Crystal Cat has done it again! They go way back to 1973 on their lastest Springsteen release.
I always had the notion that Bruce never really hit his stride until "Born to Run" came out. I was never a big fan of the first two albums mainly because of the week production. The two recordings on here have proved my theory wrong, big time!
The first 7 tracks are from a KBFH broadcast and the sound and performance are tremendous. The first song "Lost in the Flood" is cut in a little late but that's ok. It's not as passionate as the Hammersmith version anyway. But then the show really kicks into gear with one of Bruce's greatest compositions "Spirit in the Night". The tempo slides back down with "Circus Song" and "Bishop Danced" but then the excitement builds with the next three songs, "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street", "Blinded by the Light" and a superb "Thundercrack" (which I enjoyed more than the Tracks version.) "Blinded by the Light" sounds way better than the studio version as does "82nd Street".
The next six songs are from an acoustic radio show performance in Richmond, VA. Highlights include "82nd Street" and the unreleased track "You Mean So Much". I had never heard this song done acoustically and boy was I missing out. It's a great song. In between, Bruce is interviewed by a dimwitted DJ. I have a CD called the Lost Radio Show from Houston, 1974 which has stellar sound. This recording is just as good or better. I'll use words like crisp, clear and warm to describe.
All in all, even if you are a casual Bruce fan, you will love this CD. In fact, if you slapped a Columbia label on it, you wouldn't doubt it was an official release. This CD now sits proudly with Crystal Cat's other great titles such as: Main Point Night 75 and Passaic Night 78. Packaging includes a 8 page booklet and pullout with information on Alpha Studios. It states Bruce recorded an hour's worth of material. Several new tunes were demoed for future release by Columbia. (Guess not). The last thing that the DJ says on track 13 is something along the lines that reproduction of this is illegal and prohibited. Yeah, but it sounded so good.
