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Bruce Springsteen has officially released his 1978 performance at Los Angeles’ Roxy, one day shy of the 40th anniversary of the legendary gig.
While the June 7th, 1978 concert was widely bootlegged due to its broadcast live on KMET-FM Los Angeles, The Roxy West Hollywood, CA has been newly mixed and mastered as part of Springsteen’s ongoing archival live series.
Seven songs were previously released as part of Springsteen’s massive Live 1975-1985, butThe Roxy West Hollywood, CA marks the first time the four-hour concert is available in its entirety.
Highlights from the show include the live debuts of “Point Blank” and a piano rendition of “Independence Day,” covers of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On” and Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and the complete version of “Backstreets” containing the “Sad Eyes” interlude; Live 1975-1985 edited that portion out.
Springsteen’s Roxy gig – to an intimate, 500-person audience, compared to his sold-out Los Angeles Forum concert days earlier – is the centerpiece of Rolling Stone‘s 1978 cover story about Springsteen on his tour in support of Darkness on the Edge of Town.
“Having decided to play a special show, Springsteen goes out of his way. He dances on the tabletops, and the crowd leaps to grab him. He adds ‘Candy’s Room,’ one of theDarknesssongs heneverperforms, and halfway through the first set, he introduces a ‘new song that I wrote right after I finishedDarkness.It’s called ‘Point Blank,’ and it’s about being trapped,’” Dave Marsh wrote of the Roxy show in the cover story.
“Los Angeles Timesrock critic Robert Hilburn is at a loss for words. ‘How do I come back and review this show,’ he says despairingly, ‘after I just said that the Forum was one of the best events ever in Los Angeles? Who’s gonna believe me?’ Maybe, I can only suggest, that is everybody else’s problem.”
