PARIS 5 JULIO 2012 – PALAIS OMNISPORTS DE PARIS-BERCY, PARIS – 3CD – OFICIAL SONIDO DEFINITIVO

PALAIS OMNISPORTS DE PARIS-BERCY, PARIS, FRANCIA, 5 JULIO 2012.

Editado de los archivos de Bruce Springsteen.

Gira Wrecking Ball.

El sonido definitivo. 3CD oficiales.

Grabado por John Cooper. Mezclado por Jon Altschiller.

Las dos noches de Bruce y la E Street Band en el Bercy de París se consideran una de las mejores paradas de la gira europea de 2012 y merecen publicarse ambas al unísono. La noche del 4 de julio de 2012 incluye interpretaciones especiales dedicadas al 4 de julio como «Sandy» y «Independence Day» interpretada por Bruce solo al piano. La segunda noche (el triple CD que ahora estás viendo) en el Bercy de París, Bruce cambia la lista de canciones dramáticamente, ofreciendo 15 canciones diferentes a la primera noche, incluido un excelente inicio de concierto con «The Ties That Bind», «No Surrender», «Two Hearts, «Downbound Train», «Candy’s Room» y «Something In The Night» (este otro concierto del 5 de julio lo tienes en otro artículo de la tienda).

Compra las 2 noches en oferta.

Bruce and the E Street Band’s two-night stand at the Bercy in Paris is considered one of the best stops on the 2012 European tour and merits companion releases. July 4, 2012 includes special Fourth of July performances of «Sandy» and a solo-piano «Independence Day.» Night two at the Bercy in Paris sees Bruce change up the setlist dramatically, offering 15 different songs to night one, including an outstanding run of six to start the show: «The Ties That Bind,» «No Surrender,» «Two Hearts,» «Downbound Train,» «Candy’s Room» and «Something In The Night.»

THE TIES THAT BIND / NO SURRENDER / TWO HEARTS / DOWNBOUND TRAIN / CANDY’S ROOM / SOMETHING IN THE NIGHT / WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN / WRECKING BALL / DEATH TO MY HOMETOWN / MY CITY OF RUINS / SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT / INCIDENT ON 57TH STREET / BECAUSE THE NIGHT / SHE’S THE ONE / WORKING ON THE HIGHWAY / I’M GOIN’ DOWN / EASY MONEY / WAITIN’ ON A SUNNY DAY / THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO – 634-5789 (SOULSVILLE, U.S.A.) / FOR YOU / RACING IN THE STREET / THE RISING / OUT IN THE STREET / LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS – PEOPLE GET READY / WE ARE ALIVE / THUNDER ROAD / BORN TO RUN / GLORY DAYS / SEVEN NIGHTS TO ROCK / DANCING IN THE DARK / TENTH AVENUE FREEZE-OUT

A spectacular 31-song setlist for the second night in Paris with Bruce taking the concept of a varied set on night two and blowing it out of the water. A six-pack of classics (including the second «Something In The Night» of the tour) kick-off the show before we even get to the the usual opener «We Take Care Of Our Own». This wasn’t the plan – the setlist shows «The Ties That Bind» going straight into «We Take Care Of Our Own». Both «Incident On 57th Street» and an 11-minute «Racing In The Street» with an extended coda are played – the last time that both songs were played at an E Street show was back in 1978. Also in the set: «I’m Goin’ Down», «Easy Money» and the tour premiere of «For You», played solo on the piano. Bruce drags daughter Jessica on stage for a dance during «Dancing In The Dark», and the walk-on music is «Au clair de la lune», played by the accordion duo of Roy and Charlie. «My City Of Ruins» includes «People Get Ready» and a snippet of «Sad Mood». First ever performances in France of «Something In The Night» and «Incident On 57th Street».

Bruce Springsteen – Lead vocal, guitar, harmonica, piano; Roy Bittan – Piano, keyboards, accordion; Nils Lofgren – Guitar, lap steel, backing vocal; Patti Scialfa – Guitar, percussion, backing vocal; Garry Tallent – Bass; Stevie Van Zandt – Electric and acoustic guitars, mandolin, backing vocal; Max Weinberg – Drums; Jake Clemons – Tenor saxophone, percussion, backing vocal; Charlie Giordano – Organ, keyboards, accordion; Soozie Tyrell – Violin, acoustic guitar, percussion, backing vocal; Everett Bradley – Percussion, backing vocal; Curtis King – Backing vocal, percussion; Cindy Mizelle – Backing vocal; Michelle Moore – Backing vocal; Barry Danielian – Trumpet; Clark Gayton – Trombone; Eddie Manion – Baritone and tenor saxophones; Curt Ramm – Trumpet
Recorded by John Cooper
Mixed by Jon Altschiller; Additional engineering by Danielle Warman
Mastered by Jon Altschiller
Post Production by Brad Serling and Micah Gordon
Art Design by Michelle Holme; Cover Photo by Jo Lopez
Tour Director: George Travis
Jon Landau Management: Jon Landau, Barbara Carr, Jan Stabile and Alison Oscar
HD Files are 24 bit / 48 kHz DSD files are DSD64

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band in Paris, July 4 and 5, 2012
The Hype Is Real

by Erik Flannigan

The Wrecking Ball tour was big on multiple levels, from the length of the shows (eventually reaching four hours, breaking Bruce’s all-time record), to the number of band members on stage (hitting 17 on occasion), to the scale of the venues—especially in Europe, where the 2012 tour hit stadiums across the continent… save for one special stand in Paris.

For reasons that have never been explained, when Springsteen brought the Wrecking Ball caravan to France to open the second half of the Euro leg, he downsized from stadiums back to arena-scale for just one pair of shows that fell on the fourth and fifth of July. Those back-to-back performances, which featured an impressive 44 different songs between them, have long been lauded as some of the best of the tour. In that spirit of bigness and in celebration of the ten-year anniversary of the gigs, it seemed only fitting to add both Paris 2012 shows to the Live Archive series.

The Paris concerts combined offer over seven hours of music and a bounty of special moments and performances. Here are several worth noting.
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at Palais Omnisports De Paris-Bercy, July 4, 2012

The charms of the expanded 2012 band bear fruit in a delightful, unhurried version of “The E Street Shuffle” performed as a sign request. The song was played more in 2012 than any other year since 1975, when it thrived in a completely different arrangement. The Wrecking Ball tour edition takes advantage of the horn section, Everett Bradley’s percussion, and the E Street Choir on background vocals for a fully realized rendition that follows the original album structure of prelude, main song, and a storming, extended coda. In Paris, the crowd keeps singing the melody after the whole thing ends, indicative of just how into the show they are, and it compels Bruce to start the “E Street Shuffle” back up again for a second coda.

Springsteen keeps the Asbury Park setting, linking “Shuffle” to “Sandy” in his transition: “And then, down from town, about five blocks in on the boardwalk… if you listen hard, you could hear…” He sings the accordion-led, Fourth of July special in a low voice at times, adding a bit of age and wisdom to the tale, which on this night includes the sometimes-omitted third verse about the “waitress who lost her desire for me.” The background singers bring lushness to the final chorus as the sun sets on the boardwalk via Paris.

When Bruce opened his Fourth of July playlist for this show, he clicked them all—which means “Darlington County.” Stevie Van Zandt veers the song towards the edge of the Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” before Bruce sings his first line about that memorable drive he and Wayne took from New York City all those years ago. The Paris take is long, with an extended horn and sax section at the end.

With Patti back on stage for the first time on the Euro tour, “Easy Money” returns to the set in one of only 18 performances ever. Bruce’s untamed falsetto vocals start things out, and one has to credit the Paris crowd for their consistently high level of participation as they sing along strongly here. Patti’s vocal contributions are a key element to “Easy Money,” which is why the song wasn’t performed without her.

In the most special nod to the occasion, Bruce moves to the piano for a rare solo-piano performance of “Independence Day.” Bruce released a video of this version in 2012 on his official YouTube channel, and it is great to have the audio available through the Live Archive series. Having played the instrument every night of the Devils & Dust tour, Springsteen’s piano playing is more confident than ever. Listen to the fine solo he takes in lieu of Clarence’s memorable sax before the third verse. Like so many older songs performed in this era, the bit of age in Springsteen’s voice only adds gravitas.

No Fourth of July performance would be complete without “Born in the U.S.A.” in its still-awe-inspiring, full-band arrangement. Bruce has no trouble finding his 1984 vocal range “forty years down the road” in a crackling rendition that puts the electric guitars on a level playing field with the synthesizers. Max Weinberg is also up to the task: while the horns add heft to the outro, Max smashes his legendary fills as hard as ever.

If anyone needed a sign that the second show in Paris would be materially different from the first, look no further than the top of the set when Bruce and the band reel off six songs in a row not featured the previous night. Deviating from his own written setlist, the band starts what sounds for all the world like “We Take Care of Our Own” only to shift gears into a bright “The Ties That Bind,” led by Roy Bittan’s piano and rich with the voices of the background singers in the chorus and bridge. Jake Clemons takes a sharp solo, too. The stellar reading of “Ties” is followed in bang-bang succession by breathtaking runs of “No Surrender,” “Two Hearts,” “Downbound Train,” “Candy’s Room,” and lastly a scintillating “Something in the Night.” Fans in attendance said the July 5 show was truly something special, and you can hear that imprinted in Jon Altschiler’s full-bodied mix. The six-song start of the second Paris set is as good as it gets in the post-Reunion era.

In all, Paris night two boasts 15 changes from the previous show, including three certified epics starting with “Incident on 57th Street.” As vocal as they have been all night, the Paris audience treats the Wild & Innocent masterpiece with fitting reverence. Bruce tells Nils to take the initial guitar lead, which rises above Charlie Giordano’s swirling organ.

“Working on the Highway” and “I’m Goin’ Down” add a dose of levity and self-deprecation to the evening. The horn section and background singers give “Working on the Highway” a big jolt of energy, while the audience does the same for “I’m Goin’ Down,” yielding reinvigorated versions of both songs.

After a solo “Independence Day” on July 4, Bruce sits at the piano bench night two and delivers “For You.” This one is triumphant, reaching the heady heights of the song’s solo outings in 1975 (such as the extraordinary take on the Live Archive release of Greenvale, NY 12/12/75). Like “Indy” the night before, Springsteen plays the piano brilliantly, and he commits to every line of the lyrics to staggering effect. He also hits the last note resoundingly when he sings “When it was my turn to be the guy.” As the kids say, “Chills.”

From “For You” straight into evening’s epic denouement, “Racing in the Street”—another time-defying performance. It can be difficult to describe in the written word what it feels like when a performer is in the moment, not simply performing their music, but embodying it, living the words and melodies anew. But you can hear it. That goes for every member of the band, too—special credit to Bittan and Bradley, first among equals in this performance of “Racing.”

The sequence of “For You” to “Racing in the Street,” and the top of the July 5 show as well, all capture Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performing in the moment. For years, they did so more consistently than any other band in concert. On this fantastic recording of Paris 2012, so many years down the road, they undeniably do so again.

Erik Flannigan is a music archivist, producer, author and manager. He has been writing about Bruce Springsteen’s live performances and recordings for more than 30 years.