Product Description

Studio: Sony Music Release Date: 11/09/2004

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10675 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2004-11-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Enhanced, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.com
Another superb live performance in a career filled with them, MTV Unplugged: Bruce Springsteen in Concert (Plugged) finds the Boss at an interesting point in his life, musically and otherwise. Working without the E Street Band (except keyboardist Roy Bittan) for the time being, having divorced one wife and married another (singer and bandmate Patty Scialfa), Springsteen had released Human Touch and Lucky Town, two "solo" records, about eight months before this November 1992 MTV appearance. Selections from those two underrated albums account for over half of this 114-minute set's 19 songs (including three that weren't part of the original broadcast), and while Bruce is still Bruce ("Human Touch," for instance, is a classic Springsteen song), some changes are definitely apparent. He has always been an impassioned performer, but he seems genuinely energized by the presence of Scialfa (can "Red-Headed Woman" be about anyone but her?) and his young new band, including guitarist Shane Fontayne, drummer Zachary Alford, and no less than five backup singers. These folks rock their butts off, basically, especially on a wild, extended version of "Light of Day"; there's even some experimentation happening, like the various sound effects added to "57 Channels (and Nothin' On)." OK, so there's no "Born in the U.S.A." or "Born to Run"; as far as standards go, you'll have to be satisfied with "Atlantic City," "Glory Days," and an acoustic "Thunder Road" (Live in New York City, another superb DVD, is heavier on the hits). Anyway you slice it, Plugged is another welcome addition to the Springsteen catalog. --Sam Graham

Customer Reviews

Nice to Hear These Songs Again
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.

A Great Showcase for the 'Lucky Town' songs
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."

Better in Retrospect
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