Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: The River Tour, Tempe 1980

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band: The River Tour, Tempe 1980 (2015)

**** (out of 4)

When Bruce Springsteen puts together a reissued album he pulls out all the stops. When it came time for The River to be re-released not only did we get the two disc album but there was also a disc of outtakes, the original single disc version and a bonus documentary. The greatest extra was this concert that was recorded in Tempe, AZ on November 5th, 1980. Sadly this here was the only portion of The River tour that was actually filmed and sadly there are five songs that weren't filmed but if you're a fan of The Boss then this concert is a must have.

You know you're going to be in for a hell of a show when the concert kicks off with "Born to Run." If you're a Springsteen then you're going to notice everything captured here from the terrific setlist to the wonderful E Street Band and of course that insane amount of energy that the lead singer brings. The show clocks in just under 160 minutes and there's not a single second that there's not some sort of passion and energy. The Boss jams through terrific versions of Prove It All Night, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Two Hearts, The Promised Land, Out in the Streets, Badlands, Thunder Road, Fire, Hungry Heart, Drive All Night, Jungleland and many, many others.

As you can tell, all of the classics are on full display but the concert also gives us a look at several of the (at the time) new tracks from The River. Again, if you're a fan of Springsteen then you're going to expect this sort of wonderful show but if you've ever wanted to show a friend what all the hype is about then this show is the perfect thing to show them. The video quality is quite good considering the era that it was recorded and they've remastered the audio in PCM and DD 5.1. No matter which track you listen to your home theater will be getting a great workout. This is certainly a must have for fans.

One of the best performances I've watched in my opinion. The Boss was at his best when this was made. The energy between Bruce and the band is what makes this performance amazing to watch. From the opener "Born To Run" and songs like "Cadillac Ranch", "Sherry Darling", "Ramrod" and others like "Jungleland" and "Drive All Night" and other songs like "Badlands" "Thunder Road" and "The Promised Land". Even the closer "Detroit Medley" brings this performance to an energetic end. Although the performance was shot in 1980 the video and sound are in high quality. One i highly recommend.

Hard to imagine a concert film being much better than this.

Great setlist, considering Bruce Springsteen had only released five albums at this point. The energy and fun is off the wall, considering everyone is still very young, and when comparing it to the filmed 1975 Hammersmith Odeon concert, you can see everyone is a bit more comfortable on stage, the chemistry is stronger, and the joy of the music more infectious.

It's excellent stuff, and close to a 10/10 in all honesty. Of course the inconsistent visuals may be a slight hinderance, but the fact a full Bruce concert from 40 years ago was filmed and still looks pretty decent (and sounds amazing) is something well worth celebrating.