New from the Springsteen archive: May 14th, 1993 – Berlin, DE – Waldbühne

It was over two years between the Live Archive Series releases of July 25th, 1992 and December 13th, 1992, and now just under a year since Boston was unearthed the Archive Series’ April 2022 offering gives us a fourth serving from the 1992-93 World Tour. Boston last time out was a revelation, one that spotlighted Bruce’s new touring band at their best thanks to a setlist heavily focused on material penned for them in the form of sixteen tracks from Human Touch and Lucky Town; our newest release transports us five months down the road and into Europe – one of this much maligned era’s most revered legs – for a gig in Berlin that brings many setlist changes in such a short timespan.
Unlike the previously released shows from 1992, Berlin presents us with a setlist that had changed shape, and ultimately we find a release more akin to the first night of the tour released in the Archive Series, June 24th, 1993 in the Brendan Byrne Arena. The key difference here to the benefit show next month though is its absence of E Street Band members and additional stars of the Shore, leaving us relying purely on Bruce and his newly assembled band members for an enthralling experience.

It’s Bruce who gets us started, and instead of kicking off with the triple shot of Lucky Town tracks that exploded New Jersey and Boston into life in the summer and winter of 1992, this one sees him ease us into the evening with a semi-solo acoustic four pack. Interestingly this new release from this new era opens with a sign of what’s to come afterwards, because stripped back arrangements of “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “Adam Raised a Cain” are similar in execution to those performances we’ve been listening to since February on the Upper Darby 1995 release. Mind you, “Adam” is more urgent than its Joad Tour counterpart on this occasion, as Berlin witness a wrathful release of venom in contrast to the stoically brooding affair that would follow “The Ghost of Tom Joad” and his request for quiet two years later.
It’s following “Adam” where this opening becomes semi-solo, as Bruce calls out his harmonists for a live debut, “Satan’s Jewel Crown”. While this is one cover we’ve already heard in the Archive Series through the June 24th show in the Brendan Byrne, in no way does that lessen the quality of this majestic, communal effort we can hear Berlin treated to here. A song performance I’m happy to say is immediately flawless.
The final song in this sequence is another one that isn’t new to us in the year 2022, but sometimes with these releases we have to place ourselves in the moment and I must say I’ve never appreciated until now how special it must have been to hear “This Hard Land” live in 1993. At this time an unreleased outtake that fans could have only heard on unofficial recordings – Bruce even responds to those cheering by jesting, “You bought the bootlegs you shouldn’t have!” – those of us who weren’t around at this time may not think of this as anything other than a performance of “This Hard Land” (as that’s simply all we know), but this is a special moment. A hearty performance, for me it’s elevated by likewise keyboards playing from Roy. As was the case for the entire tour, The Professor is pulling double duty on this night, and he’s starting off in very vibrant fashion.

It’s then into the touring tracks with “Better Days” and “Lucky Town” as the night’s main attraction gets underway. There’s no “Local Hero” tonight, it’s one of the seven new songs featured in the Boston release absent, but not to worry there are still nine from Human Touch and Lucky Town played and this opening duo is a fine start to proceedings. The former sees particularly nice drumming from Zack Alford, and also interesting are the vocal risks taken by Bruce (check out how he sings “his heart to stone“) who doesn’t stay true to the song’s natural tone. It’s a tour of diverging from the norm and trying something new, and that’s echoed instantly in this spirited, soulful performance. “Lucky Town”, on the other hand, argues that by being more akin to what we’re used to vocally (that superb “BABY DOWN!” high note aside). However where this one may be straightforward in that area, there’s an extra fierceness evident in the music, and that’s highlighted best by the riveting guitar playing of Shane Fontayne and Crystal Taliefero, and soaring harmonies that nicely complement Bruce as he sings “take our selves!” and “building me a new home!“. The 1992-93 band are nicely picking up where they left us on the Boston release.

That strong playing continues with a track that wasn’t featured in Boston, but “Atlantic City”, a song about “running out of chances… and choices“, is a favourite of mine on the June 24th release and there’s more of the same in this one to ensure it’ll be in regular rotation. As in New Jersey later down the road Bruce’s despondent, yet delectable vocal and the synth driven instrumentation transport us into a post apocalyptic setting, and that’s so effective coming off the two songs prior. It’s a happier time in Springsteen’s life, but the troubles his characters face still linger. Where Boston showed us last time how spot on this touring band could be playing their material, once again the guitar playing in this one from Fontayne and Taliefero is enough to let us know they could do songs predating their hiring justice too.
Speaking of this touring band’s material, and also of justice, “57 Channels” follows and as Bruce coldly states “L.A. burning“, we realise that it wasn’t just his written characters who were suffering while he experienced better days, as his country was still struggling too. Percussion pulsates and harmonists thrive as voices of news presenters surround Waldbühne with harrowing stories, and while this one mightn’t be our favourite song from this tour, it certainly kicks off one of Bruce’s most experimental new efforts in emphatic fashion. Complementing the new stories spoken out loud to his audience, Bruce sings with vitriol, ferociously pondering the ifs of making friends with billionaires, how much easier it all could have been with romance, and there’s even more of it as he sings of losing his way and blasting a television to smithereens. Solid in its own unique way, where “57 Channels” may really thrive best is in how it helps us hear the next song differently as part of this sobering sequence.
Yes, “Badlands” is next and, as part of this trio, we can thankfully focus on its narrative importance more so than it potentially being a lesser version of an E Street essential. Mind you, even if that wasn’t the case this is a very strong version for the era, sang by Bruce with a stunning determination and played with profound purpose by a band intent on being viewed as something more than a tribute act. That said, there’s an additional factor that enhances this one, and that’s the audience who take heed of Milan a year earlier and sing those “oh-oh oh-oh” harmonies that are, like “This Hard Land”, very familiar to us today, but in 1993 this was new, fresh and as we hear them during and ‘after’ the song, we’re enamoured by the excitement in Waldbühne at this moment. Of course, that ‘after’ at 5:40 is soon met by a soft, slow build back into the song that I must describe as essence. We can even picture the grin on Bruce’s face as starts to sing again, before losing himself to intensity as he vehemently pours his heart out in an immense second finale.

The tempo lowers next – don’t worry, this isn’t an instance of stop-start that I feel disrupts the June 24th show, because this is really no different to “Independence Day” breaking up that rocking start on the December 28th, 1980 release we heard at the end of 2021 – as we’re treated to an Archive Series debut. “Many Rivers to Cross”, the lesser known Jimmy Cliff song Bruce has covered, had debuted in concert in Dortmund a month earlier, so not only had Bruce and the band had time to tweak any imperfections, but it’s also one many of this Berlin crowd may have been familiar with, and going in we can be optimistic for a quality performance shown good respect by the audience. We get both too, with Berlin appreciative as Bruce fully embraces the soul that was so fundamental for him in the foundations of this tour in his gorgeous vocals, and as he sings about it “being a drag to be on your own” he’s backed by strong harmonies behind him, making for a fantastic new example of how this tour shone amidst the criticism it often faced.
For the respect shown to that cover, Bruce repays the favour with a special performance of “My Hometown” that I believe is more emotional on this night than any other we’ve heard from this tour. Five years after playing for East Berlin one of the most significant moments for a generation, Bruce brings it all home by singing of the troubles his own community and family experienced, tying the binds between man and audience all the more. As the song nears its end from 2:45 with powerful instrumentation striking in its potency, and he sings optimistically about moving on, appreciative of what he’s found and also of what he mightn’t have appreciated way back, it gives those in the audience – who may well have been becoming restless, resistant and anti-authoritarian five years ago – reason to breathe and take pride in the memories, good or bad, with their own optimism for the future now that all barriers have been torn down.

We go back to the boisterous with three songs of encouragement in regards to love, starting with a highly spirited and always evocative “Leap of Faith” – complete with a leap into the audience for a swift surf. It’s followed by “Man’s Job”, one of my favourites from Human Touch, which sees Bobby King brought into the spotlight for a typically delightful vocal performance. Of course, our delight isn’t only from the vocals, and this one also sees crisp (at times hard hitting) drumming from Zack, lively guitar playing from Crystal and a vibrant coda that I’m tempted to say is the zenith of this tour. Having said that, can the finale of “Man’s Job” really be the tour’s high point when “Roll of the Dice” exists? An exhibition of “Soul power!“, this finale to the first half sees all the soulful intentions Bruce sought to instil in this tour come to a head as a true exorcism of past demons and a celebration of being born again. It’s our second version of one of Bruce’s most joyous songs in the year 2022, but while Anaheim 2000 sees the song played straight, this one receives extra magnitude when Bruce proclaims “I’m here tonight with a purpose! Because I have a message I need to bring! There’s one thing I know…” and takes us into a glorious interpolation of “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love”. Is he on a mission from God? From himself? Whatever the answer, we’re all the luckier for it having heard this.

As the second set begins, we quickly learn it isn’t all joy in the name of love given the lyrics of “Downbound Train”, but this one is a joy to listen to regardless, especially when Bruce is singing in the finest of voices. Sublime in his delivery of lyrics such as “central line” and “pounding hard“, and while there’s a touch grit in the voice for that “bound traaaaaiiiin!” I can’t complain, it’s fantastic. Backed by a band performance similar to “Atlantic City” in its hopeless, synth driven atmosphere (Roy’s playing in the outro is class) alongside menacing guitar licks and fierce drumming, this second set opener is a complete contrast to “Roll of the Dice”, but the quality of performance is no less remarkable.
While the Born in the U.S.A. gem serves as a warning at the start of this love-themed sequence, what follows it is mostly optimistic. “Because the Night” is also atmospheric thanks to the transcendental guitar playing that flows throughout it, and though the sax being substituted for it makes for a less powerful version than usual, those riffs that shine through and the fervent vocal approach from Bruce more than make up for it. Make sure to check out Bruce’s cries of “because the night, baby… because the night!” as the song reaches its end, and stay around for his solo too, it’s so stellar it would leave Nils Lofgren spinning!
There’s no Patti Scialfa in the house tonight, but “Brilliant Disguise” and “Human Touch” are retained, and the former is very fascinating to listen to. Five years after the Tunnel of Love Express Tour, Bruce’s vocal tone is not that of regret or shame, but of a man wanting to pass on what he’s learned. He knows where he’s gone wrong, and he’s damn well intent on never making those mistakes again, conveying this through a vocal that starts softly and gradually becomes all the more ardent, at times sounding akin to Christic. Unlike Christic, this isn’t an intimate expression of past mistakes, as he’s backed very well by Roy’s piano playing, Sims’ bass and Alford’s drumming, and these three carry this over into “Human Touch” as well. There’s an extra element of truth to the song tonight with Patti absent, and thankfully her absence doesn’t result in a subpar performance. Instead this is incredibly captivating with Bruce singing hushed, albeit with a sense of eagerness that builds with the music. Again Roy is at the forefront of the instrumentals, sprinkling magical riffs throughout, and those glimmering keys that lead into the final two minutes of guitar are staggering.
This sequence concludes with a song that bookends “Downbound Train” as a lesson of love’s consequences, and unsurprisingly “The River” is met by a thunderous response from Berlin. I’ve been critical of the song as played in previous releases, but as with “Badlands” I’m very happy to have enjoyed this one as part of a narrative. It also helps that the performance is very good, driven by the touch of bitterness in Bruce’s voice – giving us the fury that is lacking in the New Jersey shows either side of this night – and another strong effort from the band for an E Street warhorse. The instrumentation as Bruce “remembers us riding in my brother’s car” is not only outstanding, but important as it allows us to appreciate how this new band understands Bruce’s music and what they must do to execute it excellently. Similarly to “My Hometown” as this one comes to a close, the robustly sang harmonies are reminiscent of those in East Berlin five years earlier, and with that we can hear this as another important one where it concerns community, and accepting the past in order to move on into the future.

As “The River” ends and the audience continue chanting, Roy transitions us into the following song, “Who’ll Stop the Rain?”. It’s here where Bruce takes a moment to tell us the song tonight is a prayer for Bosnia and Herzegovina. At this time the country was involved in the Bosnian War, and with this the Archive Series has provided a very fitting moment given what’s currently going on in Ukraine today. Regarding the music, the dedication makes it understandable to us why Bruce’s vocal lacks fury and instead leans towards sorrow, backed by an additionally solid band effort at a lower tempo than we’ll hear in any 1981 rendition with the E Street Band. The CCR cover fronts another sequence, this time of only three songs, focused on war and it’s followed by the Lucky Town stormer, “Souls of the Departed”. If you’re looking to hear Bruce sing with disdain this is the one to play, as his vocal is that of a man angry for what has been and fearful for what could have been – and yet still could. Listen to his contempt as he sings that final line, “and all the hatred and dirty little lies, been written off the books and into decent men’s eyes“, and note how the band again understand what his words call for through their towering coda. It’s a coda that soon segues into the erratic guitar solo of “The Star Spangled Banner” – complete with gunshot-drum shots – and what follows this is another soldier story.
“Born in the U.S.A.” has been a polarising one on these tour releases given Bruce’s decision to sing atypically to the song’s natural tone, however this one is more akin to what we know, and what we love, with the rage having consumed him enough to go back to its roots. Yes, there are fragments of tweaked vocal nuances as he still seeks to blend anger and sadness, but for the most part this one takes us back to was being evoked nightly from 1984 to 1988. That’s conveyed in the band’s performance also, which is even more imposing than that above mentioned coda for “Souls”, and it’s here where Bruce reminds us he understands their efforts by complementing them in singing, “say it’s alright now, yeah it’s alright now, I’m coming home, yeah bring me home“, with the scream that follows making the music as harrowing as ever.

“Light of Day” ends the main set nicely by bookending the acoustic opener alerting us of the darkness – as well the first full band performance about better days – and like “Brilliant Disguise” it’s incredible how different a song can hit us depending on the tour. It’s more optimistic than 1988, that’s for sure. With that said, there isn’t much different here band performance-wise to Boston as this also sees inspired efforts from Fontayne and Taliefero and Bittan and Alford, but as you’d hope for a fifteen minute track there are more than a few stand out moments. For me the most interesting aspects include the back and forth with the audience where it seems Bruce is shouting “HELP!” and the repetition of “I” that precedes the cathartic “I’m just a prisoner!” that is delivered with such pain in the voice. In a cleansing of a show as evidenced in the confession of “Roll of the Dice” and promise of “Brilliant Disguise” these two instances suggest to me that Bruce isn’t fully healed from what’s happened in the past, and that there’s still some work to be done so that he can truly move forward. There’s a reason we’re still just around the corner.

Eight songs shape an interesting encore where warhorses are blended with covers and a sole Lucky Town track, and while it begins with a hit in “Hungry Heart”, it’s a rendition very much unique to this specific era. There’s no acoustic intro here like in New Jersey back in July ’92, but it’s far from being the boisterous affair fans were used to. Instead there’s a nice calmness to the song tonight, spurred on by Sims’ bass and the enthusiasm of Berlin, and through the harmonies of Kennedy, Rogers, Ciambotti or Dennis, that final delivery of “hungry heart” from Bruce at the end of the first chorus and the funky bridge into the third verse, there’s plenty more to distinguish this live staple as well. It leads into “Glory Days”, and there’s no softer tempo for this fan favourite, oh no, it’s as buoyant and sultry as we want it to be. It’s highlighted best by Roy’s gleaming keys and Shane’s sleazy guitar which lead us into the band intros, and if anyone thought the emphasis on synthesiser was as cheesy as this tour got, Bruce telling Berlin to “raise your hands in the air, like you don’t care! Show the person next to you your underwear!” gives us another aspect to re-evaluate while listening to this show.
As noted above, the concert in East Berlin on July 19th, 1988 is definitely felt over the course this show, and while this next song had been played elsewhere in 1993, this first ever performance of “Across the Borderline” in Germany is most definitely not without purpose. Introduced as “a song for Berlin“, on May 14th, 1993 this first of two encore covers serves a perfect summarisation of where Germany had been, where they are, and what they must now do with the opportunities handed to them. Sang immaculately by a man who five years earlier was reciting it at his worst, from Bruce this is both a warning and calming message of hope, and where that April 28th, 1988 version found itself number one in my Top 10 of 2021, with this context we could easily be seeing this rendition in the same spot in January 2023. As for whether the 1992-93 touring band saw the same amount of obsession as the E Street Band did from Bruce leading up to this rendition is unknown, but what’s for certain is that they channel their predecessors with a sublime showing. Sometimes a song such as this may flounder when the previously released rendition was so tremendous, but that’s not the case here.
The potential that “Across the Borderline” speaks of is followed up strongly next with a celebratory “Born to Run”. Craved for by the audience following “Hungry Heart”, they were surely pleased by a strong performance that speaks directly to the dreamers. It isn’t a perfect effort, but while I could again focus on Crystal’s sax solo being weaker than The Big Man’s, I’d rather comment on how enthralling it is when her sax meets guitars just before the interlude and the count in for the finale, and how lovely it is to listen to her riffs in the outro. Drawbacks can be found in every Archive Series release, but the positives very often outweigh them and it’s no different in this one either.

The always stunning “My Beautiful Reward” concludes a cathartic sequence stressing happiness at the end of a strenuous journey, but it doesn’t wrap up the show and we continue with three more songs. A rollicking “Working on the Highway” sees superb harmonies, before “Rockin’ All Over the World” sees what might be my new favourite version of the song in the Archive Series, it’s genuinely that blissful. Another celebration in the midst of this European leg, Bruce makes this one unique with his delightful lyrical tweak of “ain’t gonna fuss, ain’t gonna fight, we’re rolling on down to Berlin tonight” and the song flourishes from here in how fresh and joyous it’s performed. Based on this and the version of “Santa” in Boston, we might have to start pondering which band are stronger at covers…
Seeing us out is “Bobby Jean”, as Bruce leaves Berlin on a sentimental note rather than a joyful one, and having just praised this band’s expertise when it comes to covering songs, if we didn’t know any better we’d perhaps struggle to tell if this was from 1993 or 1988. That’s how natural this one sounds. Of course, as this one ends with no sax solo we’re eventually able to spot a true difference, and at the very end of the concert this song and its one missing instrumental is debatably the perfect summarisation of a Bruce Springsteen show in 1992-93. It’s damn good, but it feels incomplete.

The fourth Archive Series release from the 1992-93 World Tour is a strong follow up from Bruce’s new touring band after Boston, and while that night sees them thriving playing Human Touch and Lucky Town material, this one sees them succeeding at the much harder task of playing more renowned E Street warhorses. A nicely flowing straightforward setlist, this one compares with Boston in its focus and contrasts with the New Jersey releases that are much more about the spectacle.

Rating: 6.5/10

Kieran’s recommended listening from May 14th, 1993 – Berlin, DE – Waldbühne:
“Satan’s Jewel Crown”, “This Hard Land“, “Lucky Town”, “Atlantic City”, “Badlands“, “Many Rivers to Cross“, “My Hometown“, “Leap of Faith”, “Man’s Job”, “Roll of the Dice“, “Downbound Train”, “Because the Night”, “Brilliant Disguise“, “Human Touch”, “The River“, “Who’ll Stop the Rain?“, “Souls of the Departed”, “Born in the U.S.A.”, “Hungry Heart”, “Across the Borderline“, “My Beautiful Reward”, “Rockin’ All Over the World” and “Bobby Jean”.

You can download this European stop from the 1992-93 World Tour here.