Search - Bruce Springsteen with the Sessions Band :: Live In Dublin

Carol S. from AMHERST, NH
Reviewed on 2/8/2014...

Up to the usual Bruce standards of live material. Wish I was there in person.

Easily one of his best live albums

DanD | 06/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Springsteen has a knack with live albums; you always feel his energy, his passion, his character. True, his voice isn't the best, and his songwriting is more simple than elegant, but nobody really cares--Bruce Springsteen is a performer, a rock and roll icon with a true love of music. No Springsteen album showcases this love better than LIVE IN DUBLIN.



It is a bit egotistical of Springsteen to include his own songs among these traditionals, but to his credit, they fit right in (and the audience loves them just as much; in fact, the audience helps make this record so amazing, as they clap and sing and clearly have as good a time as the band). Springsteen manages a feat that few artists ever achieve--he manages to reinvent songs he has already reinvented. From standards such as "Old Dan Tucker" and "This Little Light of Mine," to almost unrecognizable versions of his own tunes ("Further On Up the Road" and "Open All Night" especially) that are still purely enjoyable. He tackles acoustic rock, country, gospel, bluegrass, and simple layman balladry. He tells tales of outlaws and victims, of people down on their luck and people realizing what they are made of. Basically, though he only wrote a handful of these tunes (and recorded them all previously), this album reads like any other Bruce Springsteen album, going all the way back to GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. And the Sessions Band is a collection of some of the finest musicians you will ever hear; they aren't the E Street Band, but damned if they aren't good. Springsteen is still in fine form, and LIVE IN DUBLIN ranks with some of his best efforts yet. True rock 'n roll never dies, it just evolves, and Bruce Springsteen keeps evolving right along with it."

Seeger Sessions Songs Come Alive

Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 06/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions concert last year at the PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ and it was an interesting, uplifting show. This live collection perfectly captures that feeling. While I prefer Mr. Springsteen's straight rock concerts, the show was raucous and big departure from his other solo work which are intimate acoustic settings. The cd from which the concerts emanated from was an excellent recreation of the turn of the century musically stylings, but the live show bring out the songs true heart and soul. Mr. Springsteen really cuts loose and you can hear and feel the fun he is having. Backing by a seventeen-piece band, the songs have a carnival, music hall sound. There are some songs from Mr. Springsteen's own catalog that get reworkings, most notably "Open All Night" which is a radical departure from the original Nebraska version. All in all, this two-disk set (there's a deluxe edition which includes a dvd of the show) is great way to experience this different Springsteen concert."