Bruce Springsteen – Live 1975–85

My introduction to Bruce Springsteen was Darkness On The Edge Of Town in the summer of 1978. I had a summer job at a window-washing company headquartered in North Minneapolis. As I commuted to and from work, the radio played songs from the album frequently. On November 29, 1978, a buddy in the dorm and I decided at the last minute to attend Bruce’s show at the Saint Paul Civic Center. The epic performance we witnessed blew me away.

The next day, I went to a record store and bought Greetings From Ashbury Park, N.J., because it was his first album, had a cool cover, and it had two hit songs (for the Manfred Mann’s Earth Band) I liked: “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night.” When I returned to my room, I dropped the needle on Greetings From Ashbury Park, N.J. and was disappointed. This was nothing like what I heard the night before. “Blinded by the Light” and “Spirit in the Night” were like Manfred Mann, but not as good. A few days later, I bought Darkness, and it was closer to the live performance, but it still disappointed. I grew to love Darkness over the next few months, but it was not the live show. Several years later, when Born In The U.S.A. was the best-selling album of 1985, topping the charts in nine countries, including the U.S., and transforming Springsteen into a worldwide superstar, I still pined for the energy of that live show on vinyl—seeing the opening night of Born In The U.S.A. Tour in the summer of 1984 (also at the Saint Paul Civic Center) strengthened the desire.

Finally, in November of 1986, Live 1975–85 was released. I wasn’t the only one waiting; the album generated advance orders of more than 1.5 million copies, making it the largest dollar-value pre-order at the time. It was a 40-song behemoth released as a box set of five vinyl records, three cassettes, or three CDs. There was also an exclusive record club release of three 8-track cartridges. I had recently bought a CD player and bought the CD version. It was everything I hoped; the live magic had been captured. I only had a handful of CDs in 1986, so I played Live 1975–85 a lot.

Fast-forward to now, and I went to the RockNRoll Music Sale—a used vinyl and CD garage sale that Jeffery Larson hosts a few times a year out of his home in Maple Grove (a suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota). I started crate digging and was gobsmacked to find a vinyl edition of Live 1975–85 in excellent condition for $25! Wow!

It turns out Live 1975–85 is not particularly valuable—on Discogs, the range is $19 to $115. But that has not tempered my joy, as I have long regretted not buying the vinyl vs. CD. Plus, Tracks II has rejuvenated my Springsteen fandom.

I have not listened to this album in at least 30 years. Listening to it now brings me back to that night in 1978 and an equally epic opening night of the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. I am impressed: the sonics are excellent, and the mix is clear, yet this is the antithesis of a studio album. I have heard a lot of live records, and this one is special.

Springsteen took a unique approach to this collection. It is not a single show, it is not even cherry-picked from a single tour; it is drawn from fifteen concerts at eight venues between 1975 and 1985. It is a “best of Bruce” from that time and includes songs from his albums, songs he penned for others, and four cover songs. Despite the diversity of concerts that the album was drawn from (the 500-capacity Roxy to the Giants’ football stadium), the collection feels like a single concert. The 3.5 hours of music are not unusual for a Springsteen concert. Songs are generally grouped by a single show rather than by album.

Once I had this collection, I was able to relax and appreciate the studio albums. I became a Bruce Tramp. After Live 1975–85, dozens of live Springsteen performances have been made available, but ironically, I have ignored most of them. This is the only live Springsteen you need.

Postscript: My wife and I have collected dozens of concert and promo posters over the years. We have them mounted rather than framed at Posters On Board (POB) in Richfield, Minnesota. I am pretty sure the Live 1975–85 promo poster was the first we had mounted at POB.