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Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ at 40: Watch Vintage Live Versions of the Entire Album
“Born to Run” wasn’t just a rock-and-roll sensation when it hit record stores Aug. 25, 1975. It was a turning point for Bruce Springsteen, the album’s 25-year-old maestro. He was no longer the “next Dylan;” he was a rock god on his own terms.
On a more personal level, the album “Born to Run” and its title-track single marked Springsteen’s move away from manager and producer Mike Appel to rock critic, producer and manager Jon Landau, who once proclaimed the N.J. artist the future of rock and roll. Instead of continuing with the ragged singer-songwriter style of his acclaimed but low-selling first albums, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.” and “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,” on “Born to Run,” Springsteen embraced a cleaner, bigger production style inspired by Phil Spector‘s “Wall of Sound” and a pop sensibility reminiscent of Roy Orbison, who is name-checked on opening track “Thunder Road.”
The creation of the album also brought about the core of the E Street Band that would last well into the 1980s and endured much of the band’s revival starting in the late 1990s. Together, Springsteen and his band — featuring guitarist Steve Van Zandt, the late sax player Clarence Clemons, pianist Roy Bittan, late organ player Danny Federici, bassist Garry W. Tallent and drummer Max Weinberg — created one of the most formidable live acts in rock history, putting on shows that would last for three hours or more that would include epic versions of tracks off “Born to Run.”
To mark the 40th anniversary of “Born to Run,” here are vintage live performances of all the songs from the album.
VIDEOS IN LINK: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ at 40: Watch Vintage Live Versions of the Entire Album - Speakeasy - WSJ
“Born to Run” wasn’t just a rock-and-roll sensation when it hit record stores Aug. 25, 1975. It was a turning point for Bruce Springsteen, the album’s 25-year-old maestro. He was no longer the “next Dylan;” he was a rock god on his own terms.
On a more personal level, the album “Born to Run” and its title-track single marked Springsteen’s move away from manager and producer Mike Appel to rock critic, producer and manager Jon Landau, who once proclaimed the N.J. artist the future of rock and roll. Instead of continuing with the ragged singer-songwriter style of his acclaimed but low-selling first albums, “Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.” and “The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle,” on “Born to Run,” Springsteen embraced a cleaner, bigger production style inspired by Phil Spector‘s “Wall of Sound” and a pop sensibility reminiscent of Roy Orbison, who is name-checked on opening track “Thunder Road.”
The creation of the album also brought about the core of the E Street Band that would last well into the 1980s and endured much of the band’s revival starting in the late 1990s. Together, Springsteen and his band — featuring guitarist Steve Van Zandt, the late sax player Clarence Clemons, pianist Roy Bittan, late organ player Danny Federici, bassist Garry W. Tallent and drummer Max Weinberg — created one of the most formidable live acts in rock history, putting on shows that would last for three hours or more that would include epic versions of tracks off “Born to Run.”
To mark the 40th anniversary of “Born to Run,” here are vintage live performances of all the songs from the album.
VIDEOS IN LINK: Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born to Run’ at 40: Watch Vintage Live Versions of the Entire Album - Speakeasy - WSJ
