Rating: 
Summary: The Boss Proves it All Night
Review: It has never been a better time to be a Springsteen fan, with loads of material old and new coming along in the form of a new album, multiple tour dates, and a host of other activity. There have also been two live DVDs, which is perhaps the most enjoyable of all. The first, "Live in New York City" was fantastic, and this new one, "Live In Barcelona", provides Springsteen fans with a show from "The Rising Tour". It has more than it's share of classic moments, but with a few downsides that might turn some off. Read on...Stating the obvious, you get your money's worth. The concert is 2.5 hours, and filled with a wealth of material old and new. The show was recorded in Barcelona in front of a loud and ravenous crowd who knew all the words to every song, and were not above jumping up and down during the best songs. Highlights from "The Rising" include the title track (which opened the show), "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" (which saw a huge audience sing-along and Bruce do his famous slide), and the gorgeous "Countin' on a Miracle". But the biggest cheers were saved for the classics, and they were well spread across Bruce's career. There was "Darkness on the Edge of Town", "Badlands", Thunderoad", and the requisite "Born in the U.S.A." and a rocky version of "Dancing in the Dark". Disappointingly absent were stapled "Jungleland", "The River", "Out in the Street", and "Rosilita". But who can complain with all the good songs that did make it? The concert transfer is, however, a hit and miss affair. On one hand, the concert was well shot and edited, though not as well as "Live in New York". But as one reviewer said, the sound quality is abysmal at times. It gets tinny and harsh, and there are times when the instruments and crowd noise overrides the vocals. Most Springsteen fans know all songs by heart, so this might not be the biggest inconvenience. One way around this is to choose "Dolby Surround" in the Audio Setup menu, which helps relieve the problem somewhat. Another letdown is the bonus documentary "Drop the Needle and Pray", which clocks in at less than 9 minutes and acts as merely a teaser. It is very similar to the "New York City Serenade" doc found on the "Live in New York City" DVD. There are no other extras, which is a bit of a letdown. All said, it is still great to have a concert from "The Rising" tour on DVD, since the new songs sound excellent and mix well with the old material. And with only a few repeated songs from "Live in New York City", it is good to own alongside the other DVD. I would highly recommend it, despite a few drawbacks.
Rating:
Summary: What time is it? It's Boss time
Review: Even though I'm not into buying concert DVDs, I bought this because I've always wanted to see Springsteen in concert but never have. There are a lot of great moments on this, especially "Empty Sky"(about the world trade center disaster), the emotion he shows on that one song alone makes this DVD worth watching. A very somber moment in the show definitely. Another is the what I call the follow-the-leader moment in "Ramrod" where the band follows him marching along the front of the stage inches away from the fans. There's no doubt he loves to play for audiences around the world. It was also amusing to watch him forget the words to "Spirit In The Night" while on the piano and grinning and saying "uno momento." The sound is not too good on some songs but I wouldn't let that stop me from buying this DVD. Could've used more bonus features.
Rating: 
Summary: Concert Turned into a Shouting Extravaganza
Review: If I were the engineer or editor, I will be too embarassed to have my name down on the cover of the DVD. It is so badly mixed you can hardly hear performance, making it worse by the unrelentless noise from the overly enthusiatic crowd. At one point, Bruce have to hush them before playing his harmonica in Thunder Road. Bruce does not deserve such a shoddy production. Unless you need a momento for your attendance at the concert, this is not fit for viewing
Rating: 
Summary: The boss is the boss and you can see it here
Review: Well it's true that the sound is not as good as we want but I was there and this is the best boss concert that I ever seen, and I see quite a lot, in spain, in france, in italy. well i want to tell you something that can't be felt on the dvd of this fantastic concert, the last night in paris he finish with land of hope and dreams, the last night that he plays in barcelona he finish with land of hope and dreams, so this night he is going to finish with land of hope and dreams but, someone during the concert cryes two times thunderoad, the second one the boss says staring to part from which the cry had come "ya veremos", at the finish of land of hope and dreams all the people in the VIP zone was crying thunder road thunder road and he seems no hear us, seen to the wide arena (i now that in other arena parts people cryes bruce bruce!!! but not in front of him) but before he goes we could read in his lips thunder road, and if Jesus walks over the water, the boss walks among us, and says ssssshhhhhhhh', here you have the reason of his ssshhhhhhhhh' and not another one, I be there and was awesome.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING !!!!!
Review: This DVD is absolutely amazing. The show is terrific, and only an idiot could say that "I would have opted for a show played in front of an English speaking audience". It is well known for everyone that the Italian and Spanish fans are among the best around the world, even better than an American crowd (needless to say than the English). So what? Isn't music language universal? I remember when Bruce opened his World Tour after the Tracks box set. It was April 9th, 1999 in Barcelona. Chance? No way. And there were people from all over the world in Palau Sant Jordi. CNN TV channel was there. I was there too!
The first time Bruce releases a complete show, and the one in Barcelona is a very good choice. Remember it was already on MTV European TV. Where are you going to find Bruce alone playing "Spirits in the Night" on the piano, and guessing the lyrics, eh? And where would you find Bruce giving an extra bis after "Land of Hope and Dreams"? And this is "Thunder Road"!!! And have you seen his face, always giving everything (crying, smiling, laughing!)?
Don't waste your time reading this and just buy the DVD right away!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Bruce fans must have a very short attention span
Review: The performance is great. Springsteen is the ultimate performer. You couldn't ask for a better setlist or show. The bad thing about this dvd is the editing. The camera does not stay in one place for more than 1 to 3 seconds. It jumps all over the place, literally hundreds of times in a song. When you realise this - it detracts from the enjoyment of the show. It is incredible how distracting and annoying this can be. This set is worth buying even as a 2 cd set just for listening. AS FAR AS THE 2ND DISC NOT WORKING: Yes, on my copy the menu can not be accessed BUT if you simply hit play you can access all the songs AND ALL THE BONUS FEATURES. To access the 2 bonus mini-documentaries simply advance by chapters to the end, then push play when you can go no further. It's not worth sending the discs back just to access the menu.
Rating:
Summary: This is what it's like to be at a Bruce stadium show
Review: . . . or as close as you can get on dvd. If you want to show somebody who's never been to one what a Bruce stadium show is like -- what it's actually like to be there -- you cannot ask for better than this. I was at two of the Giants Stadium shows in the summer of 2003, and apart from the occasional references to Barcelona and some passing Spanish, it would be hard to tell this show from one in New Jersey. Except, perhaps, that the overall quality of the performance does not flag for one moment from start to finish. Play "Badlands", the big sing-along number, for the initiate, which is followed immediately by "She's The One" with the ferocious backbeat. Then play BTR, with the awesome reverse pan over the crowd. The Boss will have a new fan for sure. As for the sound: who are the critics kidding? The sound at stadium shows is univerally atrocious. The sound here is pretty good by comparison, imo. No mushy booming bass. Voices that can actually be heard and, for the most part, understood. The only Bruce show I ever saw with decent sound was at the Meadowlands in 1980, when he opened the arena (literally), during the River tour. You can get a sense of it on the Live! 3-disc album, especially the River and Independence Day. At Giants stadium, by contrast, if you sat far enough back, there was an appreciable delay between the time you saw a motion on stage or the big screen and the time you heard it (that old bugaboo physics, light moves faster than sound); and if you didn't already know the words, you'd have been lost. The sound on this dvd is far superior to any outdoor Bruce stadium show I've ever seen. This Barcelona show was so good, it's making me almost like most of the Rising songs. I wish it had Sandy or Jungleland or Rosie like the Giants Stadium show I saw last July, but it's pretty good anyhow.
Rating:
Summary: Please release an old concert from the 70s
Review: Horrible production on this one, and let's face it, he's getting old. There must be some high quality 70s concert footage they can release on DVD. I would like to see Bruce in his prime rather than an overweight lethargic Bruce.
Rating:
Summary: Positives outweigh Negative
Review: On the postive side -- the only place to get great live renditions of most of the songs from The Rising; excellent video work capturing an exurberant performance by both the band and the crowd; and a good collection of reliable standards. On the negative side -- a surprising poor audio track for most of the vocals; don't they have decent mics in Spain?? Overall I'm very happy with this DVD and haven't come close to getting bored after 3 viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Incredible
Review: My husband received this DVD for Christmas and I believe it to be absolutely incredible. I have read the reviews after the fact and believe the crowd and their enthusiasm make it so incredible (despite what people say) to watch. It's like being in Spain without paying for the plane ticket there. Another reason I like it is because my thirteen-month-old son is addicted to the DVD. He crawls (not walking, yet) into the room, pulls himself up to the TV, tries to turn it on and then starts dancing with the biggest smile on his face. My mom says she has never seen anything like it. He starts hearing Bruce and he tries to sing along. When we turn it off for supper or for bath-time, he gets very upset!! Despite what people have said here, I do believe The Boss is one babysitter I don't mind having around for awhile. Buy the DVD, especially if you have a young one who loves music.
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