The world doesn’t have enough Bruce Springsteen live albums but I thought it would be interesting to look at how Born To Run has been represented on the live albums that do exist.
Born To Run is the breakthrough album by Springsteen in 1975 and is often considered to be one of the best ever made…
But we know that Bruce Springsteen is even better live.
Bruce Springsteen Born To Run Live
Eight great songs but how often are they on the Bruce Springsteen live albums, where can you find live versions and have they been adapted live?
1 – Thunder Road – 4:49
- February 1975 – Live At The Mainpoint – an early version of Thunder Road was played as Wings For Wheels. It’s strange to hear at first but it’s a delight to see into the creative process of one of Bruce Springsteen’s most popular songs
- October 1975 – Live 1975 – 85 – 5:46
- November 1975 – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – 5:50
- September 1992 – In Concert/MTV Plugged (without the E Street Band)
2 – Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out – 3:11
- November 1975 – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – 3:50
- August 1984 – Live 1975 – 85 – 4:21
- June 2000 – Live In New York City – 16:08 (includes band introductions)
3 – Night – 3:00
No authorised recordings – some times played as an opening number in 1976 and on the 2007/8 Magic tour.
4 – Backstreets – 6:30
- November 1975 – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – 7:22
- July 1978 – Live 1975 – 85 – 7:35
5 – Born to Run – 4:31
- February 1975 Live At The Mainpoint
- November 1975 – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – 4:16
- August 1985 – Live 1975 – 85 – 5:03
- June 2000 – Live In New York City – 5:56
6 – She’s the One – 4:30
I saw Springsteen & The E Street Band in Birmingham in about 1986 on the Born In The USA world tour and this was the stand-out song of the 3 hour concert. I was surprised because I’d previously seen it as one of the songs that lets you relax a bit between the two epics – Born To Run and Jungleland.
- February 1975 Live At The Mainpoint
- November 1975 – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – 5:23
7 – Meeting Across the River – 3:18
No official recordings – often used live as the prelude to Jungleland, just as it does on the Born To Run studio album.
8 – Jungleland – 9:34
I saw Springsteen in 1986 and he didn’t play Jungleland. As it’s my favourite and was dumped for the dross from Born In The USA, I was very disappointed. It didn’t help that it was also missing from the five LP, 3 CD live compilation Live 1975 – 85.
- February 1975 Live At The Mainpoint
- November 1975 – Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – 9:35
- June 2000 – Live In New York City – 10:53
It looks like the best way to get the live Born To Run experience is to get Hammersmith Odeon London ’75 – it is one of my favourite live albums.
What Do You Think About Born To Run Live?
Would you like to see Bruce Springsteen perform Born To Run live in the same way that Van Morrison did with Astral Weeks?
What are your favourite live songs from Born To Run?
What Are The Best Live Albums Ever?
Please help me to find the best live albums by voting in my readers polls:
Loading ...What People Say About The Studio Version Of Born To Run
I’ve linked to the deluxe version because it also gives you the DVD of the Live At the Hammersmith Odeon concert from 1975. This is the recording that was topping my best Bruce Springsteen live albums poll at December 2012.
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