Springsteen Forborough

A memorable six-night stand in the City of Brotherly Love ends on a high note with some old friends on Philadelphia '99. The 22-song set begins in jaw-dropping fashion with the long-awaited return of “Incident On 57th Street,” last played in December 1980, and features the first Reunion tour performances of “Point Blank,” “Sherry Darling” “Streets of Philadelphia,” “Jungleland” and “Raise Your Hand” to appear in the Archive Series. Philadelphia ’99 also includes one of only five stagings of the epic “New York City Serenade” circa 1999-2000 following a 24-year hiatus.

Designed as a companion to Bruce Springsteen's 2016 memoir Born to Run, Chapter & Verse provides something of an aural autobiography, tracing Springsteen's development from a Jersey garage rocker into one of the great American songwriters. Springsteen compiled the 18-track disc himself, intending his selection to mirror the themes in his book, so he balances epics with intimate miniatures since both kinds of songs can capture his quests for deliverance and escape. He alternates his well-known anthems ("Born to Run," "Badlands," "Born in the USA"), with a few other popular singles ("Brilliant Disguise," "The Rising") and a host of deep cuts, all of which tend to downplay both his romantic and hard-rocking sides.

26-song set. “Night” and “Candy’s Room” return to the set. Four songs from 2020’s Letter To You: “Ghosts,” “Letter to You,” “Last Man Standing” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” “Last Man Standing” features a new arrangement. “I’ll See You In My Dreams” is performed solo acoustic to end the show. One song from 2022’s Only the Strong Survive: “Nightshift” (written by Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert and Walter Orange, popularized by The Commodores). Concert stalwarts like “Because The Night,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” are performed in tighter, shorter versions.

26-song set. “I’ll See You in My Dreams” is dedicated to Robbie Robertson. “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” returns to the set. Four songs from 2020’s Letter To You: “Ghosts,” “Letter to You,” “Last Man Standing” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams.” “Last Man Standing” features a new arrangement. “I’ll See You In My Dreams” is performed solo acoustic to end the show. One song from 2022’s Only the Strong Survive: “Nightshift” (written by Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert and Walter Orange, popularized by The Commodores). Concert stalwarts like “Because The Night,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” are performed in tighter, shorter versions.

Bruce Springsteen released a live archival recording of an E Street Band concert from C.W. Post College in Greenvale, New York on December 12, 1975.

Western Stars is a title that suggests wide-open, cinematic vistas, music made for the outer reaches of a widescreen. Such sweeping ambition isn't necessarily alien to Bruce Springsteen, a rocker who designed his self-styled 1975 breakthrough as a larger-than-life hybrid of AM pop and FM album rock profundity – a daring fusion that eventually favored the latter, perhaps because it was easier for the E-Street Band to fill arenas with cranked amps and big riffs…