NEW! Greetings from the Parking Lot: The Springsteen Fanomenon, 1999, Eventure, Inc. 70 minutes.)

Mike Sodano and his crew from Eventure, a New Jersey multimedia production company, walked the Meadowlands parking lot in the summer 1999 and interviewed hundreds of other fans (this one included). Mike asked a number of questions ranging from "what is your favorite song" to "is being a Springsteen fan a religious experience?" In presenting their answers, Greetings captures fans' exhuberance, love of , and deep commitment to Bruce Springsteen and his music. There are some still photographs of Bruce performing and local Jersey landmarks like Federici's in Freehold, but the emphasis is on the fans and the special environment of the Meadowlands parking lot before the concerts. Every kind of Springsteen t-shirt and other memorabilia is on display, and of course, fans are of all ages, colors, genders, and walks of life. This is an essential video for anyone who wants to understand the passion of a Springsteen fan. In addition, fans will experience the joy of finding that there is someone else out there who feels just like they do about Bruce and his music and shows. The box cover sports small shots of Bruce memorabilia and groups of fans. In the background on the front cover Bruce is holding out the mike to the audience to sing along. Part of proceeds are donated to the Community Foodbank of New Jersey. This is a good video to give as a gift along with Cavicchi's book, Tramps Like Us: Music and Meaning Among Springsteen Fans.

ISBN 0-9664179-1-7

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NEW! The Paris Concert for Amnesty International (1999) featuring Bruce, Youssou N'Dour, Alanis Morissette, Shania Twain, and Tracy Chapman.

This is not a reissue of the HBO special of the 1988 "Human Rights Now!" tour. This video was made in 1998 in Paris at Amnesty International's concert in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. According to the Winter, 1998 issue of Backstreets, Bruce sings "Get Up, Stand Up" with the others (including Peter Gabriel), and then does a four-song acoustic set that includes "The Ghost of Tom Joad," Born in the U.S.A.," and "No Surrender."

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Blood Brothers: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (1996, Sony, 90 minutes)

This is a rare look behind the scenes at Bruce's recording process at the Hit Factory in New York City when he reunited with the E Street Band (including Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt) to make the Greatest Hits album in 1995. New songs from this video also on its CD5 single are: "Blood Brothers", "High Hopes", "Secret Garden", "Murder Inc." and "Without You". There are a few River-period song excerpts, and until the release of the Tracks album and I Wanna Be With You CD5, this was the only place to hear Bruce's ballad, "Back in Your Arms Again." There are peeks at Bruce's handwritten lyrics and scenes showing how Bruce discusses with others fine points such as more "delicacy" or more "drive" from the drums, or strings or no strings on "Secret Garden." Band and crew alike express their feelings about recording with Bruce. Clarence explains where his sound comes from. The recording side of things is explained by Bob Clearmountain, Chuck Plotkin, and other tech guys. The business side is explained by Jon Laundau with a laconic anatomy of the press release. Bruce and band are all very serious and yet casual. They take side trips outside to be photographed, down to a secondhand store, and to Tramps where Jonathan Demme makes a video of "Murder Inc." Inside the studio, there's a birthday party for Clarence, time with the kids, and a happy dancing/singing circle at the end.The front cover of the box shows a relaxed Bruce sitting on the floor of the studio writing. The back cover is a playful shot of the whole band. Photos are by David Rose.

ISBN 1-57330-066-78. [Click here to buy this video]

Bruce Springsteen in Concert: Unplugged [sometimes called Plugged], director Larry Jordan, sound by Toby Scott and Bob Clearmountain. (1992, Columbia, 103 minutes).

This video features the sixteen songs that Bruce and the Human Touch/Lucky Town band played for MTV Unplugged on November 11, 1992. [See our L.A. Brucemap for details of where they played.] Yodels, a display of his naked lady guitar, and stories by Bruce along withvibrant playing by the band make this a good show. The main thing that detracts is the lackluster audience. But if you missed (or miss) the Human Touch/Lucky Town tour, this video is for you! Its unusual arrangements include Bruce singing solo on "Red Headed Woman" and on "The Big Muddy." There are duets by Bruce and Roy Bittan on "Growing Up" and "Thunder Road." Finally, there's the first official recorded performance of "Light of Day," a song that became a linchpin for the 1999 tour concerts by Bruce and the E Street Band. Other songs performed by Bruce and the band for MTV's show are "Better Days," "Local Hero," "Atlantic City," "Darkness," "Man's Job," "Human Touch (with Patti Scialfa on vocals)," "Lucky Town," "I Wish I Were Blind," "Thunder Road," "57 Channels," and as encores, "My Beautiful Reward," and "If I Should Fall Behind." The box's front cover is a collage of two pictures by Neal Preston of Bruce onstage singing intensely and of Bruce smiling while clapping. ISBN 1-56406-162-0.

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Having a Party Live at the Stone Pony, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes (1992 Impact Records, alternated black and white, color, and sepia-toned color shots, 60 minutes).

This is a look at the other Jersey Shore legend, "Southside" Johnny Lyon. This incarnation of the Jukes is powered by Max Weinberg at drums and includes Garry Tallent, Bobby Bandiera (the curly dark-haired guy with guitar), and three of the Miami Horns. The concert was performed September 26, 1991 at the legendary now-boarded-up club after release of John's "Better Days" album. This is your chance to see what the Asbury Park boardwalk and The Stone Pony looked like back then. (Note the famous pony logo behind Max at the drums!) The concert builds to an exciting climax at the end. Jon Bon Jovi duets on "Working Too Hard," followed a few songs later by what Jim Carrey would call a smokin' version of "Fever" and a New Orleans style rock-out on "Shake 'em Down." Even though Bruce is only in the video for the last song when he and Steve Van Zandt join Johnny onstage, this raises the energy on the video even further. The end is also really special because so much is added to the song by seeing as well as hearing these three old friends sing "It's Been a Long Time." Songs featured on the video are: "Better Days," "Coming Back," "Trapped Again," "All the Way Home," "I've Been Working Too Hard," "All Night Long," "Soul's on Fire," "Fever," "I Don't Want to Go Home," "Shake 'em Down," and "It's Been a Long Time."

[This video is currently out of print. Please check our site periodically to see if it has been reissued.]

John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen (1990, CBS Records Inc., 60 minutes).

In addition to concert footage, Bruce talks with John Hammond in this biography of the the Columbia/CBS music producer who helped to launch Bruce's career. Hammond worked with many black musicians ranging from Bessie Smith through Count Basie and Aretha Franklin. His goal was to "break every segregation law that there was." Hammond also worked with folksingers and poets such as Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Allen Ginsberg. He auditioned Bruce, but tells viewers that due to the Springsteen/Appel lawsuit he never produced any other of Bruce's work. The section on Bruce opens with Max's Kansas City in August 1972 and images of Tillie and other landmarks in Asbury Park. Bruce reminiscences with Hammand about such things as when he played "Growing Up" and "Saint in the City" for the audition and about Bruce's answer to Hammond's question about what song he was afraid to record. (The song was "If I Was the Priest.") Clips of Bruce performing include "Prove It All Night," "Thunder Road" (from the MUSE No Nukes concert), and a very young Bruce sitting and singing an acoustic "Growin Up" (footage for this last song is black and white.). There is no video at the end, but Bruce's sings an acoustic "Forever Young" in memorium to John who died in 1987. [Bruce sang this song again at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert in Cleveland, Ohio with Bob Dylan on September 2, 1995. ]

[This video is currently out of print. Please check our site periodically to see if it has been reissued.]

Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology/ 1978-88 (1989, Bruce Springsteen/CBS Records, mostly color and some black and white, 100 minutes).

John Sayles and Brian DePalma are among the various directors of these concert and perfomance videos. The videos range from acoustic solos by Bruce (e.g., "Brilliant Disguise") to complete mini-stories featuring Bruce (e.g., "I'm on Fire") to concert numbers mostly from the Born In the USA and Tunnel of Love tours. "Rosalita" is from the classic 1978 video where three girls jump Bruce. "Fire" is from Neil Young's 1986 Bridge School benefit show, and "Atlantic City" is the only video where Bruce is not seen. The concert videos are sometimes collages from different venues (e.g., "Born to Run"). Other songs feature concert footage with themes interspersed (e.g., "War" with images of Vietnam, and "Tougher Than the Rest" with all kinds of couples). Settings vary from the bars and boardwalks of Asbury Park and other New Jersey towns to arenas in cities like Saint Paul, Minnesota to the great outdoor stadium-sized crowds in Sheffield, England. Bruce gives speeches about war, his "nobody wins unless everybody wins" philosophy, and being torn between desiring individual freedom while also wanting to belong to a community. Videos are in the order recorded. They are: "Rosalita," "The River," "Thunder Road," "Atlantic City," "Dancing in the Dark," "Born in the U.S.A.," "I'm on Fire," "Glory Days," "My Hometown," "War," "Fire," "Born to Run," "Brilliant Disguise," "Tunnel of Love," "One Step Up," "Tougher Than The Rest," "Spare Parts," and "Born to Run (acoustic)." A color cover by Neal Preston of Bruce playing guitar and singing graces the cover of the box.

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Chuck Berry—Hail! Hail! Rock 'N' Roll (1989, Universal Studios, color, 121 minutes). Directed by Taylor Hackford [actress Helen Mirren's partner.]

Bruce appears twice during this video. He tells about playing with Berry on April 28, 1973 when Bruce and the band were in their early twenties, and about how he learned about Berry's songs and what Berry's influence was on his own music. The video sheds light on Berry's performance with Bruce and the E Street Band in 1995 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opening concert. It also illustrates how different Bruce's choices about touring were from Berry's. Over half of the video is Berry playing at his 60th birthday concert celebration at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, a venue which barred him from entrance as a boy. Interwoven with the concert are interviews with Berry, his family, those who worked with him, contemporaries like the Everly Brothers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison, and younger admirers like John Lennon. Berry, Bo Diddley, and Little Richard reminisce about racism, payola, the money they didn't get for their records, and how they felt about Alan Freed, Pat Boone, and Dick Clark. Guests onstage with Berry include Keith Richards (musical director of the video), Linda Ronstadt, Julian Lennon, Robert Cray and Etta James. Berry still has moves at age 60 that make women swoon, and some of which will look familiar to Springsteen fans. This is a must-see for anyone interested in the history of rock and roll. Berry and Richards are like steel and flint together!

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Roy Orbison & Friends (1988 HALT, Inc., 56 minutes, black & white).

This concert was recorded live at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. [See our L.A. Brucemap for the location.] Guests onstage with Roy included Jackson Browne, T-Bone Burnett, Elvis Costello, Steven Soles, J.D. Souther, Tom Waits, and Bruce. Bonnie Raitt, Jennifer Warnes, and K.D. Lang add an angelic trio of backup voices to the event. These three really get into it during "Dream Baby," which Bruce sings parts of along with Roy. Looking like he's having the time of his life, Bruce can be seen playing guitar while standing or sitting on Roy's left throughout most of the film. Bruce sings with Roy on "Dream Baby" and "Uptown." He has a long guitar solo during "Pretty Woman." Elvis Costello entertains with harmonica during "Uptown" and "Candy Man" and on electric organ for "Down the Line." Other songs Roy performs are: "Only the Lonely," "The Comedian," "Ooby Dooby," "Leah," "Running Scared," "In Dreams," "Crying," "Mean Woman Blues," "It's Over," and "Dream You." Bruce, Roy and Elvis Costello are featured on the black and white front and back cover of the box.

ISBN: 1-55803-214-2.

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A Vision Shared: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly narrated by Robbie Robertson (1988, CBS Records, 72 minutes).

Bruce sings intense versions of "Vigilante Man" and "I Ain't Got No Home." Both of these songs are performed with no audience present and the camera close-up on Bruce's face. On "Vigilante Man," Guthrie's song about farmworkers' run-ins with lawmen, Bruce is accompanied by the (BIUSA-period sans Danny) E Street Band. "I Ain't Got No Home", Guthrie's song about homelessness during the 1930's Depression, features just Bruce, Roy Bittan (on accordion), Patti Scialfa (vocals), and Nils Lofgren (guitar). Bruce appears solo at the end singing parts of "This Land is Your Land." Bruce gives opinions on what Woody Guthrie was about at the beginning of the video and after singing "Vigilante Man." Following "Ain't Got No Home," Bruce tells what this song means to him. Other musicians featured in this video are: Emmy Lou Harris, Taj Mahal, Sweet Honey and the Rock with Bernice Reagon, John Mellancamp, Little Richard, Willy Nelson, Bob Dylan [voice and photos only], Pete Seegar and Arlo Guthrie, Woody's son. The video is based on the Columbia record, "Folkways: A Vision Shared." Proceeds go to the Smithsonian Institute for support of the Woody Guthrie Archives and maintaining the recordings by Guthrie and Leadbelly that are in the Folkways Collection.

[ This video is out of print. Please check our site periodically to see if it has been reissued. ]

No Nukes: The Muse Concert (1985 CBS/Fox, 103 minutes).

In 1985 Bruce joined other musicians in making the "We are the World" benefit video/recording. In 1985 he and the E Street Band also performed when MUSE (Musicians for Safe Energy) put on five nights of benefit concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. This video includes three of the songs Bruce and the band played: "Thunder Road," "The River," and "Quarter to Three." Other artists on the video are James Taylor and Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt, John Hall, David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, Gil Scott-Heron, Stephen Stills, Phoebe Snow, Joy Ryder, Avis Davis, and Jesse Colin Young. The video features clips of the musicians backstage, planning the show and the rally at Battery Park or at press conferences. There is also discussion about nuclear energy, clips of nuclear blasts, and speeches by celebrities like Ralph Nader, Jane Fonda, and Maggie Kuhn. After an opening shot of Bruce greeting Jackson Browne's son, Bruce is only seen onstage doing his songs. The performance is Bruce at his wildest, shirt hanging open, fainting, protesting he's thirty and too old to go on rocking like he does, and playing the piano with his head and foot. He literally shows that there is a better kind of energy to power the world with than nuclear. Illustrating how much his presence meant to the MUSE effort, the main cover picture on the box shows Bruce playing guitar.

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