CD Name: The Bruce Springsteen Story Volume 1 & 2 (E Street Records).
CD 1: Fire, See My Friend, Catch the Wind, Omaha, Unknown Song, The Break Song.
The Left Foot, an "over 13 under 18" club located in the recreation center of St Peter's Episcopal Church at 37 Throckmorton St in Freehold. Audience tape of only fair sound quality, but the only live CASTILES music in circulation - and so of major historical significance. All the above material can be found on the CD boots, "The Bruce Springsteen Story, Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2". A studious evaluation of the recording and its dynamics strongly indicates this material stems from a single gig that involved several sets. If it's not all from the same night then it's from near-consecutive nights. There is no soundcheck material, it's all live in front of an audience. As was typical of teen haunts of this era, there are few kids hanging out at the club early, but things liven up as the evening progresses.
The are a total of 22 tracks. Unfortunately 5 of these are tape-cut prematurely (noted above). Additionally there are 15 points of between song editing. The MC's introduction of the group and then the opening song, "Purple Haze", are in the correct running order. After this point the material probably isn't in anything approaching its actual performance sequence - and there is some material missing, how much is hard to tell. It's impossible to reconstruct the true sequence because too much editing has taken place between songs. Background conversation indicates that the person making the recording is affiliated with the group. At one point Bruce calls out for requests and the taper asks for "Sidewalk", a known (but uncirculating) Springsteen composition that more than one of the former Castile has rated as Bruce's finest songwriting effort of the period. Unfortunately the group then proceeds to play "San Franciscian Nights" instead.
Although Bruce may have started out in The Castiles in mid-1965 singing only background harmony, it's clear that by this late stage in the band's life that he's completely dominating the group's persona. Springsteen sings lead vocal on 14 tracks and co-lead vocal on 2 others. George Theiss sings lead vocal on the two Beatles songs, plus "San Franciscan Nights" and "Steve's Song". Interestingly the band seems to utilize The Yardbirds instrumental "Jeff's Boogie" as its constant set closer, therefore it would be performed multiple times per show. It shows up twice on this tape. The double rendition of Moby Grape's "Omaha" may indicate this material is from two shows but the audience noise indicates the band may have played it early in the evening and again later. One rendition is performed sloppily, the other much tighter, as if they wanted to try "Omaha" a second time to get it right.
All the songs (except two) are cover versions of other artist's recordings, including some material that made its world debut as late as August 1967. The choice of performance material is eclectic - it's obvious that Bruce is soaking up influences from a highly diverse range of musical styles. The Animals and Jimi Hendrix influences permeate throughout. Most of the song titles are instantly recognizable, but there are several obscure items in here as well, most notably The Blues Magoos' "One By One", The Yardbirds instrumental "Jeff's Boogie", Lee Dorsey's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman", and a rendition of Judy Collins' arrangement of "Suzanne" (the Leonard Cohen tune). Lastly, there is a near copycat rendition of "Steve's Song", a beautiful (but rarely heard) ballad from The Blues Project's late 1966 debut album. There is one Springsteen creation ("Mr Jones") that Bruce sings lead on, and a Theiss-Springsteen composition ("Look Into My Window") that George & Bruce sing harmony lead on.
As usual, the liner note information on the boot CD's contains many errors. The Yardbirds tune "Jeff's Boogie" is given a fictitious title called "The Break Song". There are songwriter miscredits. Lastly, the CD lists the recording date of this material as January 1967 - the performance date is actually nearer the end of 1967, most probably late October, give or take a month . The MC introduces The Castiles as "the band of the year at The Left Foot", further indicating we're still in 1967, but quite late in the year. This is not essential listening, but fascinating - and a huge jump in skill level from the May 1966 Bricktown studio performances.
CD 1: KT88 (instrumental) (4.13)/ JEANNIE I WANT TO THANK YOU (9.07)/ I AM THE DOCTOR (7.26)/ SOMETHING'S GOTTA BREAK (8.00)/ TEMPORARILY OUT OF ORDER (6.49)/ SWEET MELINDA (5.47)/ COME ON (4.30)/ RESURRECTION (10.33)/ (FUCKED UP) AMPLIFIER BLUES (9.13)/ FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH - RUN SHAKER LIFE - TWENTY MILES TO GO (cut)(12.13).
Audience tape - not very good. : This is the complete setlist known although it's likely that the show actually opened with He's Guilty (Send That Boy to Jail) as this was the standard set opener at the time. As so often with Steel Mill shows, shortened versions of this show, sometimes with tracks rearranged, also circulate. Sometimes dated to May 23. The date and venue seem confirmed. Bruce mentions the James River (outside Richmond) and the "gym" during the show. The only other known confirmed performance at the VCU gym was in 1969, when they were still "Child," but the announcer here clearly introduces them as "Steel Mill." NOTE the previous VCU Gym performence of 03/70 noted above is not confirmed as yet.
CD 1: CC RIDER – DOWN THE ROAD APIECE (10:31) / YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME (5:20) / NOTHING CAN STOP ME (4:42) / LAST NIGHT IN TULSA (4:30) / GOIN’ BACK TO GEORGIA (7:55) / NATURAL MAGIC (2:25, end cut) / Unidentified Instrumental (17:25) / DANCE DANCE DANCE (6:14) / JAMBALAYA (6:39).
ONE show, quadruple billing, with the newly-formed BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND headling the outdoor “2nd Annual Nothing’s Festival”. Undercard acts were SUNNY JIM, ODIN and JEANNIE CLARK. This gig is the first known performance of The Bruce Springsteen Band. They’re essentially a modified version of Dr Zoom & The Sonic Boom (i.e., minus The Zoomettes, Southside Johnny and the various vaudeville elements). The lineup of this initial version of The Bruce Springsteen Band is Springsteen, Van Zandt, Sancious, Tallent and Lopez - plus (on selected tracks) Bobby Feigenbaum (sax), Harvey Cherlin (trumpet), along with the vocal duet of Delores Holmes & Barbara Dinkins. This large 9-member lineup of the band will eventually expand to 10, with the addition of Bruce’s manager Tinker West on congas. However this “big band sound” will only last about 2 months before it begins to shrink.
The above-mentioned setlist is taken from a circulating 66-minute outdoor audience recording of (at best) fair quality. Given this show was a 4-artist billing this audio is likely to represent most (possibly all) of Bruce’s performance at this show. This above-mentioned audio (minus “Natural Magic” and “Jambalaya”) can be found on the CD boot “DOWN THE ROAD APIECE” (Golden Stars). These performances of “Natural Magic” and “Jambalaya” are not currently found on any mainstream boot. Collectors should note that the liner notes on the “DOWN THE ROAD APIECE” CD bootleg mistakenly credit this audio to a 17/12/71 indoor club performance at Rutgers.
CD Name: The Bruce Springsteen Story Volume 6 (E Street Records).
CD 1: CC RIDER – DOWN THE ROAD APIECE (10:00) / YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME (5:07) / NOTHING CAN STOP ME (5:15) / I’M IN LOVE AGAIN (4:11) / DANCE DANCE DANCE (5:52) / YOU DON’T LEAVE ME NO CHOICE (8:55) / JAMBALAYA (12:47).
ONE show, with THE BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND (along with a several other un-signed groups) performing as part of the Guggenheim Memorial Concert Series that took place daily in Damrosch Park during the summer of 1971. According to the New York Times the headliner and scheduled 8PM show closer on the 23rd was THE RICHARD GOLDMAN BAND, a classical orchestra noted for its creative use of wind and brass instruments. Bruce and his team were one of several unnamed-in-print undercard acts, each of who were allocated hour-long performing slots. At one point Bruce can be heard off mike asking “how much more time do we have?” The response back is “15 minutes” and Bruce times the end of his show impeccably. The fact that Bruce’s mid-1971 lineup included horns may have been the reason Tinker got this particular booking. The trumpet and sax are highly prevalent throughout and the arrangements (likely created by Van Zandt) are outstanding.
The above-mentioned setlist is taken from a soundboard recording that is available on the CD “THE BRUCE SPINGSTEEN STORY, VOLUME 6” (E Street Records). The bootleg cover implies some Columbia Records/CBS affiliation with the recording – but this is just fantasy artwork. This 60-minute recording has continuity between songs and is almost certainly the complete BSB show from this afternoon gig. Although this was an outdoor event, Bruce and the band were performing within the Guggenheim Band Shell. The superb acoustics of that shell, combined with an un-degradated source tape, have resulted in a truly exceptional concert document. Add to this a tight, highly disciplined and inspired performance by the entire band and it’s easy to see why most rate this Damrosch gig as the finest pre-CBS Springsteen concert currently in existence. This texture of this performance is more in keeping with the funkiness of Bruce’s 1974 Wild & Innocent Tour dates and early Asbury Jukes shows. It is essential audio in any Springsteen collection.
The 9-member Bruce Springsteen Band at Damrosch Park is the same as the 10-member contingent that performed at The Sunshine In ten days earlier (see 11/07/71 listing) with the exception that Tinker West is not playing congas – it seems Tinker was busy working the soundboard. This show includes some of Bruce’s finest early-period songwriting efforts. There are definitive live performances of “Jambalaya” and “You Mean So Much Tom Me” plus two songs (“I’m In Love Again” and “You Don’t Leave Me No Choice”) that are not available from any other show source. Delores Holmes delivers the sexy Ronnie Spector-ish lead vocal on these two songs. A Springsteen lead vocal of these two songs has yet to surface. Bruce’s searing guitar work during “You Don’t Leave Me No Choice” is among his all time best.
CD 1: Black Widow Spider (Mary Louise Watson), She's A Woman.
Recorded from CD "Down the Road A Piece."
Full set details are not known. ONE show, triple bill, with the 5-member BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND headlining. Undercard acts are SOUTHERN CONSPIRACY and POWERHOUSE. Held at “The Ledge”, a club-coffeehouse located within the school’s Student Union facility. This was Springsteen’s first-ever performance at Rutgers and it is likely to have lasted 80 - 90 minutes.
The above-mentioned partial setlist is taken from a circulating 35-minute audience recording of poor quality that has a notorious history of being cannibalized. The MC’s introduction and the first two songs can be found on boot CD “DOWN THE ROAD APIECE” (Golden Stars). The remainder of the audio has never appeared on any mainstream boot but is circulating via private CDR sources, usually with no time-venue identification. Typically the final two or three tracks of this 35-minutes of audio are found combined with audio from an unrelated performance (see 03/12/71 listing in Brucebase). “Walking The Dog” is complete but it usually circulates incomplete. Only the first 3 minutes of “When You Dance” is in circulation.
Unfortunately it sounds as if the taper placed his microphone in the middle of a table of student drinkers, so the band’s performance is obscured by close proximity crowd noise and chatting. However the conversation does confirm the venue as being The Ledge. Although it seems likely that more of this performance would have been recorded by this source, only the 35 minutes of audio has surfaced to date. Collectors should note that the remaining 54 minutes of audio found on the “DOWN THE ROAD APIECE” CD is from an outdoor gig at Brookdale Community College on 10/07/71, not from this Rutgers show as that CD’s liner notes claim.
CD 1: GOT MY MOJO WORKING (7:41) / IT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE (start cut, 10:20) / DO IT WITH FEELING (10:18) / CHEROKEE QUEEN (5:53) / LOOK TOWARDS THE LAND (10:40) / NOT FADE AWAY - BO DIDDLEY'S A GUNSLINGER (8:50) / MOUNTAIN JAM - WHEN YOU DANCE (12:02) / GOIN' BACK TO GEORGIA (6:07).
Two shows, double bill, with The Bruce Springsteen Band opening for headliner CRAZY HORSE. This is the core 5-piece BSB lineup, with Springsteen, Van Zandt, Tallent, Sancious and Lopez. The above-mentioned setlist is from a somewhat muddy indoor venue soundboard tape that has been in circulation for nearly two decades. For many years this entire body of material has been incorrectly attributed to a Steel Mill show in Richmond on 02/11/70. However with timeline knowledge vastly superior today than it was when this tape first surfaced, it's now easy to identify this recording as distinctly late era BSB, with that outfit's telltale dual lead guitar work at the fore - a feature that Steel Mill never ever possessed.
The version of "Look Towards The Land" here is fully developed, as opposed to the somewhat tentative version played live on 15/05/71 or the rough demo recorded at Challenger East Surfboard in 1971. However the key tracks in identifying the recording date of this material are the two performances that incorporate elements of The Allman Brothers 20-minute epic "Mountain Jam", first released on their EAT A PEACH album in late January, 1972. There are brief elements of the song found within "Not Fade Away-Gunslinger" and then a full 10 minutes of it found married into a mere 2 minutes of Bruce's own "When You Dance".
This 73 minutes of material is likely to be the entire performance from one of the two shows on this night, although this being a "compilation" of material from both shows cannot be ruled out, as there is editing between most tracks. The venue audio dynamics strongly favor the Sunshine In, as opposed to the club venues the BSB played during its final days in 1972. This material typically circulates with the first two tracks sequenced as the last two songs. However the final song in the main set seems to be "When You Dance", with Bruce's workhorse "Goin' Back To Georgia" as the encore and closer. "Got My Mojo Working" is known to have been a show opener during this period. Laurel Canyon pressed the commercial sounding "Cherokee Queen" from this show onto acetate in 1972 for copyright transcription purposes and it can be found on the CD "THE UNSURPASSED SPRINGSTEEN, VOL 1".
CD 1: WALKING THE DOG (10:25) / FOR YOU (9:56) / THE E STREET SHUFFLE (7:02) / KITTY'S BACK (9:45).
ONE show, with Springsteen the sole act on the bill. A 2 hour+ performance that involved three 45-minute sets with an intermission between each. A portion of this night's total show (audio evidence suggests it was the evening's final set) was broadcast by Georgetown University's WGTB-FM.
The above-mentioned partial setlist is from the only known circulating portions of this rare broadcast. This audio emanates from a source that taped it off the airways, not the station's original tape. Consequently the sound quality is very good, but not brilliant.
Albany Al Tellone guests on "E Street Shuffle". The four above-mentioned tracks can be found on the CD "PLAY THE TUBA & RUN". Note: two other tracks included on this CD are not (as claimed) from this show, or even this venue. These involve an audience recording of "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd St" (from an-as-yet-unidentified location, not Childe Harold) and an incomplete soundboard recording of "Let The Four Winds Blow" (from 6/1/74 at Joe's Place).
CD 1: NEW YORK CITY SERENADE / SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT / DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND ST / WALKING THE DOG / SAINT IN THE CITY / KITTY’S BACK / THUNDERCRACK / show intermission / YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME.
CD 2: GROWIN’ UP / LET THE FOUR WINDS BLOW / ZERO & BLIND TERRY / BLINDED BY THE LIGHT / FOR YOU / ROSALITA-SHOTGUN / Joe Spadafora’s speech / TWIST AND SHOUT .
ONE show, double bill, with Springsteen headlining and PETER JOHNSON & THE MANIC DEPRESSIVES opening. The above-mentioned 15-song setlist represents Bruce’s complete show and can be found (correctly sequenced but with editing between some songs) on the 2CD “INTRODUCING ROSIE” (B Street Records). The source is an audience recording of fair quality that contains intermittent CB Radio interference. This final night at Joe’s was one of the lengthier single show performances up to this point and the original taper deserves credit for capturing the entire show, which consisted of two hour-long sets separated by an intermission. “Growin’ Up” is missing the opening 30 seconds and “Rosalita-Shotgun” is missing about 20 seconds mid song, seemingly the result of a tape glitch.
There are critical detailing inaccuracies in the liner notes of the “INTRODUCING ROSIE” CD. Despite what the CD claims, this is not the live debut of “Rosalita” – the song was performed throughout 1973 and two live recordings from early 1973 are in circulation. The “INTRODUCING ROSIE” CD also incorrectly lists the audio as coming from the 05/01/74 show. Yet comments made by club owner Joe Spadafora prior to “Twist And Shout” offer compelling evidence this recording is from the 06/01/74 show.
CD 1: SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT (4:49) / DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND ST (3:34) / WALKING THE DOG (8:01) / ZERO AND BLIND TERRY (6:29) / BLINDED BY THE LIGHT (8:05) / KITTY'S BACK (8:45) / THUNDERCRACK (12:18) / ROSALITA - SHOTGUN (11:03) .
CD 1: INCIDENT ON 57TH STREET / SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT / DOES THIS BUS STOP? / E ST SHUFFLE / SAINT IN THE CITY / SPANISH HARLEM.
CD 2: LOST IN THE FLOOD / SHES THE ONE / JUNGLELAND / KITTYS BACK / NEW YORK CITY SERENADE / ROSALITA / 4TH JULY ASBURY PARK (SANDY) / A LOVE SO FINE.
ONE show, held in the intimate Memorial Chapel Concert Hall as part of the school’s Homecoming Weekend, double bill, with Springsteen & The E Street Band headlining. An obscure 4-piece light rock local band called GOEBEL & LANG opened with a 60-minute performance. The concert was a sellout.
The above-mentioned setlist is taken from a circulating audience recording of fair-good quality that likely represents the entire performance. The speed fluctuation problems heard during some songs are from the original source tape.
