Bruce Springsteen Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC January 16, 1985 (Recorder 1) (DS Archives Volume 46) Transfer: Low Gen DS Archives > Nakamichi DR-01 (azimuth Adjusted) > Sound Devices USPre2 > Auadacity > iZotope RX / ozone 5 (mastered) > Peak Pro 6 (post-production) > xACT > FLAC 01 Born In The USA 02 Badlands 03 Darlington County 04 Johnny 99 05 Darkness On The Edge Of Town 06 Reason To Believe 07 Shut Out The Light 08 Johnny Bye-Bye 09 Out in The Street 10 Glory Days 11 The Promised Land 12 My Hometown 13 Prove It All Night 14 Thunder Road 15 Cover Me 16 Dancing In The Dark 17 Hungry Heart 18 Cadillac Ranch 19 No Surrender 20 I’m On Fire 21 Growin’ Up 22 Bobby Jean 23 Racing In The Street 24 Can’t Help Falling In Love 25 Born To Run 26 Detroit Medley > 27 Travellin' Band 28 Twist And Shout > 29 Do You Love Me 30 Ramrod Known Faults: -None How lucky were Carolinian Springsteen fans in January, 1985? That month, Springsteen played five shows in seven nights in three cities. And if you couldn’t make it to any, the recordings, while not plentiful, are certainly good. In fact, they're great: Tape Man Joe’s capture of the first night in Charlotte comes to mind as part of the excellent series of Tape Man Joe Master tapes, so wonderfully managed and presented by G and Buckshot, as does the upgrade he gifted us of the gig in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 13. It takes dedication and perseverance to manage a master series and stick with it show after show; we are certainly honored to continually be given these wonderful gifts. Thanks to the DS Archives, the gift that keeps on giving, we are pleased to present a big upgrade to January 16's Recorder 1, previously released as "Charlotte '85." That release, suffering from a high-generation transfer, is average at best and is not one that elicits repeat listens. Springsteen sounds a bit strained at the beginning of Charlotte 2, which seems to result in him driving the band a bit harder, as if to pivot; though we didn’t time it, “Born in the U.S.A.” sounds longer, like they just cruised right on by the off-ramp — and floored it. If a longer outro is what the moment called for, we're in. Despite Brucemania nearing full swing, the music is still front-and-center. Especially on nights like this, where Springsteen changed the set to accommodate himself and repeat customers, one could be in for a real treat. After swapping in “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” Springsteen sets up a mid-set trio of “Reason to Believe,” “Shut Out the Light,” and “Johnny Bye Bye.” Whether by sonics, narratives, or introductions, Springsteen maximizes the utility of his contemporary catalog — even its unreleased parts: “Johnny Bye Bye” wasn’t released until February (as the B-side to “I’m On Fire”). Not what you were expecting after People magazine, right? In the second set, things are a little less static, though not without changes from the first night, including “Growin’ Up,” the acoustic “No Surrender,” and “Ramrod” as the final number. By this point, “Racing in the Street” had established itself in relief of “Rosalita,” and how: with its spoken-word wraparound and monumental outro, it sounds positively grand. This upgrade is night and day compared to "Charlotte '85." It's a low-generation transfer and gives this source new life. Whereas the previous release gives the impression the taper was quite far from the stage, this new transfer places them much closer to the action. I would not say it's an upgrade to Tape Man Joe's excellent master, but it gives us another highly-listenable perspective on this fine performance. I can't say enough how thankful we are to Scrips for allowing the presentation of his deep archives for all to enjoy. I'd also like to give another shout out to Tape Man Joe, Buckshot and G for continuing to gift us with excellent releases, one after another, a real service to us all. And last but not least, slipkid68 supports with outstanding performance notes, taking us right into the action before the first note gets played. Artwork included. mjk5510 for DS Archives