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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND
Meadowlands 2009 [Social Graces, 1CD]
Live at Giants Stadium, Meadowlands, NJ; October 2, 2009. Very good soundboard.
Including art work.

Fans have shared audience recordings of the complete show and Godfatherrecords also has a version of it - Rocking Down The Giants (GR 451/452/453), though it is not known if that is sourced from a soundboard though Cliff at collectorsmusicreviews.com commented that “Although there is a little lack of clarity at the start, particularly with Wrecking Ball, overall the sound is very good, though not outstanding, and many of the songs, such as Something In The Night and Racing In The Street, sound very fine indeed.”

On this Social Graces release, though not the complete October 2 show, the Darkness On The Edge Of Town album is played in full and, unlike the Godfather release, there are no unsightly breaks to the sequence of the songs. (On the Godfather set, Factory ends Disc One and Streets Of Fire begins Disc Two.)

Once again, a huge thanks to Lincoln Park Mark for sharing the tracks with us.


Track 01. Intro (2.9MB)
“For Giants Stadium we tried to think of something special we could do. Last night we did ‘Born To Run,’ tomorrow ‘Born In the U.S.A.’ and tonight ‘Darkness.’ Bruce said. “This was an important record for us. We had one hit and then three years off due to some trouble and hard times… This record has been the body of our sets for the past 30 years.”

Track 02. Badlands (14.1MB)
Big screens showed a cloudy sky. Great as always. “Is there anybody alive out there tonight?” Bruce yelled out.

Track 03. Adam Raised A Cain (12.8MB)
A real hot and smokin’ version. Great guitar work by Bruce. “That was worth the price of admission,” a friend said to me when the song finished.

Track 04. Something In The Night (9.8MB)
Hearing these first three in order, brought me back to my senior year of high school when I first bought this album and listened to it over and over.

Track 05. Candy’s Room (7.2MB)
Hasn’t been played enough this tour and any time it’s played, is a good part of the show.

Track 06. Racing In The Street (21.2MB)
Okay, I have to admit it. For the second straight show I got tears in my eyes. It was “Meeting Across the River” on Wednesday. Tonight it was “Racing.” Maybe the best version I’ve ever heard of this song and I first saw this played live in 1978. Just a perfect performance. The crowd was into it, Roy’s piano playing was as brilliant as ever and the acoustics were awesome. One of those moments when for those few minutes everything seems perfect in the world.

Track 07. The Promised Land (13.5MB)
Nice to hear this in a different spot in the setlist.

Track 08. Factory (5.8MB)
Not sure if this is anyone’s favorite song, but since it’s not played that much, it was good to hear.

Track 09. Streets Of Fire (11.0MB)
A classic that is not played enough. Sounded great. Nice guitar work by Bruce.

Track 10. Prove It All Night (14.8MB)
A hot, hot version. Incredible Nils guitar solo (think Youngstown, Ghost of Tom Joad, etc.) At one point Nils was holding up his guitar with one hand and still playing it with the other hand. Another highlight.

Track 11. Darkness On The Edge Of Town (12.1MB)
Just like on the album, the final song. Sort of sums it all up. At the end Bruce brought Steve, Max, Garry, Roy and Clarence to the front of the stage for a bow. “These are the guys who made the record. And Phantom Dan Federici” A very touching moment.

Bonus
Track 12. Mustang Sally (Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN; w/Phish; June 14, 2009) (23.2MB)
Track 13. Ain’t Got No Home (Rehearsal, Version 2, Asbury Park, NJ Convention Center; March 18, 2009) (21.5MB)