Wrecking Ball

[Sarge]

My double LP arrived today. It's great that you also get the album on CD along with it. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that the inner sleeves aren't anti-static.

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Sarge

My double LP arrived today. It's great that the album on CD comes along with it. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that the inner sleeves aren't anti-static.

Wish I'd know that when I ordered my cd.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by AndyK

Wish I'd know that when I ordered my cd.

It's a cool idea, but the CD that comes with the vinyl doesn't have the bonus tracks, which aren't on the vinyl either. You could always buy the bonus tracks from iTunes, I guess. I like "Swallowed Up"- it's different. "American Land" is a good version, but not really too different from the live version.

[Sarge]

True, it doesn't have the bonus tracks but they can be purchased separately. (One of the few reasons why I like the possibility of buying MP3s.) I paid € 18.99 which is a good price for two records and a CD, in my opinion.

[AndyK]

Exactly. The price for the vinyl with a CD thrown in is a good deal indeed! Springsteen Inc missed a trick there to squeeze a few extra dollars/euros/pounds out of the sale of that one!

[AndyK]

So lived with this album for a little while now and generally love it.

It's an album of two halves with the second half being weaker IMO than the first, and saved by American Land, LOHAD and We Are Alive. All of which I love.

The Seeger Sessions influences are superb, (especially the banjo ... Jonty you should but this album if you haven't got it already!).

Only let downs for me are the looped drum tracks and the female vocals on Rocky Ground which really don't fit in my view.

Can't wait to hear the live versions of some of these songs, just hope they stay in the set list for when Bruce and the band hit the UK shores later in the year.

Wrecking Ball, Land Of Hopes and Dreams and American Land show that Bruce's songwriting and recording skills are best suited to writing a song, refining it in the live show setting and then recording it, like he used ot in the 70's. These songs are on another level for having developed on the road.

[AndrewG]

Love Land of Hope and Dreams on there too. The loud intro strikes are stunning coupled with the bass drum and then rhythm guitar during the first verse really bring that essence feel into the song, as if it is saying "Ok HERE we go", more impressive than I've ever heard it live. The arrangements are some of the most interesting I've ever heard of Bruce on an album.

[duke knooby]

Originally Posted by AndyK

The Seeger Sessions influences are superb, (especially the banjo ... Jonty you should but this album if you haven't got it already!).

lol, i have no springsteen albums, and i must confess, never considered getting any... i appreciate his work, and have enjoyed a number of his songs and performances etc.. though i did see a good bit of the seeger session on bbc4 and i really enjoyed it.

i have really loved finding and experiencing new artists and musicians that i had never heard off before, and been blown away by.. and wished people would get to hear and experience them aswell this past few years.. so i really think i should maybe just get my first ever springsteen album

[samurai7]

Originally Posted by duke knooby

lol, i have no springsteen albums, and i must confess, never considered getting any... i appreciate his work, and have enjoyed a number of his songs and performances etc.. though i did see a good bit of the seeger session on bbc4 and i really enjoyed it.

i have really loved finding and experiencing new artists and musicians that i had never heard off before, and been blown away by.. and wished people would get to hear and experience them aswell this past few years.. so i really think i should maybe just get my first ever springsteen album

there's a boxset of his first seven albums available here for a very competitive price

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collection-1...2338937&sr=1-1

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by duke knooby

lol, i have no springsteen albums, and i must confess, never considered getting any... i appreciate his work, and have enjoyed a number of his songs and performances etc.. though i did see a good bit of the seeger session on bbc4 and i really enjoyed it.

i have really loved finding and experiencing new artists and musicians that i had never heard off before, and been blown away by.. and wished people would get to hear and experience them aswell this past few years.. so i really think i should maybe just get my first ever springsteen album

Don't stop at one- there's a lot of them and they're all different. That box set looks like a good deal. Definitely dig past the "Greatest Hits", because that's where the best stuff us, IMO.

If you liked the Seeger stuff, you'll probably like the new album. You might try "Live in Dublin" as well- you can get a CD/DVD combo pretty reasonably. The cool thing about that one is that you get lots of his own songs reworked as well as the traditional ones. I love, love, love the version of "Growin' Up" on there.

As to the other albums, it depends on what you like; start with the songs you like, and get those albums. If you like jazzy stuff, go for "The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle" (one of my faves); "Darkness on the Edge of Town" (my #1 fave) rocks the hardest, I'd say, especially live versions (look up the Paramount Theater performance from the 2010 boxset on YouTube- incredible!) For solo acoustic stuff, there's "Nebraska" (the title song is haunting), "The Ghost of Tom Joad", and "Devils and Dust" (I like that one a lot). "Born to Run" is a MUST. Of the more recent stuff, "The Rising" and "Magic" are my favorites. In any case, have fun!

@AndyK, there are live videos starting to pop up on YouTube; I think most, if not all, the audio from the Apollo show is out there. The Fallon performances are on Jimmy's website, I believe. What I've heard so far sounds pretty good.

"Rocky Ground" from Greensboro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oNF3-k49vY

I like this one a lot; people seem to love it or hate it.

I'm not seeing my first show until the middle of April, so I can't give a first-hand review yet.

As far as LOHAD goes, I think this new version is amazing! "American Land", though, isn't really too different here, IMO. I like the song- it's fun at shows (especially on St.Patty's Day ), but I'm a little tired of it; I'd be just as happy if he played something else.

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

@AndyK, there are live videos starting to pop up on YouTube; I think most, if not all, the audio from the Apollo show is out there. The Fallon performances are on Jimmy's website, I believe. What I've heard so far sounds pretty good.

Yeah the vines will start appearing in the usual places soon I'm sure so the postman could well be very busy

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by AndyK

Yeah the vines will start appearing in the usual places soon I'm sure so the postman could well be very busy

You still do vines? Technology is your friend, my friend.

I've gone to a show only to find the *cough* footwear available by the time I got home. lol

[Wario]

i wish these vines were as prevalent for Meat shows....

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

You still do vines? Technology is your friend, my friend.

I've gone to a show only to find the *cough* footwear available by the time I got home. lol

It's also your enemy ... I work in IT security and I avoid the bittorrent sites like the proverbial plague that they can so easily provide.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by samurai7

there's a boxset of his first seven albums available here for a very competitive price

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collection-1...2338937&sr=1-1

Goddamn that is a good price!

[samurai7]

Originally Posted by AndrewG

Goddamn that is a good price!

I was lucky enough to get it at my local Asda for £11 or £13 or something like that a while back when it was released. I already had all but one of them on CD already, but as these are all the Legacy remastered versions I couldn't NOT buy it when I saw it. I posted that link because it was easy to find. There's possibly even cheaper ones than that, because like I said, I paid less for it.

[samurai7]

oh yeah, and the fact that they're all like mini-LPs is very cool too

[samurai7]

...and just found out from an amzon review that apparently they're not the remasters, but they sounded great to me when I played them regardless.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by AndyK

It's also your enemy ... I work in IT security and I avoid the bittorrent sites like the proverbial plague that they can so easily provide.

You're right- you have to know your source, I guess.

Here's "Jack of All Trades"- nice solo by Nils:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NawwN...eature=related

"Easy Money"; rockier than the album- I like it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr0HNJMZLhQ

"Death to My Hometown"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aLPXaqsVx4

Man, that stage has gotten big!

[AndyK]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

You're right- you have to know your source, I guess.

Indeed, and the advantage of the vines IMO is that they've had chance to be cleaned up, some of them that I've had hold of have been fantastic quality mixes from multiple sources including IEM etc.

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by AndyK

Indeed, and the advantage of the vines IMO is that they've had chance to be cleaned up, some of them that I've had hold of have been fantastic quality mixes from multiple sources including IEM etc.

Oh, I know, but those same mixes often end up on the torrent sites as well, and, depending on who started the vine, may even have originated there in the first place. (Unless you know some ubers who aren't sharing, in which case, sign me up! ) The key is to only download from places you trust.

The biggest problem I have with vines is that they can move very slowwwwwly, or even wither and die before you get your "cutting". I'm not that patient.

[duke knooby]

am i the only one who has no idea what a vine in this context is?

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by duke knooby

am i the only one who has no idea what a vine in this context is?

Can I talk about this here? lol

Basically, it's a method of sharing "fan projects", if you will. It goes back to tape trading days; now many people share electronically. First, the participants sign up on a list, often on a fan forum or such. Then, the person who has the original "project", or "seeder", sends the master copy (usually a CD) to the first person on the list. That person makes his or her own copy, then sends the master to the next person on the list, and so on down the line. This is done via snail mail, so there is mailing time involved, people may "sit on" the master before sending it on, it might get lost, etc. Hence the slowness factor. Plus, you're trusting that people are actually sending the original (as is etiquette), as opposed to a copy. So, you can get burned (and I don't mean as in CD ) or left empty-handed.

There are variations, such as weeds and trees, which distribute faster, but are more likely to "pollute" the trading pool with low (or is that high?) generation or lossy (highly compressed) copies. This isn't a problem with a vine, as each copy is (theoretically) made from the master.

You can also do traditional trades;for example, people who don't have the equipment/ know how to burn may do a "B&P", meaning that you trade for blanks and postage. You can also do direct trades, but again, you have to trust the person you are trading with, and hope they abide by the usual etiquette. In my experience, most people are usually cool.

[duke knooby]

Originally Posted by Julie in the rv mirror

Can I talk about this here? lol

Basically, it's a method of sharing "fan projects", if you will. It goes back to tape trading days; now many people share electronically. First, the participants sign up on a list, often on a fan forum or such. Then, the person who has the original "project", or "seeder", sends the master copy (usually a CD) to the first person on the list. That person makes his or her own copy, then sends the master to the next person on the list, and so on down the line. This is done via snail mail, so there is mailing time involved, people may "sit on" the master before sending it on, it might get lost, etc. Hence the slowness factor. Plus, you're trusting that people are actually sending the original (as is etiquette), as opposed to a copy. So, you can get burned (and I don't mean as in CD ) or left empty-handed.

There are variations, such as weeds and trees, which distribute faster, but are more likely to "pollute" the trading pool with low (or is that high?) generation or lossy (highly compressed) copies. This isn't a problem with a vine, as each copy is (theoretically) made from the master.

You can also do traditional trades;for example, people who don't have the equipment/ know how to burn may do a "B&P", meaning that you trade for blanks and postage. You can also do direct trades, but again, you have to trust the person you are trading with, and hope they abide by the usual etiquette. In my experience, most people are usually cool.

thank you, it sounds like a rather complex and long procedure... i assume this is for the rare unreleased type of material?

[Julie in the rv mirror]

Originally Posted by duke knooby

thank you, it sounds like a rather complex and long procedure... i assume this is for the rare unreleased type of material?

Can be, but most of that's been around for a long time and is widely available (new stuff doesn't usually make it out anymore), unless you are talking about elite collectors who may indeed have rare stuff that they only trade amongst themselves. The stuff that gets shared most often these days is live recordings, which, as Andy has pointed out, can often be of amazingly good quality.