The Doobie Brothers have announced the release of their 15th full-length album, titled “Liberté“. Produced and co-written by John Shanks (Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus), the album contains 12 new tracks by Tom Johnston, PatSimmons and John McFee. It arrives October 1, 2021 via Universal Music. Pre-orders are not yet available.
The four-time Grammy Award winners and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020 inductees have just released a special self-titled EP featuring four tracks from the upcoming album. Fans who previously purchased a ticket album bundle and redeemed a copy of The Doobie Brothers EP between December 2019 and November 2020, will receive their physical CD beginning Sept. 17.
The group’s reunion tour with Michael McDonald, originally scheduled for 2020, begins August 22nd in the States. The highly anticipated 49-city North American tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of the band’s founding with Johnston, McDonald, Simmons and McFee back on tour together for the first time in nearly 25 years.
The Doobie Brothers’ 15th album was produced and cowritten by John Shanks, who has previously worked with Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and Miley Cyrus. “He’s a great producer, and we wrote together and that was fun and something different,” Simmons said. “He’s a great player, too, so we could stand toe to toe and work on things together, and see where we were going at any given time. He’s got his own approach and is super high energy, but not in a way that feels manic or anything.”
Micheal McDonald doesn’t appear on the new album.
Vocals, Electric Guitar: Tom Johnston, Percussion, Drums: Victor Indrizzo Vocalist: John Cowan, Joe LaPorta, Hammond B3, Wurlitzer electric piano, Piano, Synthesizer: Jeff Babko
With nearly 50 million albums sold worldwide, the Doobie Brothers have had five Top 10 singles, 16 Top 40 hits, three multi-Platinum albums, seven Platinum albums, and a rare Diamond record for their 1976 album, Best of the Doobies, representing 10 million sold.
The Reverberation Appreciation Society is proud to announce the third entry of its Live at Levitation series with Glasgow legends Primal Scream
Primal Scream’s fusion of indie pop and dance broke down musical boundaries and changed the face of british pop music in the ’90s, helping to push dance and techno into the rock mainstream.
Their lasting influence is crystallized across nine tracks, on Primal Scream “Live at Levitation”. recorded in 2015 at levitation in front of underground rock fans from around the world, the album marks the next release in the Reverberation Appreciation Society’s “Live at Levitation” series, which captures key moments in psychedelic rock history and live music in Austin, Texas–pulled from Levitation’s extensive archives. amongst a line-up of classic levitation bands–Thee Oh Sees, Night Beats, and frontman Bobby Gillespie’s old band, the jesus and mary chain–the Primal Scream set shows the band’s undeniable creativity and unique place in the psych-rock canon, combining psychedelic garage rock, kaleidoscopic pop, and acid house to create a sound that’s simultaneously of its time and ahead of it. known for their explosive live sets, the recordings show why Primal Scream is still considered one of the preeminent Scottish rock groups,
Primal Scream’s fusion of indie pop and dance broke down musical boundaries and changed the face of British pop music in the ’90s, helping to push dance and techno into the rock mainstream. Their lasting influence is crystallized across nine tracks, on Primal Scream – Live At Levitation. Recorded at the 2015 edition of the Levitation festival, in front of underground rock fans from around the world, With the Mercury-prize winning band blasting through tracks off of 1991’s touchstone album, Screamadelica, its boogie-blues-influenced follow-up Give Out But Don’t Give Up, and the heavily electro-influenced cult favourite XTRMNTR.
The LP documents the UK legends’ LEVITATION 2015 performance and a career-spanning tracklist from Primal Scream’s catalogue – with 9 tracks pulling hits from landmark records Screamadelica, Give Out But Don’t Give Up, XTRMNTR and more.
Over the past three and a half decades, Primal Scream have embraced everything from psychedelic pop to degenerate rock’n’roll; euphoric rave to industrial gloom. They have made records with George Clinton and Kate Moss, invited Mani of the Stone Roses and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine into the fold, survived narcotic oblivion, personal trauma and the death of beloved guitarist Robert “Throb” Young, and captured the mood of the nation several times over. Throughout it all, they have always sounded like Primal Scream. Primal Scream – Live at Levitation sees its release November 19th via The Reverberation Appreciation Society on vinyl and digital formats.
The LP has been given deluxe treatment, with six mind melting vinyl options. Two exclusive versions are being pressed and available via Rough Trade and U.S. record stores for the annual Ten Bands One Cause charity initiative, launching around National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, and benefitting Red Door Community where no one faces cancer alone. Additionally, two other limited edition versions are available through the Levitation webstore, along with two versions available exclusively in UK/EU retail stores.
Liam Kazar makes joyful rock songs so irresistible they feel timeless. Just ask Jeff Tweedy. “I love everything about Liam. His voice, his songs, the way he plays instruments, his smile, his cooking… Everything,” says Tweedy. ”Whenever I hear one of his songs for the first time I almost immediately start thinking to myself, ‘oh yeah! This song! I love this song.’ It’s a magic trick very few people can pull off: making something brand new sound like a cherished memory.” But on Kazar’s debut album “Due North”, out August 6th via Mare Records, the LP’s 10 tracks are full of so much charm, wit, and heart it can’t be a sleight of hand.
The Kansas City-based, Chicago-raised musician and acclaimed chef/founder of the Armenian pop-up restaurant Isfahan, describes the making of “Due North” as a personal revelation, where the more he wrote the more his songs showed what kind of artist he’s always wanted to be. While he’s consistently been a dream bandmate over the past several years, performing with artists like Tweedy, Steve Gunn, Daniel Johnston, and more, making his own songs presented a chance to finally find his own voice. But figuring out how to step out was a rewarding challenge. “This record kind of all stemmed from a conversation I had with Jeff,” says Kazar. “I showed him some of my earliest songs I was working on and he told me, ‘It sounds like you’re writing for the people in your bands, you’re not writing for yourself.’ He was completely right. I was not writing songs for myself.” With that needed insight, Kazar decided to start from scratch and write songs that felt like himself.
Single “Shoes Too Tight” was a clarifying moment for Kazar in this journey. Originally a slower acoustic ballad, Kazar slowly tinkered with a synth sound and happened upon the song’s bouncy chord progression. “That was probably the closest to an aha moment that I had of ‘Oh, this is me and this is what I’m into,’” says Kazar. The finished product is an undeniable jam with a swaggering exuberance that channels Richard Swift and David Bryne. Soon after, Kazar switched gears for the yearning and delicate “On a Spanish Dune” which showcased his emotional resonance as a writer. With lush synths and wistful acoustic guitars, he sings, “Everybody’s asking me / What you gonna do, gonna be / I couldn’t tell you if I tried / I’m just a poem with an open line.” Though completely different songs, Kazar used these two earliest offerings as guides for what would come next. “ Those two songs were my North Star that I was following for this album,” says Kazar. “This is what it sounds like when I write for me.”
“There were two words I had in my head during the making of this record, which was joyful and vulnerable,” says Kazar, citing Al Green’s 1978 The Belle Album as an LP that encapsulates such a feeling. “I was trying to talk about things that I’m scared about but acknowledging that I’m not that powerful and you can still be joyful in the face of your own insecurities.” Take album highlight “Frank Bacon,” where Kazar sings, “When you’re running uphill and swimming upstream / Nothing’s ever gonna be the way it seems.” Despite any lyrical uncertainty the track is bursting with life, especially in the monster groove from drummer Spencer Tweedy and bassist Lane Beckstrom. Elsewhere on “Nothing To You,” Kazar finds the sweet spot between indie rock jangle and subtle country twang as he sings, “I hope you don’t resent / The love between your hands.”
Along with Tweedy and Beckstrom, Kazar enlists keyboardist Dave Curtin (Woongi), co-producer James Elkington on pedal steel, as well as Ohmme and Andrew Sa on backing vocals. Opener “So Long Tomorrow” showcases the band’s chemistry, a winding jam full of playful and soulful instrumental flourishes. One of the last songs written for the album, it was recorded remotely in quarantine but despite the distance the band’s tight bond is obvious. “These songs totally blew me away the first time I heard them: they sound like David Bowie meets the Band,” says Mare Records co-founder Kevin Morby. Due North was mixed by Sam Evian at his Flying Cloud Recordings Studio in upstate New York. “Sam knew exactly what I’m trying to do with this record,” says Kazar. “He put the whole track listing together and really had a vision for the record that I needed at that time.”
Like most musicians, the pandemic threw Kazar for a loop, knocking out both his touring revenue and his part-time gigs as a bartender. With more than enough time in his Kansas City home, he decided to pursue his long time love of cooking by creating the restaurant, Isfahan. With recipes that honour his Armenian heritage and his family’s journey to the United States from Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, Kazar’s cooking has received press from Time Out Chicago and Eater. “In COVID, my mantra was to not have my heart broken about the future and be present,” says Kazar, explaining that ethos is one of the reasons why he named the LP Due North.
Though Due North is full of songs that act as a mirror to Kazar’s many talents, few sum it up as concisely as “No Time For Eternity.” On the track, he and Chicago country crooner Andrew Sa sing over wailing pedal steel, taking stock of the most important things in life: “Making time to live my life / Making time for you and me.” “The reality of my life is that when I come home, and I’m talking with my partner, maybe we had a bad day, but we still are laughing and having a good time with each other at the same time,” says Kazar. “I had to make music that expressed that part of me that’s a person who genuinely enjoys themselves.”
Does it still count as keeping it simple if the one thing you’re trying to achieve is actually pretty complicated? Dummy’s music suggests that, actually, it does not. The Los Angeles band’s mission statement could fit on a bumper sticker – fuse avant-garde musical elements with the building blocks of guitar-based pop music – but its Tilt-A-Whirl execution on their debut album bleeds beyond those borders into something maximalist and wonkily thrilling.
Melding the driving momentum of krautrock with the textural mayhem of Can, the grubby eccentricity of the Velvets and the gilt-edged melodies of the Byrds, “Mandatory Enjoyment” follows up a brace of cassette releases by doing something different all the time. We caught up with band members Nate and Joe – who split guitar duties (Jazzmaster and Jaguar respectively) with vocals and keys – to pull at a few threads.
More goodies this year from the ranks of Trouble in Mind Records. The label announced this morning that they’ve up Los Angeles. pop combo Dummy. The band’s had a couple of well-received tapes out in the last couple of years and they make the jump to a debut LP blowing through the vernal psych-pop gardens that nurtured Broadcast, Vanishing Twin, and Stereolab while stumbling the noise pop alley for a tussle with Hangman’s Beautiful Daughters (the band, not the album) and Snapper.
The first cut from the album skews a bit more towards the psych-pop impulses, letting an effervescent beat push the song along while overdriven keys and silken vocals do the heavy lifting. The band is channelling their influences in a way that feels refreshing — a glorious head-on collision of pop and pummel that explodes with caffeinated colour. Mandatory Enjoyment is out October 22nd.
In contrast to blissed-out instrumentation, Dummy’s sardonic lyricism examines “the burden of modern life, consumerism, environmental collapse, alienation, and other anxieties born out of living in this absurd moment in history”. Interior design, marine pollution, the psychology of commercial architecture, and nuclear testing are all featured subjects. Dummy’s restless creativity keeps them moving ever-forward, continuously challenging themselves and pushing their sound into exciting and exhilarating places. This is – as the album title suggests – “Mandatory Enjoyment”.
Releases October 22nd, 2021
Dummy: Alex, Emma, Joe & Nathan.
Taken from the band’s debut full-length album “Mandatory Enjoyment”, out October 22nd, 2021 via Trouble In Mind Records
Lucinda Chua is a singer, songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist based in south London.
Primarily using her voice, a cello, and an array of effects units, Chua writes ambient pop songs that are intimate, atmospheric, and totally enchanting. whilst studying photography at University in Nottingham, Chua took an elective course in music production and the resulting experimental tracks she created and uploaded online caught the attention of U.S label Kranky. before long she was touring with Stars of the Lid as a cellist and string arranger and went on to release two albums with her first band Felix – all while barely into her 20s. after Felix broke up, Chua spent a few years in London exploring the city’s creative scene and began experimenting with the cello. Those explorations became her 2019 debut EP “Antidotes” which flitted between hushed song writing and expansive textural soundscapes and was released shortly before she joined FKA twigs’ live band for her Magdalene tour.
Earning praise from pitchfork, the guardian, dazed and gal-dem, “Antidotes” led to Chua participating in NTS Radio’s work in progress scheme as well as performing one-person shows across the UK and Europe including red bull music festival London, Mutek Barcelona, Tate modern and Somerset House. a sister release to “Antidotes 1“, “Antidotes 2” expands Chua’s unique sonic vocabulary, with subliminal textures that bleed into each other before fading away.
If “Antidotes 1” was Chua building the landscape and scenery for her music, then “Antidotes 2” is her living within it. some of the songs were written during the same period whilst others, like the EP opener ‘Until I Fall’, are brand new.
The debut album “Hair Of” due early 2022. EL Perro is a brand new band led by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter/producer Parker Griggs. The band’s sound contains elements that fans of his band Radio Moscow will recognize, but this is rock music with a new, fresh spin and feel. El Perro takes heavy psychedelic rock as a starting point and adds the additional instrumentation of a second guitar and a percussionist, pushing the music into more syncopated territory, spiced with Latin rhythms and hints of Funkadelic-style grooves. You could say that El Perro plays psychedelic funk rock, and you wouldn’t be wrong.
In late 2019, hungry to do something fresh, Parker Griggs decided to put together a five piece band, with members including former Radio Moscow drummer Lonnie Blanton, bassist Shawn Davis, and guitarist Holland Redd. With the addition of a percussionist the El Perro sound and style coalesced.
Laura Stevenson’s new, self-titled studio album follows the heartbeat of the life-altering events. From the excitement and tribulations of giving birth to her first child during the COVID-19 pandemic to the powerful rage born from a turbulent situation in which someone she loves was harmed and nearly killed, the new collection is a dynamic and heartbreaking celebration of life. The album has already received rapturous acclaim across The Guardian, Brooklyn Vegan, NPR, Paste and Stereogum and more.
“Laura Stevenson” was produced by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Hop Along, Dinosaur Jr.), and features long time collaborator and bandmate Jeff Rosenstock on guitar. While it is often emotionally heavy, Laura Stevenson never strays from its true motivating force: love. “The album was written as a sort of purge and a prayer,” Stevenson says. When it finally came time to record, she was pregnant with her first child. “It was a very intense experience to re-live all of the events of the previous year, while tracking these songs, with my daughter growing inside me, reliving all of that fear and pain and just wanting to protect her from the world that much more. It made me very raw.”
The album follows Stevenson’s 2019 career milestone “The Big Freeze” celebrated for its “finely detailed, wrenchingly intimate song writing” (All Songs Considered), and a 2020 NPR Tiny Desk (counted as one of the year’s 20 Best). Recorded at The Building in Marlboro, NY, “Laura Stevenson” is a sincere portrait of a human heart in all its vibrant colours. More than anything, it is about bearing one’s whole self in the face of those you love—uncomfortable, and exposed, but vital, present.
Released August 6th, 2021
“one of America’s best if most underrated songwriters.” –– The Guardian
The are very early demos done at the Miracle Legion loft on Chapel St in New Haven. It’s one of the first times we recorded as a 4 piece band. Our friend Rondo brought his 4 track reel to reel (4 track is the true way) over and we started recording all kinds of music. These 5 were new songs. Eventually they all ended up on different records. All but one. ‘It Cuts Into a Friend’ was a song we played live a lot, but somehow it got put away and forgotten. This happens, but now the wrong is righted. Miracle Legion were a Connecticut-based band that immediately sprang to life on the heels of a post-R.E.M. guitar rock boom, chiefly because lead singer Mark Mulcahy’s voice bore an uncanny resemblance to Michael Stipe’s, and the arpeggio guitar structures were akin to Peter Buck’s.
The interview is from out first ever UK tour. We were on a label called Making Waves and they had a great press department. We did tons of interviews including this one which is very detailed and possibly informative. I’m sorry but I don’t know who the interviewer is. Apologies to him. Nice work sir.
Released August 6th, 2021
The band: drums – Jeff ‘Baby’ Wiederschall bass – Joel ’Little Joe’ Potocsky vocals – Mark ‘K9’ Mulcahy guitar – Ray ‘Roy McCoy’ Neal
Introducing “Highs in the Minuses”, the new record from Charlotte Cornfield. Co-released via Double Double Whammy x Polyvinyl in the US, and Next Door Records in Canada. Available everywhere digitally on October 29th, 2021.–
After spending much of 2020 with her thoughts and instruments, Charlotte Cornfield knew it was time to take her new songs out of the house. She’d spent months writing a suite of evocative, autobiographical story-songs in near-solitude, and was ready for the immediate, regenerative experience of a band playing live in the studio. But this wasn’t mere pandemic-related longing. It was instead a long-simmering desire.
The Canadian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist’s 2019 album The Shape of Your Name had received widespread praise, including being longlisted for the coveted Polaris Music Prize. But it was a slow solo endeavor, written alone and meticulously recorded in fits and starts over the span of a few years. She’d even played most of its instruments. It was a mode that proved fruitful, if not inauthentic to the spirit of musical community Cornfield has dedicated herself to since childhood. After coming of age amid vibrant DIY scenes in her hometown Toronto, and forming lasting bonds in the music program at Montreal’s Concordia University, for “Highs in the Minuses” Cornfield knew she needed a cast that was representative of her journey — those friends and colleagues who’ve helped her become the incisive, witty, and generous writer and player she is.
Though the songs of Highs in the Minuses — her debut release on Polyvinyl and Double Double Whammy — are highly personal, Cornfield wanted their sonic quality to convey the communal, aleatoric energy of live performance. Channelling the spirit and working methods of Jason Molina, Neil Young, and Big Thief before her, she and the band allowed their psychic connection to convey the emotional interconnectedness that comes with stories of heartbreak, self-discovery, and new love. “I knew everyone was coming in prepared, but I was really excited to see what was going to happen spontaneously, and those ideas that happened really quickly,” Cornfield says. “It was so much about trusting who I was with and trying to capture the immediacy of the emotions in the songs.” So many of the tunes expose her messy corners, and an animate soundtrack played with equal parts heart seemed only fitting.
Cornfield (guitar, piano, vocals), bassist Alexandra Levy (Ada Lea) and drummer Liam O’Neill (Suuns) convened in Montreal at the studio of Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen). Cornfield and Bilerman originally met through a musician’s residency he founded at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, situated in the idyllic cradle of the Canadian Rockies, and she knew he would be a perfect fit for her vision. “I feel really grateful that he was on the same page, in terms of focusing on the emotion,” she says. “He didn’t worry about all the little details that people can sweat about in the studio.” In just five days, with minimal takes and overdubs—and with contributions from guitarist Sam Gleason (Tim Baker) and Stars singer Amy Millan—they set Cornfield’s vivid mini-memoirs to an earthen folk-rock symphony. It ebbs and flows based on each song’s feeling: sturdy and buoyant in its jubilance and hope, and stripped back and vulnerable in its lonesomeness and pain.
Charlotte Cornfield – vocals, guitar, piano, bass, synth Liam O’Neill – drums, percussion Alexandra Levy – bass (1,3-5,10) Sam Gleason – guitar, synth (1, 2, 7-9, 11) Amy Millan – backing vocals (3) Howard Bilerman – noise (9)
“Headlines” is taken from Charlotte Cornfield’s album, Highs in the Minuses, out October 29th, 2021.
Returning to legendary Fenway Park, Springsteen and the E Street Band smash one over the Green Monster, putting 31 (songs) on the board, opening with “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” into “Thunder Road” performed a la 1975 by Bruce and Roy. From there, the show taps summertime vibes (“Hungry Heart,” “Sherry Darling,” “Summertime Blues” and “Girls In Their Summer Clothes”) and a bevy of super-fan rarities, including “Knock On Wood,” “Quarter To Three” and a holy trinity of “Thundercrack,” “Frankie” and the first “Prove It All Night” with the ’78 intro performed in the States in 32 years.
The bigger the venue, the more vibe matters. That’s not to say stadium shows in the US and especially Europe aren’t filled with long time fans hanging on every note. They always represent, holding up signs and requesting songs. But stadium concerts are inherently more inclusive, pulling in the one-show-per-tour types, their friends, and folks who just want a fun night out at the biggest event in town.
An audience composed of those who own Tracks and those who perhaps only own Greatest Hits can spur discord. How do you construct a show that delivers the friendly and familiar while still managing to delight those who know just how many times a particular song has been played on the tour?
Boston 8/15/12 stands as a model of how to satisfy both camps and then some. On a warm (and later wet) night at Fenway Park in Boston, Bruce throws a summer party where all are welcome and those with whom he and the band have a long-term relationship are recognized and rewarded.
Apropos of the venue, the show opens with a recording “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” sending the cue that this is a participatory event. Roy Bittan and Bruce then surprise the Fenway faithful with another prelude: the stripped-down, piano arrangement of “Thunder Road” that opened shows in 1975.
It is fascinating to hear this version of “Thunder Road” (familiar to many as the first song on Live/1975-85) performed 37 years later by the same musicians—reinterpreting yet again their Born to Run tour reinterpretation of the original. In 2012, Bruce’s voice has a distinctly mature timbre, and his cadence and lyrical emphasis have shifted. Roy’s piano playing is less Broadway, still carrying the melody but in a slightly abstract expression. “Thunder Road ’75” is the first of three direct nods Bruce makes at Fenway to the way particular songs were performed in the ’70s.
Out of that sublime opening, Bruce declares, “Let’s start with the summertime hits!” The party has begun. In quick succession, we get “Hungry Heart,” “Sherry Darling,” a cover of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” and a request granted for Bruce’s own “Girls in Their Summer Clothes.” Springsteen’s controlled and precise singing on the Beach Boys-flavored “Summer Clothes” is impressive, especially given he had only performed it once before on the tour.
Boston 8/15/12 also does right by Springsteen’s then-current album, Wrecking Ball, hitting “We Take Care of Our Own,” “Death to My Hometown” and the title track in the first half of the set, plus “Shackled and Drawn” a couple of hours in. Along with “My City of Ruins,” the five songs form the spiritual backbone of the Wrecking Ball set and showcase the rich, rootsy sound of the expanded E Street Band.
Tracks-owning, sign-holding fans certainly got their money’s worth in an extraordinary five-song sequence that kicks off with a request for “Knock on Wood.” “If we don’t know this one we should be castigated,” says Bruce, who can be forgiven for not recalling that the band played “Knock on Wood” once before. At a 1976 show at the Ellis Auditorium in Memphis, Bruce invited “Knock on Wood” writer and singer Eddie Floyd to perform the tune with the E Street Band.
Some 36 years later, mental memories have faded but muscle memory remains, and the band performs “Knock on Wood” with aplomb. Max Weinberg is on point, Stevie Van Zandt channels Steve Cropper, and Bruce has big fun with his vocals. As for the horns, as Springsteen himself says, “Any self-respecting horn section should be able to pull this off.”
Next up, “for our old, old, old, old, old fans,” a marvelous, horn-led “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?” The sprightly rendition features Bruce calling out the arrangement to the band. There’s even time for a percussion solo from Everett Bradley.
“We’re gonna go further back now,” Springsteen proclaims. “Back in the day we were opening up for a lot of unusual bands. We opened up for Anne Murray…Black Oak Arkansas…Brownsville Station…Sha Na Na…The Eagles…Chicago. Nobody knew who you were…You had to catch people’s ears, so we came up with these very convoluted songs that had a lot of moving parts. This was our first showstopper.”
That early-’70s showstopper, before “Rosalita” began serving the purpose, is the rollicking “Thundercrack.” Its thrilling twists and turns work as well to attract those unfamiliar in a stadium as they did in the clubs back in the day. Bruce gives props to his history in Beantown at the start of the song, saying that, unlike some other cities, “This is Boston, you guys are gonna know this one.” Following ten minutes of “Thundercrack,” Bruce honours another request many of us would co-sign with the second performance of “Frankie” on the tour and only the fourth of the modern era.
“Frankie” dates from the period between Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, having debuted on stage in early 1976; the song was then recorded, but ultimately not used, for both Darkness and Born in the U.S.A. The lilting, romantic mini-epic was finally released on Tracks and returned to the set for one-off appearances in 1999 and 2003 (at Fenway, in fact) that didn’t quite land.
The Boston performance of “Frankie” is enchanting, rearranged from the ’76 edition to include the horns and feature a new guitar solo in place of Clarence’s original sax break. Like “Thundercrack,” the sweet, hooky “Frankie” has the power to enchant newcomers and satisfy those who have longed to hear it played live.
If “Frankie” wasn’t enough, what came next was the coup de grace. There was a time when it seemed unimaginable Springsteen would play songs he hadn’t performed since the ’70s or early ‘80s. I followed the Tunnel of Love tour for two dozen dates in 1988, a stretch when the setlist remained unusually static and single additions to the show were regarded as momentous.
I’m trying to imagine this conversation taking place in 1988:
Prophetic Person: “In the future, there will be a show in Boston where Springsteen plays these five songs in a row: a cover of “Knock on Wood,” “Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?,” “Thundercrack,” and “Frankie.”
Me: “What? Are you insane? There is no WAY that will ever happen. And I thought you said five songs.”
Prophetic Person: “The fifth is “Prove It All Night” with the 1978 intro.
Springsteen playing songs he hasn’t done in decades is one thing; resurrecting arrangements from a specific tour is quite another. Yet thanks to some superfan in Spain who held up a sign at the Barcelona show in May, Bruce revisited the Darkness tour’s long and legendary piano-guitar intro to “Prove It All Night.”
The Boston show marks the first time the intro has been played in the US since a still-unexplained, two-show resurrection in Los Angeles in 1980. While not as fully developed as the original, the spirit of “Prove It All Night ‘78” remains intact, as brooding piano and searing guitar build to a crescendo to start the song. Coupled with “Thunder Road ‘75,” Boston 8/15/12 is the next best thing to a time machine.
A ’78 double-shot ensues with a bold “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” then a moment of fun. At the start of “Workingon the Highway” we hear an extended section of acoustic guitar strumming. What the Archive audio doesn’t capture at that moment is Bruce chugging a beer and snarfing a hot dog, both of which he’d been jonesing for all night.
Before the main set ends, we get another echo of famous song arrangements of the past. Of course it is too much to call it “Backstreets ’78”; Bruce does not revisit the “Sad Eyes” interlude from the Darkness tour. But by incorporating lines from Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream,“ a cover that served as the striking show-closer for much of 2005’s Devils & Dust tour, he does take the middle break of “Backstreets” to a place reminiscent of that same stream-of-consciousness “Sad Eyes” feeling in an epic 10-minute reading.
The Fenway 2 encore opens with a brief, acoustic “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” acknowledging the drops that began falling mid-show, and slips neatly into “Rocky Ground,” the opening chords for which have never sounded more like “One Step Up.” Singer Michelle Moore crushes her vocals, as she did every night “Rocky Ground” was played.
After “Born to Run,” an abridged “Detroit Medley” yields to “Dancing in the Dark” before the tour premiere of “Quarter to Three.” The Gary U.S. Bonds classic is another sign request that Bruce quickly teaches to the backing singers, aided by the audience singing “Doh, doh” before the band has even begun. It’s yet another tip of the cap to the classic era, as “Quarter to Three” has only been played six times since the band reunited, and this might be the best of them.
As history dictates, Bruce shouts, “I’m just a prisoner of rock ‘n’ roll” to end the song, before shifting into “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out.” But there’s still time for one more. The Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey joins Bruce at the mic, trading vocals on “American Land” to close a Grand Slam night when Bruce gave the party people and the diehards everything they could have dreamed of.
Bruce Springsteen – Lead vocal, guitar, harmonica; Roy Bittan – Piano, keyboards, accordion; Nils Lofgren – Guitar, lap steel, backing vocal; Garry Tallent – Bass; Stevie Van Zandt – Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, backing vocal; Max Weinberg – Drums; Jake Clemons – Tenor saxophone, percussion, backing vocal; Charlie Giordano – Organ, keyboards, accordion; Soozie Tyrell – Violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocal; Everett Bradley – Percussion, backing vocal; Curtis King – Backing vocal, percussion; Cindy Mizelle – Backing vocal; Michelle Moore – Backing vocal; Barry Danielian – Trumpet; Clark Gayton – Trombone; Eddie Manion – Baritone and tenor saxophones; Curt Ramm – Trumpet
The Fat Angel Sings 