Hammersmith Odeon, London ‘75 cover

Hammersmith Odeon, London ‘75

Released

A titanic feat of live performance that stands tall with any of Springsteen studio recordings. There were behind-the-scenes factors behind its remarkable intensity and ferocious speed: it was the gang’s first-ever show in Europe, and the Born to Run album cycle on which it fell was a make-or-break scenario for their future. “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out,” “Born to Run,” and “Backstreets” give a sense of the show’s resulting mood: at once wildly frantic and totally locked in. The second-tier “Spirit in the Night” suddenly sounds like one of his greatest songs, propelled by pianist Roy Bittan high in the mix, who is apparently a total virtuoso. While the show is packed with controlled chaos, the ballad performances take it into the pantheon. Its emotional climax is a spellbinding piano-and-voice-only version of “For You,” where he works every corner of his grizzled baritone to deliver a seven-minute tour-de-force, full of range and feeling. Seems like they delivered under pressure: Europe remains the biggest stronghold of Springsteen fans in the world 50 years later.

Sean Wood

Recommended by

Suggestions
Standards cover

Standards

Lloyd Cole
Travelogue cover

Travelogue

Joni Mitchell
1940 Carmen cover

1940 Carmen

Mon Laferte
Nanna cover

Nanna

Xavier Rudd & the United Nations
Jenny Scheinman cover

Jenny Scheinman

Jenny Scheinman
1969 cover

1969

Julie Driscoll
Somewhere Near Pop Heaven cover

Somewhere Near Pop Heaven

Leslie Zwerling, Andy Zwerling
Skeleton Blues cover

Skeleton Blues

Simon Joyner
Volver cover

Volver

Benjamin Biolay
Some Blue Morning cover

Some Blue Morning

Adrian Crowley