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Rating:  -
At the time, fans gave Bruce's new band and new material something of a cold reception. Their privilege. But Springsteen's songs have always needed the exposure of the concert stage before they came alive, and the band, well...
At risk of blasphemy, one could make a case for this band being superior to the E Street Band. The backing vocals, in particular, are far more harmonious, full, tight, and soulful than those of the ESB, which is quite light on good backup singers (Patty and Nils being the best they have, and they weren't in the earlier version of the ESB anyway). The rhythm section is tight (the bass player is particularly melodious) and the sparser instrumentation gives more space to Bruce's own excellent guitar playing.
The ESB is of course an "act" in its own right, while this is basically just Bruce's hired backup band, but especially in the context of this TV concert, the focus is on Bruce anyway. The show loses nothing by eliminating the byplay between ESB members, and gains quite a lot from the presence of a technically accomplished backup band with great-sounding singers, with everyone sounding intune and tight.
The sound and video are excellent, having been recorded under controlled circumstances and gorgrously remastered for this DVD.
And of course it's the only video record of this period in Springsteen's career, including performances of songs from Human Touch/Lucky Town that are available nowhere else. So we're lucky that they're so good, right?
Fans shouldn't hesitate to buy this release, and fans with open minds may be surprised at how effective the band is. It's all about Bruce, anyway, and here he's in fine voice, in complete control, and right at the center of things where a Boss belongs.
RichC
Rating:  -
Just when you thought the Vote For Socialism tour was the low point for Bruce, well look out, here comes a reminder that Bruce dipped even lower more than a decade ago. My apologies for all fans still finding the artistic merit of Lucky Town and Human Touch, but these two albums are unquestionably the weakest cannon in the mans artillery so why scramble to buy a live DVD of those forgettable songs? Well because it's Bruce and the man can do no wrong, he's a saint and the concert hall is his church and the parishioners who give to his collection plate pay mightily for any and all projects. You people who sit through 3 hour shows just to feel young again know who you are and look how you have been repaid for your devotion: Last years Essentials, Live in Barcelona and now this Plugged debacle. Aside from feeling younger, you must be feeling poorer as well. Why millions of fans (and the number is dwindling) hang on every word from St. Springsteen like pearls of wisdom being bestowed upon them from a higher being is beyond my scope. Face it folks, he's a guy with a guitar who made it real big and liking his music his harmless, but calling this better than what it is simply isn't honest. For a guy who brought you Greetings From Asbury Park, this performance isn't worthy of a postcard stamp.
Rating: -
Okay, I'm not going to debate how this compares to work Bruce has done with the E-Street band, however - from an audio and video perspective this is far and away the best effort from Bruce available on a DVD. The sound is awesome - the bass punchy and tight and the video crisp and clear.
I so thoroughly enjoyed the latest tour having seen it at two stops and was so dissappointed with the audio quality, or lack thereof, on the Barcelona DVD that when I started watching Un-Pluggedm, and aired the speakers out, I thought 'Now, that's better...'.
Again, not going to get into a discussion over E-street vs. sans E-street except to say that Bruce sure looks like he had fun doing the unplugged gig. And generally speaking, when Bruce is 'into it' - the music is righteous.
Here's to somebidy remastering the Barcelona DVD :-)
Peace
Rating:  -
I got the DVD, although I have the VHS edition, and have thoroughly enjoyed watching it again. The picture is much sharper and the sound much better than the VHS edition. Plus, the bonus performance of "Roll of the Dice" is quite good. It's nice to hear the "Human Touch"/"Lucky Town" songs again and to realize how underrated they are in the Springsteen canon. Several of these songs rank with his best work, especially "Human Touch," "Local Hero," "Living Proof," and "Lucky Town." The acoustic versions of "Growin' Up" and "Thunder Road" cast both of these songs in new light, and I can never hear "Atlantic City" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town" enough in any context. "Light of Day" and "Glory Days" are both fun performances in which Bruce involves the studio audience as only he can. It's also the only commercially available of performance of "Red Headed Woman," which is a very clever song obviously written about his wife Patti Scialfa.
Admittedly, the band for this performance is not the E Street Band and suffers in comparison, especially in the wake of both the eccellent "Live in New York City" and "Live in Barcelona" DVDs. But, on their own terms, they do a good job, especially the five backup singers, who add a very different dimension to Bruce's sound
I really enjoyed this DVD and highly recommend it.
Rating: -
This early 90's concert, filmed at the MTV studios in the midst of Springsteen's world tour for his "Human Touch"/"Lucky Town" albums, is an excellent showcase for the music he wrote then.
The band he esssembled for that tour is not a good match for the slicker, pop-oriented material from "Human Touch." But they really understand the stronger, raw, stripped rock songs from "Lucky Town," and those tunes are the reason to see this show.
Living Proof, Lucky Town, If I Should Fall Behind, Better Days, My Beautiful Reward, and other songs from that great record, are presented by Springsteen here in a form more powerful than the original studio tracks. These are tough, adult, spellbinding songs, and watching the passion with which the writer performs thems makes for some powerful rock music.
Plus, this show has other highlights, including a 10 min. plus version of "Light of Day," and a wonderful solo version of "Thunder Road."
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