• AllMyVinyl #164
• Band: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
• Album Title: Live/1975-1985
• Release Date: 10 Nov 1986
• Date purchased: 17 Aug 2024
• Location purchased: Amazon.com
• Color of vinyl: black
• Number of discs: 5
• Links: [ Wikipedia | Discogs | Band Website | Complete album on Youtube ]

This one took up a ton of my time.   A lot of that has to do with it being five vinyls.  I could have easily cheated, since I know the bulk of these songs already, but I didn’t want to.  Then life happened, the overall series got delayed a bunch.  But as I sit here to write this on 28 May 2026, I wanted to finish this thing off so I can move forward with the series again.

As I said, this was a five vinyl disc set, as its name implies covers a bunch of Springsteen performances and songs covering 1975 through 1985.  This came out in 1986, and was the first thing Springsteen released after the monstrously huge “Born in the USA” album.  I bought Born in the USA when it was brand new, and as such I was interested in this.  At the time I owned no other Springsteen.  Songs of his I knew outside of that album I’d heard on the radio.  So I thought this would have been a good purchase for me.  You know, cover the remainder of his (then) catalogue on what’s effectively a greatest hits album.  So I bought it back then, but I believe on compact disc – I don’t think I had bought this on vinyl (although in 2026, I’m not 100% sure about that).

Anyway, I know the release well, but I also have a vague memory at one point in the past, when I purged my music collection of things I didn’t want anymore, this didn’t make the cut.  I’m not sure why, but I do recall listening to this a bunch when it was new, but then not much afterwards.   By that point, I had picked up a few more Springsteen studio albums, so I didn’t revisit this much.

Jump forward in time to my modern vinyl era, and I had considered reacquiring it, so I stared looking around for used copies, as I didn’t want to pay full price for a 5 disc set, would have been fairly expensive.  I lucked out in August of 2024 when I found a used copy of this on vinyl for just $19.  That’s hella cheap for that many vinyl discs, and after I ordered it, I realized it was a big roll of the dice quality wise.  It arrived, and while I can’t say it’s in mint condition, there’s no appreciable nicks or scratches on the discs themselves.  The box shows sign of being 40 years old for sure.  But it’s all in acceptable condition, and in this play through I didn’t have any major skips or problems, so that turned out to be a huge win.   Quite happy with the deal here.

One other thing is that in the years since I owned it originally, my appreciation of Springsteen’s music has grown.   Back then I knew the big hits, and that was about it.  Some of the slower more introspective stuff from his past I glossed over.  That’s not so much an issue now as I’ve aged, I appreciate that stuff far more than I did before, so 2026 me doesn’t see this as a bit of a slog as the 1986-1987 version of me did.  Back then I just wanted stuff like Born to Run and Glory Days – the big hits.  I’ve grown up a bit since then.

Now when you have a set with 5 LP’s in it, that’s a lot of tracks.  If you’ve read any of this series of mine, it meant likely a lot of writing.  As I viewed it, I faced three possibilities on how to handle the tracks.

1. Write a huge text wall about each one Like I normally do, but that would take like 8,000 words total, I didn’t want to write that much.
2. Don’t say anything about the tracks individually, and just lump them all into a single paragraph about them.  That felt wrong too.
3. What I chose – write about every song, but keep my remarks minimal – just one or two lines each.

So that’s what’s coming next – a list of all the tracks on here with a few minimal remarks.  I did want to cover the songs, but not write the biggest text wall I’ve done in this entire series to date.  With that said, here comes a ton of Springsteen tracks.  :)

Thunder Road – I mean it’s Springsteen.  You can’t NOT have this song.  It’s a good song, but not a ton to say about it.

Adam Raised a Cain – Some good guitar work in here.  More electric guitar sound than usual for a Bruce song.   Song I didn’t remember too well – enjoyed that.

Spirit in the Night – One of the earliest Springsteen songs I knew.  Still a catchy song to me.

4th of July, Asbury Park – Bit of a slow track for me, didn’t dig this one.  Almost a “talking story” type of song.

Paradise by the “C” – Nice bluesy sound on the guitar.  An Instrumental jam I quite liked.

Fire – While it’s a good piece of music, many years ago I had it ruined by having Robin Williams do an impression of Elmer Fudd singing this song.  I can’t NOT hear that anymore – Robin trashed the song for me permanently.  I’ve embedded a video of this below on the page.

Growin Up – Another one that I didn’t know too well.  70’s Springsteen I’m not the strongest with.  Nice catchy beat, tho.   There’s a large talking section in the middle – almost “Bruce tells a story”.  That would have likely tuned me out in the 80’s.

It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City – Great piano sound in this one and a more noticeable guitar sound out front.  Liked this.

Disc 2:

Backstreets – Another Springsteen classic.  Good song.

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) – Good faced paced Bruce rocker – another classic.  Great sax work.

Raise Your Hand – One I should listen to more – I quite liked this. 

Hungry Heart – One of my overall fav Springsteen tracks.  Def also one of the more easily accessible tracks from him too.

Two Hearts – A faster paced song that originally came from the River album – not one I actually owned, so most of that album was new to me.  Might be heresy to Springsteen hardcores. :)

Cadillac Ranch – When this started I thought it was Darlington County.  The first guitar sound struck me as that other track.  Enjoyed it though – good live rendition.

You Can Look But You Better Not Touch – I like a good fast paced song, and that’s what this is – but it didn’t grab me for some reason.

Independence Day –  Slower paced song after a faster one.  Yeah, this is another of his slower songs that didn’t do a ton for me.  Nice smooth sax by the big man, tho.

Disc 3: 

Badlands – This goes with Hungry Heart for me – another accessible Springsteen track.  Goes over quite well live (or it did the one time I’ve seen Bruce live).

Because The Night – I actually first heard this song as a Patti Smith cover, so that’s the version I think of first.   Calling it a cover might not be right as she co-wrote it with Bruce. 

Candy’s Room – Has a faster beat than a lot of Spingsteen songs.  This was a surprise – I quite enjoyed this.  Some loud guitar work too – also not a usual Springsteen trope. 

Darkness on the Edge of Town – One of his earlier tracks – it’s “ok”.  Might be offensive to a Springsteen purist, but this one was never one of my favorites. 

Racing in the Street – A song about a car and a girl?  This a country track?  But seriously – one of Bruce’s slower “story” songs.  These can be good if you’re into what he’s talking about, but this one was another that didn’t do anything for me.

This Land is Your Land – “This Land is Your Land… This is made For You and Me”.  Yeah, I’ve known this song forever.  Sounds like the kind of song he’d play in 2026 given everything going on these days.  Not one of his songs, but I like this.

Nebraska – One of my favorite “Pre Born in the USA” tracks for me.  One of those slow burn tracks – starts off slow, and .. (write about end of song – does it build up or not).  Some nice harmonica work in the middle.

Johnny 99 – Got to see Bruce do this live in 2023.  Confused me at the time, as it’s not one of the songs of his I knew the best.  Another slower story song, but I liked the vocal delivery of “Johnny 99” in the song.

Reason to Believe – Another one in a streak of slower story songs.  I do like the guitar sound that runs behind it.  It’s a good sound.  By the time it finished I had gotten into the beat and the song.  Enjoyed that.

Disc 4:

Born in the USA – The song I think  most people who bought this wanted to listen to. This came out right after the Born in the USA album did.  I know when I first got this on cassette it was the thing I reached for first, as i wanted to hear a live version of that song – was only about a year or two old at that point.  Killer track – even if people continually don’t get what the lyrics are about – especially US politicians.  This version is a bit extended over the studio version.

Seeds – This wasn’t a track I knew as it was unreleased at the time. Still is, I think – I’m sure someone who’s more versed in Springsteen will correct me if needed.  This has a GREAT faster beat, quite loved this track.  I wonder why I didn’t glom onto it back when I got this new originally.  Probably cuz I just wanted the hits.  Younger me was dumb sometimes. 

The River – A rather extended version of this Springsteen classic (at over 11 minutes).  If you know Springsteen at all, then you should know this track well.  My words won’t do it justice.  Great jams in the existing song structure.  Has an extended story at the start Bruce tells about his draft card and his parents.

War – Another song that isn’t his, but he continues to play to this day.  In fact, he’s opening his 2026 tour with this song.  Works well today still (sadly).  Love the track.  At the time it was used as a protest song against Ronald Reagan.  It’s back again against Donald Trump.  Loved this track before Bruce started doing it.

Darlington County – One of the reasons the Born in the USA album was so popular is a lot of the tracks are super catchy.  This is definitely one of them.  The beat here still is enjoyable 40 years later.  God, has it been that long?  The chorus is definitely something that works as an audience participation track.  Enjoyed this. I should listen to the track more.

Working on the Highway – Great guitar sound that runs through it.  Simple drum beat here, but serves the song well.  It also sounds like something I’ve heard elsewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it right now. 

The Promised Land – This is from one of his earlier albums (to me anything before 1980 is earlier), but it has a punchier sound than some of the tracks from that era do.  Perhaps it’s this killer live version adding the extra oomph.   Liked this track a lot too.   I like the vocal delivery of “.. and I believe in the Promised Land”.  Works well. 

Disc 5:

As we get to the latter part of the album, we get to more popular stuff.  I do remember from the 80’s this was the part of this set I listened to the most.

Cover Me –  Cover Me is a good song from Born in the USA. Apparently he originally wrote the song for Donna Summer, but decided to keep it for himself instead.  I do think I like the studio version over this live one.

I’m on Fire – More from Born in the USA.  This was a slower paced song.  It’s one I have filed in my mind as “not a favorite”, but then when I listen to it, I like the underlying beat of the song.  Always felt the lyrics were weird.  While sitting here listening to it I found myself tapping my feet to the track, so it’s good anyway?  :)

Bobby Jean – Good song – has that classic Springsteen sound to it that works well.  Love the piano in this track.  Can hear the bass pretty well.

My Hometown – More Born in the USA – a theme on this disc so far.  It was the final song on the album, and the SEVENTH single from that album.  Man that album was stacked.  It’s a song that ends a Springsteen album perfectly, IMO.  Amusing sidenote – the B side to the single was “Santa Claus is Comin to Town”.  :)

Born to Run – My all time favorite Springsteen song – bar none.  I love the studio version, I LOVE The live versions due to audience participation.  I’ve only ever seen Springsteen live one time (10 Feb 2023), and this song was a huge highlight of the evening.  Adored the audience participation for the “Woah” that turns up three times or so in the song.  I’ve embedded my own recorded video of that in the page below.  The scene with this song in the movie “Blinded by the Light” was also a highlight.  Killer track, no matter what angle I look at it.  This song is now 51 years old this summer (Aug 2026) and it doesn’t sound like a song from the 70’s.  

No Surrender – One more from Born in the USA.  Apparently it’s a favorite of Steven Van Zandt.  The version on this album is a slow acoustic version – the studio original was a much faster paced track with a full on rock vibe.  I’m generally not a fan of this kind of reinterpretation.  The studio version is far superior.

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out – This was a song that I never really cared for from his early catalog long ago.  Then one night I saw Springsteen on the old “Late Nite with Jimmy Fallon” show, and it kicked me in the head – the live participation to that track with people all over the stage getting into it made the song work for me.  Since then I’ve enjoyed the hell out of it.  Adored watching him doing that live in 2023. Has a real party feel to it when done live.

Jersey Girl – This is a cover, a song written and originally sung by Tom Waits.   This particular recording was done in New Jersey, so the audience seemed to really be into this.   It’s an OK track, not my favorite.  Waits himself makes an appearance on this recording.

I don’t have much to add for the wrap-up.   This is a *LOT* of live Bruce Springsteen recordings.  If you’re a Bruce fan, you’ll like this.  If you’re not a fan (Hi Jim) this isn’t going to move the needle for you.   But if live Bruce is what you want, this set has it in spades.

In 2024 I did regret getting rid of my old 80’s copy, so that’s long gone, but I reacquired a used copy in fair shape at an excellent price, so that’s always a win.