Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

★★★★

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts COLUMBIA. CD+DVD/DL/LP

Madison Square Garden gigs’ soundtrack and film.

Both Bruce Springsteen sets from the 1979 New York MUSE Concerts For A Non-Nuclear Future were made available via the Springsteen Live Archive in December 2018. So even the devoted may wonder why, aside from spiffy artwork and a Bob Clearmountain remix, should they shell out again for a 13-track compilation from the same shows? The obvious answer lies amid the folds of Clarence Clemons’ crimson suit: the CD package offers a high-quality 90-minute concert film, 10 of its 13 songs never previously seen. With his band ablaze, Springsteen carries the wired look of a man who’s spent the previous six months making what would be his first Number 1 record, and the live debut of The River is one of many highlights, though some occasional surly stage chat also betrays unease with his situation. It’s a vivid glimpse of a phenomenon on the cusp of mega-fame. Keith Cameron