Bruce Springsteen - vocals, guitar; Roy Bittan - piano; Clarence Clemons - saxophone; Danny Federici - organ; Patty Scialfa - vocals, guitar; Garry Tallent - bass; Nils Lofgren - guitar; Max Weinberg - drums; Richie La Bamba Rosenberg - trombone; Mark Pender - trumpet; Ed Manion - saxophone
Taped during the Tunnel of Love Express Tour, this show was historic for a number of reasons. For one, the first half of the show only was broadcast worldwide on FM radio (in America, it was heard via the King Biscuit Flower Hour); it would also mark the first time since Springsteen's '78 Darkness On The Edge of Town tour that he would participate in a global simulcast. In addition, it was the last tour that Springsteen would play with his legendary E Street Band for nearly a decade.
Recorded in Stockholm, Sweden (a Springsteen stronghold of hardcore fans), this concert is a great testament to Bruce's popularity on an international level. Interesting to note is the contribution of Patty Scialfa, the back-up singer and future Mrs. Bruce Springsteen. Also, for this tour only, the E Street Band was augmented by the Miami Horns, who also worked with Springsteen when the E Street Band reunited 12 years later.
Opening with "Tunnel Of Love," his current single, and then going into "Boom Boom," Springsteen used the worldwide broadcast to not only promote his current album but also to plug Amnesty International, whose benefit tour he would undertake with Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Tracy Chapman as soon as this run of shows was over. He plays several other landmark Springsteen songs, but because only the first half of the show was broadcast, many of his most dramatic and powerful tunes are missing from this set list.
Among the highlights are "Adam Raised A Cain," "The River," "Cover Me," "Brilliant Disguise," "Tougher Than The Rest," and "Born In The U.S.A.," which continues the obligatory Springsteen monologue and comes in at over 12-minutes. He also closes the broadcast with a couple of relevant covers: "War," a remake of Edwin Starr's 1968 anti-Vietnam War epic, and Bob Dylan's poignant protest anthem, "Chimes Of Freedom."