This is a suberb Springsteen live CD ( actually 3 cds) of one of his finest ever shows.The 1978 tour was renowned for supporting a number of Radio Broadcasts and this one from LA’s Roxy Theatre is, I beleive, the finest of them all.
The sound on here is as near perfect as you could get in ’78, and the decent packaging makes for a very nice product all round. Excelllent bonus on the third disc is the full 1978 inteview Bruce gave to DJ Dave Herman – a fascinatuing recording that tells us a lot about what was making the boss tick at this point in time!
Stating the obvious first of all, this performance is the stuff of which legends are made. What you really need to know is if this particular release is sonically upgrading any of the other tapes you may already have of this well circulated performance. Well the great news is ‘yes’ in my opinion. I have various copies of the Roxy performance on different labels in my collection and I honestly feel this is the best sounding version out there including the Crystal Cat release. The even better news is that this release won’t cost you anywhere near what you would have to pay for a CC release and it is packaged very nicely. Definitely one to go for, even if you have it on other labels like I do. And for the money, an out and out no-brainer. Enjoy.
If you’re a fan then you’ll know about this but if you’re browsing and you’re in any way tempted then go for it without delay. It helps a lot if you’re familar with the first 4 albums especially Born To Run and Darkness but if you’re not you’ll be buying them very quickly after hearing this. A magnificent live album with Bruce at his peak
The nowadays “AGORA Theatre & Ballroom” in Cleveland, OH, (known since 1903 as “Metropolitan Theatre”) was not the place of this legendary appearance of Bruce The Boss” Springsteen. That colloquially “AGORA beta” called event site in close vicinity to Cleveland State University fell victim to a fire in 1984 and just afterwards the name changed to the current location. Reason for the concert in the old AGORA on 08/09/1978 was the 10-year jubilee of the local radio station WMMS and it was emitted nationwide.
Until today there was no legal publication of this concert, only different bootlegs now and then like “The teenage werewolf” for example. These recordings “travelled” inside the group of hardcore fans and for a long time we wished to be able to hear this wonderful concert in a much better quality. Therefore I bought it immediately beginning of November in the UK and I was absolutely not disappointed.
The concert is simply fantastic, all musicians are in the same top form like The Boss himself. And it took place in an atmosphere which was not possible in many of the later appearances in Mega Stadiums and Domes. It was more like a big school assembly hall with a small stage, rather few equipment, but very close contact between audience and artist(s).
The sound quality is unexpectedly good – someone must have spent a lot of work to extract this off the analogue material of that time. Of course there will always be any people who will have to find faults in everything. Simply ignore it – first it is The Boss, secondly it is The Boss, thirdly he was in top form and of course one could make it nowadays a little better, however, it’s not possible!
For me, not quite as clear a recording as the “Agora Ballroom” release, but it is a recording of a nearly 40 year old radio broadcast. The good news is that the band performance is as vital and thrilling as ever, with some tantalising glimpses of songs later realised on his next album “The River” (“Sad Eyes”/”Drive All Night”). Bruce is in fine voice and his guitar cuts as sharp as Little Steven’s pointed collar. The E Street Band play with a passion and drive rarely heard (and still do). This takes you back to a time when playing live was where truly great artists proved it all night. There’s the standard Bruce rock n roll medleys which are never as convincing as his own stuff, but a burning, angry cover of “It’s My Life”. Live rock doesn’t get much better than the epic 11-minute “Prove It All Night”, and “Because The Night” is stunning. (Just realised how often “night” appears in Bruce’s lyrics and titles). “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” is almost funky, and Bruce’s Telecaster just cries and bites on “Kitty’s Back”. A superb show – but this guy doesn’t do average.
A great concert and famed performance, (alongside the Passaic show “Piece de Resistance” boot set from ’78 as well). Although I haven’t heard the newly issued 3cd set of that show.
Beats any of the vinyl Winterland boots I have owned in the past (no crackles!) and it’s a well packaged set with decent photos, which appear to be from this era. I would also recommend the Agora 78 show as well. Also a great price for a triple cd set, beats the bootleggers?
Of the 1978 radio broadcasts that have recently been released this is up there with the Agora ballroom set as the best. The highlights for me are ‘Prove it all night’, ‘Because the night’ and of course ‘Santa clause is coming to town’, but it’s all good and at a reasonable price too.
Yet another excellent 1978 show from the Leftfield Media people. I think they have now put out all of the broadcast concerts from the Darkness tour and I’ve yet to be disappointed with any of them
I’d certainly recommend sticking with this series if you want to collect all the best Springsteen Concerts from this era as I have been doing, and before these began I was disappointed with the sound on a couple of titles on other labels.
The Fat Angel Sings 