WASHINGTON — Thursday is legendary rocker Bruce Springsteen's 72nd birthday, and to mark the occasion, The Boss announced plans for the release of a movie and album of previously unheard live recordings from The E Street Band's 1979 "No Nukes" shows at Madison Square Garden.
According to an interview with Rolling Stone, Springsteen "had some voodoo thing" about having shows recorded. The multi-day performance at the Garden was one of the rare exceptions to Springsteen's rule. While three tracks from the band's sets did end up in the 1980 concert film "No Nukes," the rest of the recordings have been almost entirely unseen.
"The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" will be released digitally on Nov. 16, and physically on Nov. 19. on CD, DVD, Blu Ray and LP.
The 1979 shows were a response at the time by Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) to the disaster at Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. MUSE is an organization founded by Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Graham Nash and John Hall, with the mission of finding alternatives to nuclear energy.
The sets include songs that Springsteen hadn't yet released at the time, including "The River" and "Sherry Darling," as well as a version of Maurice Williams’ “Stay,” featuring Jackson Browne, Tom Petty and Rosemary Butler.
After seeing the recordings more than four decades later, Springsteen told Rolling Stone that he wished he had allowed more tapings of his shows. "It was a mistake," he told the publication. "It was just a young, youthful, insecure, mistake at the time. I wish we’d filmed at least every tour we’d done once."
More information about the project, including the full setlist can be found on Bruce Springsteen's website.
