25-Jan-1972 Highlands,NJ Challenger Eastern Surfboards,USA
- This date is a DUMMY DATE indicating the generic period
01 The ballad of Jesse James
02 It's all over now baby blue
03 When you dance
04 Look towards the land
05 I got you babe
06 The band's just boppin' the blues
Notes:
The above-mentioned 6 songs are taken from surviving audio of a live BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN BAND rehearsal-recording session that took place at Challenger Eastern Surfboards. The band line-up here is Springsteen-Van Zandt-Sancious-Tallent-Lopez. The original tape notes the audio as emanating from 1972, but does not mention the exact date. However this session is most definitely from very early in the year, prior to Springsteen’s March 1972 contract signing with Appel-Cretecos. Bearing in mind that the BSB band had been idle for over a month due to Springsteen’s trip to California, it’s likely this rehearsal took place in order to prepare for the numerous shows scheduled for late Jan thru early March. Indeed, the arrangements of these songs are remarkably similar to those that have surfaced from live gigs during this specific period.
In addition to the 55 minutes of music noted above, there are nearly 7 minutes of fascinating between-song studio chat, much of it between Springsteen and sound recorder “Tinker” West, who Bruce refers to as “Stinky”. The discussions seem to indicate that the primary intent of the session is for rehearsing, not recording – with the recording merely being done because Tinker wants to test some new recording equipment. The sound quality is uniformly excellent. Although all the audio is from the same night, it is evident from the discussions that the rehearsals had been going on for some hours before the recording starts. It should be noted that this is not Challenger’s more famous Wanamassa, NJ factory location, the one that Springsteen had lived and rehearsed in during the 1969 – 1971 Child-Steel Mill era. Tinker West had relocated that factory to Highlands, NJ in mid-1971 and had then constructed a more professional rehearsal room (which included a control room like a normal studio) for the various bands he managed.
The gem here is “When You Dance”. Although rough sound quality live renditions exist, here we are treated to a stunning rendition, with the finest Springsteen-Van Zandt dual lead guitar interplay that’s ever circulated on any recording. Noteworthy as well is “Funk Song” (also known as “Funk Says Right On”), a Springsteen instrumental played live often during the fall of 1971. There are no live renditions of “Funk Song” from this period circulating, however Bruce surprisingly resurrected it during a few shows early on the Born To Run Tour (see gig listings for 23/07/75, 29/07/75 and 08/08/75). In addition to the Dylan song, there is also a cover of “I’ve Got To Have You Baby”, an obscure 1956 R&B single by Jimmy James & The Pretenders. The complete 62 minutes of audio is currently only in very limited circulation. However two of these six recordings have been in mainstream collector circulation since the mid-late 1990’s. “Look Towards The Land” first surfaced on boot “BOUND FOR GLORY” (Flamingo), albeit in vastly reduced sound quality to that found on the master tape. “Don’t You Want To Be An Outlaw” (also known by the titles “Jesse James” or “Billy”) first surfaced on “DEEP DOWN IN THE VAULTS” (E Street). The sound quality on the DDITV boot is only slightly reduced from the master tape quality.
Last computed : 19/04/2024 01:42:08