a society's slow-burn disbelief turns to outrage, then grief.

The inclusion of "American Skin," one of Springsteen's finest songs, alone justifies the release of Live in New York City, a nineteen-song double CD of the singer's first tour with the E Streeters in more than a decade. A few concert standards merely rehash Springsteen's glory days ("Prove It All Night," "Jungleland"), while some of the new arrangements struggle to better the originals (the moody intro and coda that cause "The River" to meander, the lengthy band introductions that bloat "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out").

But revelations abound: Max Weinberg's demon drumming turns "My Love Will Not Let You Down," an early-Eighties leftover, into a rampaging opener; "Two Hearts" allows duet partners Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt to pay homage to the Marvin Gaye-Kim Weston Motown classic "It Takes Two"; Nils Lofgren's six-string rave-up drops a bomb on the relatively sedate studio version of "Youngstown"; and the slide-guitar voicings on a stark, howling "Born in the U.S.A." evoke both the Far East and Mississippi. These performances make Live in New York City more than just a souvenir of a nostalgia tour; it's a document of a great combo still burning to outdo itself.

GREG KOT
(RS 867 - April 26, 2001)