Paul Simon – Uniondale, NY (06/10/73)

Paul Simon
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Uniondale, NY, USA
June 10, 1973
JF Archive Vol. 11 via JEMS

Taper: unknown

Source: unknown recorder > unknown microphone (mono)

JEMS 2015 Transfer: Low generation reel > Otari 5050 mkII azimuth-adjusted transfer >
USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 capture (16/44) > IZotope RX > Peak 6.0 pitch adjustment > Audacity (track split, volume smoothing, edit) > FLAC

01 Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard
02 Run That Body Down
03 Was A Sunny Day
04 American Tune (So Far Away From Home)
05 El Condor Pasa
06 Duncan (cut, faded out)
07 Instrumental (cut, faded in)
08 The Boxer (cut, faded out)
09 Mrs. Robinson (cut, faded in)
10 Congratulations (faded out, tape flip)
11 Kodachrome (faded in, tape flip)
12 Homeward Bound (cut, faded out)
13 Something So Right (cut, faded in)
14 Mother And Child Reunion
15 The Sound Of Silence
16 Jesus is the Answer (cut, faded out)
17 Bridge Over Troubled Water > (cut, faded out)
18 Loves Me Like A Rock (cut, faded in)
19 America >
20 Bye Bye Love (end faded out)

Paul Simon – (acoustic guitar, vocals)

Urubamba band:
Joerge Milchberg (arranger, charango)
Jorge Cumbo (guitars, winds)
Emilio Arteaga (percussion)
Juan Dalera (flute – 1973)

THE JF BACKSTORY
JEMS loves a vintage taper series and we’re pleased to offer another one, this time from the archive of our friend JF, who taped in and around Southern California in the ’70s and later resumed taping in Boston in the ’80s. He frequented smaller venues, like the Troubadour and the Roxy, leaving arenas to others and leaning more towards the folksier, jazzier and eclectic sides of rock.

JF was also an active trader at the time and this recording is one of the uncirculated or under-circulated gems from the early ’70s that are also in JF’s archive. Installment 11 is what we believe to be a previously uncirculated audience pull Paul Simon’s 1973 solo tour stop at the legendary Nassau Coliseum. For the era and given that much of the show is solo acoustic, it offers a listenable if slightly distant ìyou are thereî mono recording. Samples provided.

We shared the recording with frogster who sent some additional insights on the performance:

“Urubamba was the band formed on request by Paul Simon to Joerge Milchberg to reactivate the ‘Los Incas’ for his Live Rhymin’ tour 1973/1974.

They played as a back-up on many songs like ‘Duncan’, ‘The Boxer’, ‘El Condor Pasa’, etc. Urubamba did not appear on any Paul Simon recording, but their former band ‘Los Incas’ recorded ¥El condor pasa¥ (Bridge) and ¥Duncan’ (Paul Simon) with him.

The band can be heard in their 1973 formation on the Live Rhymin’ album released a year later. The band itself does not exist anymore, but their members are all very active today.

The date and venue are verified on the Paul Simon’s site: http://www.paul-simon.info/PHP/showreview.php?id_concert=443 albeit different setlist.

Some cuts here and there, but all the songs are complete; what is cut are the chants or the audience between songs. Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell if any song is missing between the cuts, as the setlist of this recording is 20 songs and the standard setlist on the tour, according to the Paul Simon’s site, was of 20+ songs.”

Taking this one over the finish line on JEMS’ behalf is the aforementioned frogster, who came to our attention through many excellent posts and reposts of late, including a fine comp of early Simon & Garfunkel. Thanks to him for taking it the last mile and to glasnostrd19 who suggested we connect with frogster. Big ups also to Tapeboy who handled the pitch correction as he so often does.

But our heartiest thanks goes to JF, who reached out on DIME (you could be next!) and offered us his archive, which had been sitting in boxes, 6000 miles away from where he lives today, for 20+ years. Like so many early tapers, he had great stories to tell and the memories flooded back as we sorted through tapes. We are pleased to be able to bring his work to all of you. Please let him know through your comments that you are, too.

BK for JEMS

Led Zeppelin – Long Beach, CA (03/11/75)

Led Zeppelin
1975-03-11
Long Beach, CA
Long Beach Arena

Source: Audience
Lineage: 1st gen cassettes(TDK SA 90)x3>Nakamichi 670 pitch & azimuth-adjusted playback deck>Nakamichi Outboard Dolby B Unit>Wavelab 96/24>Izotope 44.1/16>flac
Taping Gear: AKG mics, Nakamichi 550 cassette deck
Taped By: Mike Millard
Transferred By: JEMS

Setlist:
01. Intro
02. Rock And Roll
03. Sick Again
04. Over The Hills And Far Away
05. In My Time Of Dying
06. The Song Remains The Same
07. The Rain Song
08. Kashmir
09. No Quarter
10. Trampled Underfoot
11. Moby Dick
12. Dazed And Confused
13. Stairway To Heaven
14. Whole Lotta Love
15. Black Dog

Length: 162:49

Notes:
Previously uncirculated set of unmarked tapes for this show transferred with Dolby B on as per Mike’s notes on the tape labels using an adjustable outboard Dolby B unit. This is the 1st time (May 2010) these tapes have ever been digitized. The sound is completely unaltered except for pitch correction during playback and fades added for each of the tape flips.

Bruce Springsteen – Toronto, Canada (01/21/81)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, ON
January 21, 1981

mackeck master via JEMS

Recording Gear: handheld portable cassette recorder with built-in mic

2013 Transfer: Maxell UD-90 master cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth-adjusted) > Sound Devices USBPre2 (24/96 Audacity 2.0 capture) > iZotope RX 3 click removal and gap fixes > iZotope MBIT+ convert to 16/44.1 .wav > Peak Pro XT (patch / edit / index) > xACT > FLAC

Seamless transfer, suggested CD breaks below…

101 Night
102 Out In The Street
103 Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
104 Darkness On The Edge Of Town
105 Independence Day (10 second patch)
106 Who’ll Stop The Rain
107 Prove It All Night
108 Two Hearts
109 The Promised Land
110 The Price You Pay
111 The River
112 Badlands
113 Thunder Road
201 Cadillac Ranch
202 Sherry Darling
203 Hungry Heart
204 Fire
205 You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)
206 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
207 Growin’ Up
208 Fade Away
209 Stolen Car
210 Wreck On The Highway
211 Candy’s Room
212 Ramrod
213 Backstreets
301 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (7 second patch)
302 I’m A Rocker
303 Jungleland
304 Born To Run
305 Detroit Medley
306 Raise Your Hand

Known faults:
-Independence Day: 7 seconds patched with Recorder 2 (pitch corrected)
-Rosalita: 10 seconds patched with Recorder 1 (pitch corrected)
-Several recorder bumps were removed, 1 or 2 remain that could not be seamlessly removed

JEMS is pleased to present a previously uncirculated and complete master recording of the second night of Toronto ’81. It’s also the second show from the work of the taper(s) mackeck.

d.j.mackeck reached out earlier this year to report that his dad had recorded several Bruce shows between 1978 and 1984 in their hometown of Toronto, as well as cities within spitting distance like Detroit and Buffalo. He was kind enough to ship an initial batch of three masters, from which we made fresh transfers here at JEMS South.

The shows were recorded on a small portable recorder with built-in mic (likely a Toshiba or Sony, but memories have faded) in mono. As with the Buffalo ’80 recording, mackeck manages to avoid most audience chatter or noise, yielding a recording that is clear, relatively close, consistent and highly listenable. It only needed two small patches as noted above.

The only material flaw in this new Toronto recording was again micro gaps, like those found on the Buffalo master, only this time there were even more of them. In 50-60 random spots across the three hours, the recorder cuts out momentarily leaving an audible gap.

On the Toronto recording, the micro gaps are all well under a second in length, though absolutely noticeable. But happily for us, it isn’t 1981 but 2013 and audio technology has come a long way. Using iZotope RX and its magical “Spectral Repair” plug in, JEMS was able to repair the gaps in a manner that should make most of them inaudible to all but the most committed and headphone-wearing trainspotter. It was a more challenging tape to repair than Buffalo, but the end result is still quite remarkable. Samples provided.

As for the show itself, the second night of Toronto is obviously not nearly as well known as the first, for which there is an extant 90 minute soundboard recording (we will be doing mackeck’s 1/20/81 recording next). But like a lot of second nights, it is probably the more spirited performance. These would prove to be the fading days for some River classics, as this would be one of the last ten outings for “The Price You Pay” and “Fade Away,” both of which are sublime here, as are other tour stalwarts, “Stolen Car” and “Wreck on the Highway.” This early in ’81 it is still a classic River tour show, just one you haven’t heard very often.

To take this one the last mile and provide the patching is our comrade and the unchallenged king of multiple source recordings, MJK5510. Thanks to him for final finishing and prepping.

Big big thanks to d.j. mackeck and his dad for loaning JEMS their masters and recording the show in the first place.

BK for JEMS

Recorder Information
Recorder 1: River Floor Version / ‘From Asbury Park In Love’
Recorder 2: Incomplete 14 song tape transfer (mjk5510)
Recorder 3: ‘Mackeck’ Master Tape Transfer

Bruce Springsteen – Toronto, Canada (02/13/77)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
featuring the Miami Horns
Maple Leaf Gardens Concert Bowl
Toronto, ON
February 13, 1977
JEMS Master
Nothing to Lose: The 1977 Tour Revisited Vol. Six
24/96 Edition

Recording Gear: Teac M-100 microphone > Sony TC-153SD cassette recorder

JEMS 2015 Transfer: master cassettes > Nakamichi 670 azimuth-adjusted playback > Wavelab 24/96 > iZotope RX4 > iZotope Ozone 5 > iZotope RX MBIT+ resample 16/44.1 > Peak Pro XT (volume smoothing / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

01 Night
02 Rendezvous
03 Spirit in the Night
04 It’s My Life
05 Thunder Road
06 Mona > She’s the One
07 Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (w/ Miami Horns)
08 Something In The Night
09 Growin’ Up
10 Action in the Streets (w/ Miami Horns)
11 Backstreets
12 Jungleland
13 Rosalita (w/ Miami Horns)
14 Raise Your Hand (w/ Miami Horns)
15 Born to Run

Known Faults:
None

Welcome to the sixth edition of JEMS’ Nothing to Lose series revisiting Bruce’s remarkable 1977 tour. For the full history of our obsession with this era and the back story on these “Official Audience Tapes,” please refer to the notes in Vol. One found here:

http://jungleland.dnsalias.com/torrents-details.php?id=38539

Installment No. 6 rewinds to the first week of the tour and a 15-song set at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens, the legendary hockey arena, set up in its Concert Bowl configuration which cut the arena to half its normal size. It is the first of three JEMS master recordings done on the ’77 tour, and, dare I say, we think you’re going to like this one quite a bit.

Toronto ’77 has circulated among collectors since not long after J taped it that frosty February. A master-to-DAT transfer was done in the early days of the format, copies of which almost certainly provided the source for releases like Soul Crusaders (E Street) and No Trouble In Receiver (EV2). It’s long been one of the better audience recordings of the tour, but it has never sounded as good as it could. This marks the first direct digital transfer of the master, and every step along the chain, from the azimuth-adjusted playback to high-resolution capture to final mastering, is superior to what was done to DAT 25 (how can it be?) years ago. Additionally, it lacks some of the minor edits found in the extant versions.

It’s also one of those shows that I personally played dozens and dozens of times throughout the years; the recording which definitively made be believe the following: “Night” is one of Bruce’s greatest show openers; “It’s My Life” had reached its zenith; “Something in the Night” is an under-appreciated classic; “Growin’ Up” can support more than one tall tale; “Action in the Streets” should have been resurrected when the horns came back in 1988 and 2012; the “You lied!!!” moment in “Backstreets” may never be rivaled; “Raise Your Hand” should have been played every night of the tour; and, finally, that J was (and remains) a highly skilled taper.

Hereís what J himself had to say about the show: ìBack in 1977, a taper had to rely on a network of friends and collectors across the country to get early warning of shows and ticket sales. In the case of Toronto, we had a great friend up north in fellow taper The Lewk. He took care of us on our many road trips into Ontario, and he exceeded expectations with this Bruce show, getting me and my friends great seats at Maple Leaf Gardens, curtained off lengthwise to form the ‘Concert Bowl.í The curtain improved the notoriously bad sound there, and The Lewk got me a seat just off the center aisle, ten rows back from the stage. This was the first of three Bruce shows I saw and recorded on this tour, using my Sony TC-153SD and Teac M-100 mic, which I mounted high in a headband. We expected new material on this tour as we presumed that Bruce was probably a month or so away from putting out a new album. After all, it had been a year and half since Born To Run was released. The Toronto show was unique, in that the fire marshall insisted there be an intermission, making it the first time Bruce had split the set, a feature that would later become a staple of the show structure. We got great versions of ‘Rendezvous’, ‘Something In The Night’ and ‘Action In The Streets,’ but the real highlight this night (and at all 1977 shows) was the incredible version of ëBackstreets.í It was never better than it was in 1977!î

Like this entire series, the Toronto performance is a pleasure to listen to and the sound quality (to my ears) approaches the best tapes of the tour, including those of our pal Steve Hopkins and whoever did the official audience tapes. It offers an airy high end, punchy low end and vivid clarity to pick out each member of the band making magic. Samples provided.

I know a lot of you have this recording already and, make no mistake, Toronto has always sounded good, but I think this version is definitive. Then again, I’m biased. We’re making it available in both standard and high-resolution 24/96 editions.

Massive credit goes to J for his outstanding original recording and for pulling out the masters one last time to capture them at 24/96 and giving me so much to work with. Thanks yet again to M, for providing his ’77 source tapes; to the folks on the Stone Pony message board whose thread sparked this series; and to mjk5510 who continues to provide invaluable assistance as JEMS’ packaging and distribution supervisor.

Our next stop in the ’77 series is two nights hence in Detroit and one of the greatest show openers of all time.

BK for JEMS

Bruce Springsteen – Trenton, NJ (11/29/74)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
War Memorial Theater
Trenton, NJ
November 29, 1974
The Big A master via JEMS

Audience Recording (equipment unknown) by The Big A

JEMS 2013 transfer: master cassette > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 2.0 (24/96) capture > Peak 6.0 with iZotope Ozone 5.0 > resample 16/44.1 via iZotope MBIT+ > Peak Pro XT (pitch correction / patch / subtle tweak) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

101 INCIDENT ON 57TH STREET
102 SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT
103 DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND ST ?
104 I WANT YOU
105 GROWIN’ UP
106 SAINT IN THE CITY
107 E ST SHUFFLE
201 JUNGLELAND
202 KITTY’S BACK
203 NEW YORK CITY SERENADE
204 ROSALITA
205 SANDY (Kivak Source)
206 A LOVE SO FINE (Kivak Source)
207 WEAR MY RING AROUND YOUR NECK (Kivak Source)
208 QUARTER TO THREE (Kivak Source)
BONUS TRACK
209 KITTY’S BACK (Kivak Source patched with Big A source – 39 seconds)

Known Issues:
Rosalita: 6 seconds patched at end
Last 4 songs from Kivak Source

mbrown02’s recent repost of Trenton ’74 reminded us that we were sitting on an alternate recording of the show. In fact, based on the data on Brucebase and to the best of our knowledge (though CB and JK might know better), Trenton may well be the first Springsteen show ever to be recorded by two different tapers, therefore making it the first two-source Bruce gig ever.

The Big A recorded Bruce several times in 1974-75, most notably the wonderful Philadelphia 11/1/74 recording and the earliest known capture of Max and Roy in the band from Kean College, 9/22/74. While he did not have high-end equipment, he got a very solid result here, arguably as good as Kivak’s previously circulated recording. Samples provided.

Not surprisingly, however, neither tape is complete, as the Big A missed the end of the show. We’ve added the missing songs from Kivak’s master to the Big A recording, as well as patching Kivak’s “Kitty’s Back” (which is cut on Kivak’s master), using the Big A source, for a bonus track. The result is two baseline recordings of the show, each made complete by patches from the other.

Needless to say this is a fantastic show from an other worldly era in Springsteen’s career. It includes an early cover of Dylan’s “I Want You,” a jaw-dropping “New York City Serenade” and the embryonic “Jungleland” with Suki Lahav on cello to name but a few highlights.

Thanks to The Big A for lending JEMS his masters. It isn’t easy to find new sources circa 1974-75 and he has provided several. Also big ups to mjk5510 for assembling this and doing the final release prep.

BK for JEMS

Bruce Springsteen – Buffalo, NY (12/04/80)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Memorial Auditorium
Buffalo, NY
December 4, 1980

mackeck master via JEMS

Recording Gear: handheld portable cassette recorder with built-in mic

Tracked with no breaks, suggested breaks for burning to CD below…

101 Born To Run
102 Out In The Street
103 Tenth Avenue Freeze Out
104 Two Hearts
105 The Price You Pay
106 Factory
107 Independence Day
108 I Fought The Law
109 Prove It All Night
110 Racing In The Streets
111 The River
112 Badlands
201 Thunder Road
202 Cadillac Ranch
203 Sherry Darling
204 Hungry Heart
205 Fire
206 Candy’s Room
207 Because The Night
208 I Wanna Marry You
209 For You
210 The Ties That Bind
210 Wreck On The Highway
212 Stolen Car
213 Ramrod
301 You Can Look
302 Drive All Night
303 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
304 Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
305 Jungleland
306 I’m A Rocker
307 Detroit Medley
308 Raise Your Hand

Known Faults:
-Prove It All Night: 5 seconds patched with Recorder 2 (kshavo source)

Just a few days removed from the 33rd anniversary of Bruce’s River stop in Buffalo, JEMS is pleased to present an uncirculated third source recording of the show from the master tapes.

The shows were recorded on a small portable recorder with built in-mic (likely a Toshiba or Sony, but memories have faded) in mono. D.J. shared how this particular night went down:

“My dad couldn’t make it to the Buffalo show, as he was going to be in the Bahamas during that time. So he gave his ticket and the task of recording the show to my uncle. My uncle was 18 at that time, and this was his first time seeing Springsteen. So he, another uncle, my aunt and my mother drove down from Toronto to the Memorial Auditorium.

When they were going in, security stopped my uncle because of the recorder. But he managed to sneak the recorder into his boot and got in through another gate. The rest is history! My dad kept the tapes along with other recordings he made. I came across the tapes, listened to them and sent them to JEMS. In my opinion, my uncle did a really good job of recording the show as far as getting all of the songs recorded and flipping the tapes over at the appropriate times. This is the first of my dad’s tapes to be transferred to digital form. He may have dubbed a copy for my uncle, but other than that, none of my dad’s tapes have ever been shared or traded.”

Uncle Mackeck did do a really solid job. There’s a remarkable lack of audience chatter or noise on the tape, and though the gear wasn’t state of the art, the recording is clear, relatively close and the best of the now three known Buffalo recordings. Uncle Mackeck only cut one song, on his first flip during “Prove It All Night,” which has been patched with Recorder 2 (Kshavo source).

The only material flaw in the new Buffalo recording was micro gaps. In 20-25 random spots across the three hours, the recorder cuts out momentarily leaving an audible gap. Having cut my teeth on a “basic handheld recorder” myself, I learned the hard way that they can be unreliable and if jostled or perhaps held in the wrong position, drop outs can occur.

On the Buffalo recording, the micro gaps were all well under a second in length, though absolutely noticeable. But happily for us, it isn’t 1980 but 2013 and audio technology has come a long way. Using iZotope RX and its magical “Spectral Repair” plug in, JEMS was able to repair the gaps in a manner that should make them audibly invisible to all but the most committed and headphone-wearing trainspotter. The software uses an extrapolation algorithm to pull information from both sides of the gap and fill in like spackle. It worked like a charm.

To take this one the last mile and provide the patching is our comrade and the unchallenged king of multiple source recordings, MJK5510. Thanks to him for final finishing and prepping.

And a big thanks to d.j. mackeck and his dad for loaning JEMS their masters, and to Uncle for recording the show so well in the first place.

There are more mackeck masters to come.

BK for JEMS

Bruce Springsteen – Los Angeles, CA (11/01/80)

Bruce Springsteen
Sports Arena
Los Angeles, CA
November 1, 1980

Mike Millard first gen via JEMS
The Lost and Found Mike the MICrophone Tapes Vol. 6

Likely Recording Info: AKG-451E microphones > Uher CR-240 cassette recorder

JEMS 2014 Transfer: first-generation cassettes made by Mike Millard for SG > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted transfer > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 (24/96) capture > iZotope RX MBIT+ resample 16/44.1 > Peak Pro XT (volume smoothing / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

101 Born to Run
102 Out In The Street
103 Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
104 Darkness on the Edge of Town
105 Independence Day
106 Factory
107 For You
108 Two Hearts
109 Jackson Cage
110 The Promised Land
111 Prove It All Night ’78
112 The Price You Pay
113 The River
201 Badlands
202 Thunder Road
203 No Money Down > Cadillac Ranch
204 Hungry Heart
205 Fire
206 Candy’s Room
207 Because The Night
208 Fade Away
209 Stolen Car
210 The Ties That Bind
211 Wreck On the Highway
212 Point Blank
213 Crush On You
214 Ramrod
301You Can Look
302 Drive All Night
303 Backstreets
304 Rosalita
305 Jungleland
306 Sweet Little Sixteen (with Jackson Browne)
307 Detroit Medley > I Hear a Train > Wabash Cannonball

JEMS is pleased to release the sixth in a series of recordings made by legendary taper Mike Millard, AKA Mike th

Bruce Springsteen – Union, NJ (09/22/74)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Kean College
Union, NJ
September 22, 1974
JEMS Archive

Audience Recording (equipment unknown) by The Big A

JEMS 2012 transfer: master cassette (TDK D-180) > Nakamichi CR-7A >
Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 2.0 (24/96) capture > iZotope RX
click repair > Peak 6.0 with iZotope Ozone 5.0 (speed corrected) >
resample 16/44.1 via iZotope MBIT+ > FLAC

01 Spirit In The Night
02 Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
03 The E Street Shuffle > Having A Party
04 For You
05 Saint In The City
06 Cupid
07 Kitty’s Back
08 Sandy
09 Rosalta
10 A Love So Fine (A Night Like This) > Shout

JEMS is very pleased to issue this previously uncirculated recording
of an historically important and otherwise unheard show.

The recording from Kean College in Union, NJ is now the earliest
document we have of the “new look” E Street Band featuring Max
Weinberg on drums and Roy Bittan on piano. According to the essential
Brucebase Wiki, this free, outdoor show (which took place behind the
student center) was the fourth date played by the new line-up,
predating by 12 days Avery Fisher Hall, October 4, which had been the
first circulating recording with Max and Roy.

It gives us a fascinating glimpse into a period of transition for
Springsteen. As such, some of the arrangements heard here are
distinctive as the reconfigured band sorts out how to play the “basic”
set. While Bruce had previously performed songs in early 1974 that
would later appear on Born to Run, the only new material essayed at
Kean is a unique version of the Born to Run outtake “A Love So Fine,”
still in such an embryonic state that the chorus sung isn’t “a love so
fine” at all, but another title rumored to have been recorded for BTR:
“A Night Like This.” He also tags the end of the song with several
lyrics from the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” According to Brucebase, by
the time the song is played again at Avery Fisher, the chorus had
changed to “A Love So Fine” for keeps.

The Kean tape also captures the earliest known cover of Sam Cooke’s
“Cupid” and a particularly punchy full-band version of “For You,” a
song Springsteen performed solo throughout most of 1974-75. Nearly
every track here is a little different than you’re used to given that
two of the band members are still learning their parts.

Our generous taper, The Big A, says he used a “standard-for-the-time,
no-frills, fat-paperback-sized Radio Shack-type tape recorder with a
built-in mike” to record the show. That description seems to match the
tape, which has hallmarks of ALC (automatic level control) where the
first note of a song starts out loud and a bit distorted before the
level adjusts. There are some distorted frequencies in the recording
and it is not as good as the very best we have of the era. But
considering the circumstances (it was the first Bruce show he ever
taped), the outdoor venue, the gear, the PA volume, etc. it is quite a
listenable document of the performance. We worked hard to improve the
sound, but most of what you hear is just what it is. Samples provided.

Very special thanks to The Big A for loaning JEMS the master tape and
to the ER Archive, who had a copy of the show that helped lead us to
the master.

BK for JEMS

Bruce Springsteen – Hampton, VA (01/04/85)

Bruce Springsteen
Hampton Roads Coliseum
Hampton, VA
January 4, 1985

01 Born In The USA
02 Prove It All Night
03 Darlington County
04 Johnny 99
05 Atlantic City
06 Reason To Believe
07 Mansion On The Hill
08 Johnny Bye-Bye
09 Out In The Street
10 Glory Days
11 The Promised Land
12 My Hometown
13 Badlands
14 Thunder Road
15 Cover Me
16 Dancing In The Dark
17 Hungry Heart
18 Cadillac Ranch
19 Downbound Train
20 Iím On Fire
21 Pink Cadillac
22 Bobby Jean
23 Racing In The Street
24 Born to Run
25 Detroit Medley > Traveliní Band
26 Twist and Shout
27 Do You Love Me
28 Santa Claus Is Cominí To Town (Recorder 2 Bonus Track)

Known Faults:
Out In The Street: last few notes cut
Glory Days: first few notes cut
The Promised Land: Splice
Bobby Jean: Splice
Racing In The Street: first few notes cut
Twist And Shout: end slightly cut
Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town: Missing (Recorder 2 source included)

ML Master via JEMS
Recording Gear: NAK CM 300s + CP 4 (shotgun capsules) > Sony D5

2015 JEMS Transfer: Sony UCX 90 master cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A (azimuth-adjusted) > Sound Devices USBPre2 (24/96 Audacity 2.0 capture) > iZotope RX 4 > iZotope MBIT+ convert to 16/44.1 .wav > Peak Pro XT (volume smoothing / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

Courtesy of taper ML, hereís what we believe is a massive upgrade of the very first show of 1985, as the band return to the road after two-and-a-half weeks off. This fresh transfer from MLís fine master tapes sounds light years ahead of circulating copies of the show.

ML taped from a sweet spot, ìthe first row of seats off the floor almost DFCî (Dead Fucking Center). The tape has that classic, appealing ë80s arena sound, clear, steady and with plenty of low end. Samples provided.

The set list lacks for raritiesónot surprising for the first show of a new legóbut still includes highlights from this period like ìJohnny Bye Bye,î the synth-lead ìReason to Believe,î ìRacing in the Streetî and an excellent ìAtlantic City.î

mjk5510 did identify a second source for the show, but it is so inferior as to be a distraction if it were used to patch gaps, so we have left those as is. We did decide to include “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” as a bonus track in the interest of making the night complete. Thanks to him for doing the prep work on this. And huge thanks to ML for reaching out and loaning us his terrific masters which he was keen to share with all of you.

BK for JEMS

Bruce Springsteen – Seattle, WA (10/24/80)

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Seattle Center Coliseum
Seattle, WA
October 24, 1980

101 Badlands
102 Out in the Street
103 Tenth Avenue Freeze-out
104 Darkness On The Edge Of Town
105 Factory
106 Independence Day
107 Jackson Cage
108 Two Hearts
109 The Promised Land (cut)
110 Racing In The Street
111 The River
112 Prove It All Night
113 Thunder Road
201 Cadillac Ranch (Bruce’s microphone and part of the PA are out)
202 Fire
203 Sherry Darling
204 Here She Comes > I Wanna Marry You
205 The Ties That Bind
206 Wreck On The Highway
207 Point Blank
208 Crush On You
209 Ramrod
210 You Can Look But You Better Not Touch
211 Stolen Car
212 Drive All Night
301 Rosalita
302 Jungleland
303 Born to Run
304 Detroit Medley > I Hear A Train (joined in progress, distortion at the start)
305 Raise Your Hand (joined in progress)

That Old Seattle Sound
RS Master via JEMS
16/44.1 Edition
(24/96 Edition release pending)

Recording Gear: Nakamichi 700 microphones > Bass Box EQ > Sony TCD-D5

2013-14 JEMS Transfer: RS master cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted transfer > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.0 (24/96) capture > extensive iZotope RX3 clean up > iZotope Ozone 5 via Peak 6 > iZotope RX MBIT+ resample 16/44.1 > Peak Pro XT (volume smoothing / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

Project Start Date: October 2013
Project End Date: October 2014
Approximate Project Hours: 35
Years Spent Chasing Down Master Tape: 20+
River Tour Show No. 13

Seamless transfer, suggested CD breaks…