” was the ‘logical’ selection from this show to be in the Top 10, but we expected that one to hit us, I never anticipated being overwhelmed on multiple occasions playing this since first hearing it last October. What’s made that the case is hearing Bruce himself overwhelmed by the context of the evening, with a voice break at 2:31 and his humble sense of joy because of it being one example. That being said, it’s 3:39 onwards, though, that still serves as the greatest moment of relief, for both us and the men and women onstage. The defiance that drove this song in 1975 is once again present, and just for a moment, everything is alright in the world.

9. “Real World” – May 17th, 2005 – Upper Darby, PA

Despite the essential version(s) of this song being released in 2016 in the Christic Shows, an official release of Bruce playing this one in 2005 was highly anticipated. Yes, it doesn’t have the same significance of him actually starting anew as he was doing in November 1990, but once we hear the man playing this gorgeous, heartfelt song, significance ceases to enter our minds. Singing with strength and fully confident on the keys, this works nicely as a sequel to the performances fifteen years earlier, while also standing strong as a man simply playing damn good music.

8. “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” – August 15th, 2012 – Boston, MA

The studio version of “Girls” is a gem, and with the exception of a soulful solo effort from Perth in 2014, the live performances we’ve heard have missed the mark. So what a joy it was to finally get that gem in Fenway night two. Starting slowly as Bruce and the Band warm up their respective vocals and instruments, when Max sparks the song into life at 0:49 we realise just how good this song can be in a live setting. Brilliantly breezy no matter the season, this one is given an additional touch of vibrancy thanks to the Horns’ equally firm and stunning riffs (1:51, 1:56). Their presence mightn’t have been a perfect fit on every song, but it certainly was for this one.

7. “Land of Hope and Dreams” – May 17th, 2005 – Upper Darby, PA

Stripped back and without the pounding drums, cathartic horns and organ or liberating electric guitar and sax, this solo offering arguably has more heart to it than any other. Standing alone, in front of one of his most welcoming fanbases, in a venue which holds much history for Springsteen, there’s so much sentiment to this performance, accentuated by the urgency of his guitar strumming and the lovely reverb we can hear in his voice when he invites Upper Darby to “meet me in a land of hope and dreams“, whether they’ve just got on the train or have been riding it since September 1974. Bliss.

6. “The Promise”, July 1st, 1978 – Berkeley, CA:

Hindered by a slight lyrical mix up towards the end, this solo piano effort, stunningly played, and sang in heart-wrenching fashion would be misplaced outside of this list. While the legal battle that had loomed over the song performances for the last two years was now over with, a more personal battle Bruce still hadn’t resolved was still going on, and his dedication to his ‘pop’ here only makes this all the more essential. What makes this truly essential, though, is what it gives us compared to all the others that have been released: the additional verse that would never be played after this most revered of tours concluded. Some asked why we needed an eighth release from ’78, and these four lines were the emphatic answer.

“Well my daddy taught me how to walk quiet;
and how to make my peace with the past;
then I learned real good to tighten up inside;
and I don’t say nothin’ unless I’m asked“

5. “It’s My Life” – December 12th, 1975 – Greenvale, NY

“Have you ever launched into a song onstage and not known what it was?“

“Oh yeah! Oh definitely. I remember, er, uhm, we played a song, the first time we played, uh, “It’s My Life”, which we used to do in the mid-seventies.. we didn’t know we were gonna play that, we’d never rehearsed it. We knew it, Bruce started kinda playing it on his guitar and Roy came with the piano, we just kinda fell into it. But that’s the special quality of this Band, that ability to pick up those impromptu cues from Bruce.“

An hour and two minutes into the fantastic BBC documentary Glory Days from 1987, Max Weinberg takes us back over a decade. In twelve years many memorable moments had taken place inside E Street Band shows, ones that stressed the joy, wildness and unpredictably fans were likely to see upon buying a ticket. Where it concerns the latter, one moment stayed in Max’s mind, and this essential moment of spontaneity was immortalised alongside its full show as our Christmas bonus. Lucky number thirteen indeed! For a first time ever performance, it’s incredible how perfected this is, and to be honest the only thing missing for this to be the essential Springsteen version is the brooding monologue about his dad to set the scene. Without it the song and its angry chorus loses an attributive factor towards Bruce’s mood, but ultimately this makes for a lot of show, don’t tell to shine through. When he emphatically tells us “I’LL DO WHAT I WANT!“, it doesn’t matter who’s tried to influence his life, because they sure as hell won’t be doing that once they’ve heard this – the first example of this is from 2:01, and listen to the Band’s harmonies at 1:59. For a first-timer they know exactly where they have to come in! Also fuelled by motivation in his determined, confident declarations of “I’ll wear sable someday” following the success of Born to Run and featuring an at times stunning, soulful vocal (1:29) to complement his fury, “Santa Claus” was at the forefront of Mike Appel’s mind after C.W. Post in 1975, but it’s this Animals cover that’s at the forefront of ours after hearing C.W. Post in 2021.

4. “Back in Your Arms“- June 27th, 2000 – New York, NY

A sorrowful song on its face, upon listening to this version of “Back in Your Arms” we’re more likely to be left in awe rather than with tears running down our cheeks. A stunning expression of soul from Bruce, with the comfort of Stevie and Nils beside him for harmonies and Garry, Roy and Danny behind him to soundtrack his remorse, he lets loose however many years of hurt by perfectly utilising his new vocal for the early twenty-first century, blending clarity, twang and the slightest touch of grit for this confession. Yeah, there’s that somewhat weak delivery of “I want to be” (1:45), but we can’t stew on that when there’s the ultimate wail of “I JUST WANT-I JUST GOT TO BE! GIRL! BAAAABY! BABY, BABY, BABY!” at 4:56 for us to listen to over and over, with the added treats of Clarence’s sax and that one final cherry of “back in your ar-rr-rms!” at 6:22 to devour once we’ve had our fill.

3. “Who’ll Stop the Rain” – “Rocky Ground“ – August 15th, 2012 – Boston, MA

Ok, so maybe this is a little bit of cheating on my part in this Top 10 list, but with the transition that segues us from the CCR cover into the Wrecking Ball track, can you really blame me for classing them as one on this occasion? If you’re yet to be convinced, rather than saying it’s still the festive season in my defence, I can only stress the tenderness of the former, which is shorter, but still very sweet with a lot of power in the vocal of Bruce (and the audience too), as well as a few voice breaks here and there two hours and forty minutes into an eventful night in Boston. Then, following a bridging instrumental that echoes “One Step Up”, Curt Ramm brings us into “Rocky Ground” and Bruce’s fitting shout out to the Greater Boston Food Bank. It’s one of those wholesome moments that summarises a career of working for the greater good, and the way he follows it with “this’ Ms. Michelle Moore” just leaves us thinking “now that’s cool!“. Adding to the preluding cover’s gentleness with a hearty, robust vocal and complementing it with fiery Tom Morello-esque guitar (3:38) alongside more immense instrumentation, whether you would have placed them together, separately, or even in the Honourable Mentions, there’s no denying that this tandem was one of the Archive Series’ finest moments in 2021.

2. “Prove It All Night” – December 28th, 1980 – Uniondale, NY

“Prove It All Night” with its 1978 intro has been a recurring feature in these Top 10 lists – Atlanta even came in at #1 last year – and I’ll admit Berkeley was a shoe-in to be featured, but the release of Nassau night one from December 1980 and the “Prove It” played on that night serves as a strong reminder of just how much the song can stand on its own without its most desired intro. Of course, this version from the Coliseum has its unique bubbling build, but it’s what follows that truly enamours us. As Garry and Roy dominate the instrumentation with their pulsating bass and saloon piano playing, Bruce and Miami Steve lead a searing performance. Check out 3:36 for fiery passion and jubilation, and then keep on listening so as to not miss Stevie’s “ALL NIGHT!” to bring in The Phantom for his euphoric exhibition, and Bruce’s heated, gritty guitar solo from 4:22. I’ll admit that the fact we already had the stronger second and third shows from this stand didn’t have me eager to hear this one and what it offers, so it’s no surprise it ended up revitalising my love for this song courtesy of this performance. How could anyone hear that euphony of the E Street Band playing together from 5:30 and not adore this song?

1. “Across the Borderline” – April 28th, 1988 – Los Angeles, CA

Towards the start of this blog I mentioned how the Archive Series received some criticism in 2021, and for some fans when a release is full of songs “we already have” it can be difficult to get excited. April 28th, 1988 is virtually identical to the previously released April 23rd in setlist, but not in the way of how each song is performed, and also due to the fact it features this Ry Cooder cover – and for me it’s all the release needs. Debuted the night prior, for weeks this song was Bruce’s obsession, and at one of the darkest times in his personal life, his drive for excellence onstage was greater than ever. Having played it over, and over, and over, to the point that everyone in the Band, and everyone in the crew were sick, in the end his drive for excellence resulted in a perfect performance. Having dropped his warhorses in favour of a consistent setlist and occasional gems such as this, here we have a man who once sang about “The Promised Land” telling us such a place is faulty, unable to live up to our hopes and expectations, but its possibilities are too great for the mistakes we make upon the way to have us turn around. Sang perfectly alongside Patti Scialfa – who meets Bruce’s crisp, yet clear vocal with such a fragility – and with the E Street Band showing us that they were most certainly paying attention while Bruce played Cooder’s song on repeat – listen out for Roy and Danny in particular – “Across the Borderline” is a moment of golden sunlight on that dark ride through the Tunnel of Love, and that sunlight shines on the Archive Series’ top song of 2021.

I’ve been writing these New Year’s Day wrap-up blogs since 2019, and have been pondering whether the Archive Series has peaked with Top Ten lists since the year after. I suppose now that Bruce has sold his music catalogue to Sony the question is whether the Series will continue in 2022 more so than if it can get better. I agree with those who have said it will (I sure hope so, even if it’s just so the time spent writing about the Possibilities of 2022 isn’t in vain), but whether it continues through Nugs, or if Sony take over and alter the way in which Springsteen’s Live Series is presented, what we heard in 2021 – and what we’ve heard from 2014 onwards – has been really enriching, and the music it’s given me a chance to hear hasn’t been taken for granted for a second.
I want to wish you all a Happy New Year and thank you for taking the time to read this post, I hope you’ve enjoyed it, and regardless of what happens with the Archive Series in 2022 I’d love to think you’ll be hanging around as I continue with The River Tour 2016 and more. Who knows, there may even be some 2022 tour shows to write about, and you can count on some tour talk here!