Chimes of Freedom [EP]

Performer: Bruce Springsteen
Engineer: Toby Scott
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Bruce Springsteen (vocals, guitar); Nils Lofgren, Patti Scialfa (guitar, background vocals); Clarence Clemons (saxophone, percussion); Roy Bittan (piano, synthesizer); Danny Federici (organ, synthesizer); Garry Tallent (bass); Max Weinberg (drums). Additional personnel: Mario Cruz (tenor saxophone); Eddie Manion (baritone saxophone); Mark Pender, Michael Spengler (trumpet); Richard Rosenberg (trombone). Producers: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau, Chuck Plotkin. Recorded live at the L.A. Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California on April 27, 1988; The Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan on March 28, 1988; Stockholm, Sweden on July 3, 1988. Digitally remastered by Bob Ludwig and Brian Lee (Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, Maine). This four-song live EP presents Springsteen in post-world-conquering mode. The Boss had already retreated from the grandeur of BORN IN THE U.S.A. with the more understated, personal TUNNEL OF LOVE. The aesthetic of the latter is represented by the opening cut "Tougher Than the Rest," a declaration of Bruce's willingness to put his nose to the relationship grindstone. The debt to Bob Dylan that was owed since Bruce's very first album is paid off with this disc's centerpiece, a stately, passionate rendition of Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom," which gains in patriotic significance due its performance just before the 4th of July 1988. Conversely, the usually majestic "Born to Run" is presented here in a low-key, solo acoustic version that wouldn't have sounded out of place on NEBRASKA. With songs representative of the different periods in Springsteen's development, CHIMES OF FREEDOM is a snapshot that captures a vital and intriguing moment in the Boss's career.

Bruce Springsteen came out of New Jersey in the early 1970s sounding like a cross between Bob Dylan and early Tom Waits, backed by the rambunctious E Street Band. After toughening up his sound, Springsteen created his 1975 masterpiece, BORN TO RUN, which garnered critical acclaim for its blend of Spectorian grandeur and street poetry. Nine years later, BORN IN THE U.S.A. made him a worldwide superstar with its beefed-up stadium-rock sound. Along the way, he's produced such low-key acoustic-based milestones as NEBRASKA and THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD, never losing the blue-collar ethos that is central to his vision. His 2002 album, THE RISING, is considered one of the finest artistic responses to the 9/11tragedy produced in the event's immediate aftermath.

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