Unless you count Human Touch and Lucky Town.

Interesting Super Bowl half-time set by Bruce. "Freeze-Out", "Born to Run", "Workin on a Dream" (knew he'd sneak in one from the new disc), and "Glory Days" were all decent, if necessarily short, versions.

But his opening spiel ("...put down the guacamole, America, and let's rock out ...") wasted several minutes that possibly could have been better spent making music. Just a thought ...

I was very surprised and happy with 10th Avenue Freeze Out! A really good choice!

Here's one opinion that I think completely misses the mark...

He Should Have Played "The Wrestler"
Bruce Springsteen misreads the national mood in his halftime performance.

By Stephen Metcalf
Monday, Feb. 2, 2009
http://www.slate.com/id/2210287/

"Is there anybody alive out there?" Bruce Springsteen blues-shouted to an audience of tens of millions of presumably catatonic football fans, by way of introducing a 12-minute medley of "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" (fan favorite), "Born to Run" (signature anthem), "Working on a Dream" (Please Proceed to Checkout), and the obligatory and eternally unfun romp known as "Glory Days." Springsteen has evolved, in the 35 years I've adored him, from an acquired taste that almost no one acquired to America's favorite karaoke act. (Is it possible to enjoy Springsteen's music without fantasizing that you are Bruce Springsteen?) Having grown older with Springsteen, one would hardly begrudge him the need to play the Bridgestone Halftime Show at America's pseudo-event extraordinaire. It is, as he put it, a "promotional outlet" not to be denied.

I love Bruce for the simple reason he is, from all appearances, a social phobe and a depressive. (Takes one to know one.) He may have been faking it for all these years, but he shrinks like a failing soufflé in the presence of an interviewer, and, in general, he speaks with the tiptoe pedantry of the unsure Everyman. Springsteen, the shy Jersey kid who comes alive only as a stage hound, first hit the big time during an energy crisis—of oil embargoes and, as legend has it, Carter-induced malaise—to which his four-hour shows were seen as an animal corrective. I've always admired him more, though, for his ability to bring down the room and was disappointed when he went for the Full Ya-Ya from the opening bars of "Freeze Out." Bruce mugged, pranced, japed with the Big Man; he brought in a gospel choir and did a Pete Townshend windmill; he even winked at Daniel Boorstin by closing with "I'm going to Disneyland."

Nothing will ever compete for sheer tone-deafness with Paul McCartney playing a zealous Super Bowl rendition of "Live and Let Die" at the height of the Iraq war. But Springsteen would have put America on its ass—its mind shortly to follow—had he strolled out with a Martin and played "The Wrestler." (And how about a nice "This one's for Danny," aka Danny Federici, the recently deceased keyboardist who was with Bruce for more than 40 years?) The national mood is sober bordering on a galloping panic. Lively as he was, I wouldn't say the Boss did much to either banish or capture it.

The Springsteen persona was originally intended as a stand-in for a blue-collar working class living in an insular white ethnic neighborhood and working a job on more or less permanent offer from an industrial economy. He was the poet of their decline, but he's moved away from that specific community of origin as his persona has evolved into a bit of general-purpose kitsch Americana. Not coincidentally, Springsteen has flogged more and more a highly abstract idea of "community," one centered around Bruce Springsteen. "It's not just my creation at this point," he recently told the New York Times, referring to the Springsteen iconography's debt to its fans. "I wanted it to be our creation. Once you set that in motion, it's a large community of people gathered around a core set of values."

Pardon me if I don't hear a note of true reciprocity in these words. Springsteen concerts, when I first attended, were Atlantic Coast joy fests for a small community of like-minded fans. To discover that many other people share a taste for something oddball is a source of true shelter from the agglomerating powers of the mass. A Postmodernist would scoff and say nothing has changed, that Springsteen was always only merchandise. True, but in every possible way, Springsteen holds himself out as a force against such Postmodernist sophistication—on behalf of meaning, sincerity, and authenticity! As media outlets reported, the field seats for the halftime show were filled with paid extras, a crowd of "excited fans," as the cattle call put it, to be seen dancing and clapping by the real audience, the 90 million sitting at home. I'm glad that my oddball favorite from middle school has become a zillionaire and a living legend. But watching him play the Super Bowl, I couldn't help saying back to my flat screen, "Is there anyone alive in there?"

He really wanted downbeat stuff at the Super Bowl? Oy.

Meh

My own thoughts on the halftime show, from an email sent earlier this week:

Wow-what a revelation. This boob informs us those weren't real fans on the floor. No way! What a scoop! I thought they were all blue-collar auto workers. Guess I was wrong. And, this ass-clown wanted "The Wrestler" performed? Yeah, that wouldn't have been ripped to shreds by idiots just like this guy. Bruce would've been ripped to shreds for playing something so somber and downbeat when America needs to rock, or some crap like that.
And maybe Bruce didn't want to mention his late friend/bandmate in such a public spectacle. Who is this Stephen Metcalf and what does he write for-the "Highlights" or "In Flight Magazine"? What a loser.

Even though I could care less about football or sports in general actually, and didn't even know who was playing until right before the game started on Sunday, I try to never miss the halftime show (whenever I notice it's on anyway), and in my opinion this was easily one of the best halftime shows I've seen this decade. It was certainly right up there with Aerosmith, U2, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones at least. Anyway, I enjoyed his performance so much on Sunday that just yesterday I went out and bought my first ever Bruce Springsteen cd--the single for his Working on a Dream song that I got for only 79 cents at Circuit City during their close-out sale. I've never really been a huge Springsteen fan either, at least not enough of one to go out and buy any of his music before, but for some reason I enjoyed that particular song at the Superbowl most of all, so since it was less than a buck on sale I figured I might as well buy it for myself anyway, if only to say that I now finally own something by Bruce Springsteen. Sure it's only a cd single, but along with the single for Devils & Dust I'm planning on ordering for myself sometime soon as well that's probably all the Bruce I'll ever want or need.

I liked whean the camera was on the "fake" fan in the red camisole.

I re-watched the game today and Bruce's performance was still fun to watch. He ran out of breath pretty quickly but he looks great for his age.

I didn't pay much attention to Bruce's Super Bowl set as it aired, for no better reason than I wasn't expecting anything risky. So, to that extent, I'm in agreement with Metcalf--Springsteen could have done something memorable, something that might have actually resonated with the public (a la Prince's set, or Janet's tit) but he instead delivered his standard shtick. I still recall the shiver of excitement I felt during David Letterman's final NBC show when I heard him introduce Bruce as his special surprise guest--and the immediate disappointment when Springsteen kicked into "Glory Days" (*yawn*) for what turned out to be his only song in the show.

The problem with Springsteen is the fact that he is, for all intents and purposes, a nostalgia act. The Super Bowl only cemented this. This was his big chance to do something artistically significant, to challange the audience--God knows, Springsteen has been hailed as a musical messiah for well over a quarter of a century. Jon Landau famously called Bruce "rock and roll's future" back in 1975...thirty-three years later, "rock and roll's future" turned out to be two songs from a 1975 album, one song from a 1984 album, and one new song.

Still, it could have been worse--Springsteen could have kicked things off with a rousing rendition of "Old Dan Tucker".

Bruce was great -- tons of energy, having a lot of fun. That's what a Super Bowl show should be about.

I agree with Pip. Bruce was great.

I'm hearing alot of talk today about how the only thing "live" about his halftime show was his vocals, but I have to say that for once I'm in agreement with Pitchfork.com about something....

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/n ... r-bowl-omg

America's self-righteous obsession with real-time musical integrity never ceases to surprise me. We already know Jennifer Hudson and Faith Hill's Super Bowl performances were sung along with backing tracks, and now the Chicago Tribune reports that the E Street Band were playing to a pre-recorded track for their halftime appearance. Producer and Grammy Awards audio supervisor Hank Neuberger told the Tribune that Bruce Springsteen's vocals were the only live audio element of the show.

Potentially indignant fan: "Next thing you're gonna tell me Clarence was a hologram!" (We're almost positive Clarence was not a hologram.) Really, this is not a big deal. If you're seriously peeved by this news and feel absolutely betrayed, hear me out.

It's not like Jennifer Hudson can't sing "The Star Spangled Banner"; it's not like the E Street Band can't play "Born to Run". As the three (?) other Pitchfork readers who watch American Idol know, Hudson can sing pretty well. And, as the four (?) other Pitchfork readers who saw Dreamgirls can tell you, Hudson can do a mean version of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going", too. Guess what-- she didn't sing that live in the movie, either. It was dubbed. But it was still mighty effective. If you're still pissed at Hudson's Super Bowl backing track, why stop there in your quest for artistic honesty? Why not take that volume-enhancing microphone away from her too? Only a handful of listeners would be able to hear her...but it would be the real her. Please.

Of course, the E Street Band pre-taping seems more egregious because Springsteen is a pillar of all things non-phony. He tells it like it is, etc. But he's also a genius entertainer who knows that, as Neuberger told the Tribune, "there is no way you can set up a full band in five minutes with microphones, get all the settings right, and expect to get quality sound."

The trade-off is a great-sounding performance with Bruce keeping it relatively spontaneous (hello, Bosscocked!) versus a logistically inescapable shitty-sounding halftime show with sub-par music no matter how well Little Steven picks at his guitar. I mean, arguably the worst part of the performance-- that "guacamole" line-- was totally live.

The Super Bowl is a show, hence the emphasis on showmanship. It's not a Bruce Springsteen concert. If the halftime show got you excited, or if Hudson's performance got you a little tingly, those reactions are no less valid now that we know they weren't 100 percent live.

Worth noting: Looking back at Prince's Super Bowl halftime performance, I can't help but notice the lack of close-ups on his stunning "Purple Rain" guitar solo. In fact, dude is behind a fucking curtain for the whole thing. Was it pre-taped? Probably. Was it amazing? Definitely.

An interesting article regarding the fake fans at the Super Bowl.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3883771

I've always liked Sprinsteen. I have that boxed set with all the live stuff (on vinyl). Awesome stuff.

I have a friend who hates the music of Bruce Springsteen, although I’m fairly certain she has only a passing knowledge of his music (“Hungry Heart”, “Glory Days”, “Brilliant Disguise”—the stuff commonly piped into supermarkets) and is basing her knowledge of him primarily on the iconic image of him circa 1985—sleeveless denim jacket, red bandanna, screaming “Born In The U.S.A.” in one of the most poorly lip-synched videos in MTV history. I think it’s fair to say that Springsteen’s career in pop culture terms can be best summed up as 10 years of buildup and twenty-five years of backlash. I’ve written in other threads my “thoughts” on the Bruce Springsteen organization, the circle of flunkies and yes-men surrounding him who have apparently never filled him in on what anybody who has ever walked five feet into a Wal-Mart already knows, but I’m tired of beating that dead horse. Which is why I had to (rather sheepishly) inform my friend that while I’m hard pressed to defend Springsteen from his many detractors…I do happen to own just about every official bit of music that he’s ever released.

Or do I? With the release of a new Springsteen album, I am prompted once again to go through my collection and cross-check it against various internet websites to see if there is anything I am missing. There are many Springsteen fan sites out there; more interestingly, there is what can best be described as a shit-ton of bootleg Springsteen recordings dating from the 1960’s and all the way up to last Super Bowl Sunday, all of which are only proverbial mouse-clicks away.

For me, however, the novelty of bootlegs mostly wore off about a dozen years ago. As a result, many of these websites, although chock full of information, don’t exactly provide the sort of information I seek as a music collector—at least not all in one place. As a result, I found myself compiling my own list of Springsteen’s rarities, b-sides and compilation contributions, as I wanted to know ONLY which performances (both studio AND live) had been OFFICIALLY released.

Much of Springsteen’s b-side material released on 45 during the 1980’s has since gained official release on the “Tracks” and the “Essential” compilation; such tracks are not included below. Also not included with this list are performances filmed and released on DVD (i.e., “Roll Of The Dice” from the “MTV XXPlugged” video) UNLESS they appeared as b-sides (i.e. “Spirit In The Night” from the “Live In Barcelona” concert that appeared as a b-side of the “Lonesome Day” import CD single).

Here is the list I have come up with, arranged roughly in chronological order:

“Stay” and “Detroit Medley” (recorded live, 9/22/79) appeared on the “No Nukes” soundtrack album. (Again—I know other material from this concert has appeared on video and bootleg, but as far as I can determine, these are the only two songs to gain OFFICIAL CD release.)

“Held Up Without A Gun” (studio)—B-side of “Hungry Heart” 45. A live version of this song appeared on the “Essential” collection, but the officially released studio version is tough to find—while the first eight studio takes of the song have been widely bootlegged, the more prominent Springsteen bootleg sites refuse to post a rip from the original 45, citing copyright concerns. (If anybody does have an MP3 of this, I’d appreciate a, um, heads up.)

“Santa Claus Is Coming To Town” (recorded live, 12/12/75)—This has appeared on Christmas compilations (including “In Harmony 2”) and as the b-side of “My Hometown”, but hasn’t quite made it to any major Springsteen album or compilation.

“Born In The U.S.A.” (live, 10/13/86)—I don’t know if this has ever appeared on a CD, but I bought it on I-tunes from the compilation “The Bridge School Collection Vol. 2”.

“Merry Christmas Baby” (live 12/31/80)—appeared as a b-side of the “War” single and on the original “Very Special Christmas” comp.

“For You” (live, 7/7/78) and “Incident On 57th St.” (live 12/29/80) from the Japanese “Live Collection I” EP

“I Ain’t Got No Home” and “Vigilante Man”—from “Folkways: A Vision Shared” compilation. These are studio recordings, apparently from about 1987; apparently there are live performances of these same two songs that were later filmed for a TV special, but different from these two officially released versions.

“Remember When The Music” (live, 12/7/87) from the “Harry Chapin Tribute” compilation.

“Chicken Lips And Lizard Hips” (studio) from the “For Our Children” compilation. Apparently this CD is OOP, hard to find, and worth some money. Or maybe not.

Leap Of Faith (live 8/6/92) and “30 Days Out” (studio)—B-sides of “Leap Of Faith” import single. “30 Days Out” is noteworthy as one of only two Springsteen-penned studio B-sides never subsequently released on any other compilation. (The other is “Without You”)

“Growin’ Up” and “The Big Muddy” (both live, 9/22/92) from the “Streets Of Philadelphia” import single. Both appeared on the MTV and home video version, but neither appeared on the accompanying “In Concert” CD.

“Gypsy Woman” (studio) from “A Tribute To Curtis Mayfield” compilation.

“Hungry Heart (Berlin ’95 Version)”, “Streets Of Philadelphia”, “Thunder Road” and “Murder Incorporated” (last three recorded live, 4/5/95) all appeared on the 1995 “Hungry Heart” import single. Apparently the “Berlin ’95 Version” combined new Springsteen vocals with the original 1980 backing track. For reasons apparently since forgotten.

“Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?”, “Darkness On The Edge Of Town”, “This Hard Land”, “Straight Time” and “Sinaloa Cowboys” (all recorded live, 12/8/95) appeared on two mid-90’s import singles. “THL and “82nd Street” can be found on the “Dead Man Walkin’” single, the other three on “The Ghost of Tom Joad”. (Springsteen’s Dylan impression halfway through “82nd Street” is classic).

“Darkness On The Edge Of Town”, “Born In The U.S.A” and “Spare Parts” (all recorded live, 4/19/96) appeared on the “Missing” import single.

“Blood Brothers (Alternate Version)”, “High Hopes”, “Murder Incorporated” (live, 2/21/95), “Secret Garden (With Strings) and “Without You” all appeared on the EP that accompanied VHS versions of the “Blood Brothers” documentary.

“Shake, Rattle & Roll” (live, 9/2/95) appeared on the “Concert For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame” compilation.

“Plane Wreck At Los Gatos (Deportee)” and “Riding In My Car” (both live, 9/29/96) both appeared on the “Til We Outnumber ‘Em” compilation.

“This Hard Land”, “My Hometown”, “Thunder Road” and “Darkness On The Edge Of Town” (live, 6/29/2000) from one of the concerts filmed at Madison Square Garden for HBO, all appeared on CDs other than the official “Live In New York City” release. “THL” and “Hometown” were issued as a two-track promo available at Borders, while “TR” and “Darkness” were on the “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day” import single.

“My City Of Ruins” (live, 9/21/2001) from the “America: A Tribute To Heroes” compilation.

“Give My Love To Rose” (studio) from the “Kindred Spirits” Johnny Cash tribute compilation.

“My Ride's Here” (live, 9/10/2003) from the “Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon” compilation.

“The Rising” (live, 8/29/02) and “Spirit In The Night” (live, 10/16/02) appeared on the “Lonesome Day” import single. “Spirit In The Night” is the only song thus far released on CD from the “Live In Barcelona” DVD.

“The Ghost Of Tom Joad” (studio)—Duet with Pete Seeger from the “Sowing The Seeds” compilation.

“Once Upon a Time In the West” (studio)—from the “We All Love Ennio Morricone” compilation.

“Hobo's Lullaby” (studio) from the “Give Us Your Poor” compilation.

“Bobby Jean”, “The Ghost Of Tom Joad”, “Johnny 99”, “For You” and “My City Of Ruins” (all recorded live in 11/2006)—from a promo CD issued by PBS as a prize for hefty, tax-deductable pledges. As a result, this is one of those maddeningly expensive, impossible-to-find CD’s, made even more frustrating as it contains some of the more interesting music from the whole “Sessions” project.

“Always A Friend”, “The Ghost Of Tom Joad”, “Turn! Turn! Turn!”, “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”—last year’s 4-track “Magic Tour Highlights” I-tunes live EP that has yet to see any sort of CD release, official or promo, beyond what one can burn with one’s own computer.

A live version of “Girls In Their Summer Clothes” was also released to I-tunes last year. I cannot seem to find a recording date for this track, however.

And finally, “A Night With The Jersey Devil”. This was a free download from Springsteen’s official website for a short time last year, and apparently a video for the song can be found on the deluxe DVD version of “Waiting On A Dream”. I still have no idea as to what this song is intended to be.

Now…what have I missed?

The song Chicken Lips And Lizard Hips from For Our Children is also available on a 2007 compilation called Every Child Deserves A Lifetime (Songs From the For Our Children series).

The 57 Channels CD single from 1992 also includes two different Little Steven Mix Versions of the song, along with There's A Riot Going On and Part Man, Part Monkey.

The Secret Garden CD single from 1995 also includes a String Version of the song, along with live versions of Murder Incorporated and Thunder Road and the studio Pink Cadillac, all previously released.

The Sad Eyes import CD single from 1999 also includes Missing (for the first time) as well as Man At The Top and Take 'Em As They Come from Tracks.

18 Tracks from 1999 includes two songs, The Fever and The Promise, that were not released on the 4-disc Tracks box set.

Don't forget the 12" Dancing In The Dark from 1984 with an extended remix.

Early copies of the Live in New York City DVD came with a bonus CD single that lifted two tracks from the audio. I'll dig it up when I get home.

Besides "Dancing in the Dark," there were also 12" mixes for "Cover Me" and "Born in the USA." I've got a bootleg CD that gathers them all together, obviously dubbed from vinyl sources.

I'll compare to my list tonight, but I immediately noticed that "Dream Baby Dream" is missing from the list. It was released on iTunes and on a vinyl EP (see this link):

http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp ... BFPLP64696

Duly noted. "Dream Baby Dream can indeed be found on I-tunes; thank you very much, njwiv. As for the BITUSA remixes as well as "57 Channels"--they completely slipped my mind. I might even still have the actual original 12" vinyl releases out in the garage somewhere, although I haven't heard them in years. (These remixes are, however, another good example of official Springsteen material that has been all but disowned by the Springsteen faithful).

Earl--You're right about the "Secret Garden" single--the reason I didn't list it is because I don't own it. However, "Secret Garden (With Strings)" and "Murder Incorporated" (live 2/21/1995) later appeared on the "Blood Brothers" EP while the live "Thunder Road" from 9/22/92 was on "In Concert MTV XXPlugged" CD that had not yet been issued in the U.S. when the "Secret Garden" single was released.

Jimbo--I think you might be referring to the "My Hometown"/"This Hard Land" promo single that I found at Borders. I'm not sure where or how else it might have been offered.