Rating: 
Summary: AM Radio is Better
Review: The worst sounding recording I have ever heard. I have some old recordings of Robert Johnson from the 30's that sound better. The audio techs on this one were out to lunch. Now I know why the DVD was so cheap. At 13.99, I got robbed.
Rating: 
Summary: The DVD Fans Have Been Waiting For.
Review: For as longs as I have been a Springsteen fan (some 20+ years), I have always been craving for Bruce to release a full concert performance. Although the release of "Live in New York City" came close to fulfilling the wish, the DVD was still not the full concert experience.With this new release Springsteen finally comes through and releases a full unmodified concert--warts and all. And what a concert it is. The energy, the enthusiasm, the focus, and all the other "elements" of a Springsteen concert are in full force on this 2 1/2 hour, 2 disc DVD set. From the first notes of "The Rising" to the final encore of "Thunder Road," Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band power through an impressive set list and maintain an intestity unequaled in today's rock concerts. If you haven't experienced Bruce in concert, this is as close as you can get it. But it isn't all perfection either, Springsteen even allows his onstage "mistakes" to make there way onto this set, creating an even more intimate and live concert experience. Bravo for letting the show stand on its own without having to modify in the cutting room. The video is once again directed by "Live in New York City's" Chris Hilson, who manages to pefectly capture Springsteen's performance. Unlike a lot of video concerts, Hilson lets the songs (and the performance) guide the cutting and camera choices. Though I found some of the editing and camera choices to be lacking on a few of the songs, overall this is a surprisingly well done production. The PCM audio is somewhat bland while the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio really opens up and provides the full sound of the band while not minimizing the audience's participation. If you don't have a 5.1 decoder, chances are you'll find the audio more than lacking. Aside from the concert video, there is an all to brief documentary "Drop The Needle and Pray" that offers snippets of interviews with the band and a bevy of video clips. [Side note here: Why do all the documentaries included on DVDs always contain mostly clips of the film/video you just watched? If I just watched the movie, I don't want to see a whole host of scenes and moments repeated ad naseum just to fill out a running time!] There is also a montage of concert highlights accompanied by the band's rendition of "Diddy Wah Diddy". The extras are nice, but nothing to rave about. All in all, this is an excellent DVD. However, the 4 star ratings is due to the enourmous amount of complaints about the second disc being defective. I have 4 players at my home (1 professional and 3 cheapos) and the disc plays on only half the players. Sony has a lot of explaining to do on this one. So if you do get this set, be prepared to have the second disc not work in your player. (Perhaps a more apt title for the disc would have been "Drop The Laser and Pray"?)
Rating: 
Summary: Majestic...
Review: Don't believe a word about Springsteen in Europe being somehow less inspired than Springsteen in the USA. As Little Steven has pointed out, the intensity and appreciation of audiences in Europe took the band by surprise. And along with the Italians, the Spanish are the most fanatical of the lot. This shows in this DVD, where the audience actually become a part of the experience, to Bruces evident delight. It's one of the best music DVDs I've seen, by Springsteen or anyone. The greatest live band there has ever been, caught on a great night. Buy it now.
Rating: 
Summary: UNINSPIRED - BRUCE- Born In the USA ? Why BARCELONA ?
Review: As a SPRINGSTEEN Concert goer and fan since his days of playing the Stone Pony. I have to say this is one of the most UNINSPIRED
BRUCE concerts ever on tape or record. Funny, for someone who sings "Born in the USA" he would choose a concert from of all places, BARCELONA,SPAIN ! What's worse is there is a tease of his concerts in Fenway Park ,BOSTON on the DVD. That small bit of footage is better than the entire BARCELONA concert.
At least it shows an inspired BRUCE having fun. Instead of just going through the motions for an audience who doesn't appreciate him the way those of us BORN IN THE USA do ! Think about it, for what audience do you think BRUCE is more pumped up for ?
Barcelona, Spain , Or Fenway Park, Boston in October!
The SOUND on this DVD is also not that great. Why is it concert DVDs ,never have closed captions or subtitles? It would be fun
to do a Karaoke like sing-along if the dvd had subtitles or closed captions. Also since BRUCE speaks Spanish alot during this concert,and this DVD will probably be relased in foreign countries, it gives another reason for the use of subtitles.
The set list is disorganized ,but has some gems. If you like BRUCE unplugged, alone at the piano, Then you will enjoy disk two. Oh yes,DISK Two is defective. I had to press STOP and PLAY
just to start it. I was Unable to use the MENU on disk two to get to the sound options or set playlist.
Rating:
Summary: Manufacturing Defect on 2nd Disc
Review: The music is great of course and the 1st disc was good. I concur with many of the other reviews for the music. The manufacturing defect and customer service from SONY is complete crap. This is unaceptable. It's obvious they don't care one bit about customer service, otherwise they would do a better job.
Rating:
Summary: Abolutely STUNNING !
Review: First of all, my disc #2 is fine.This is a real treat. Filmed and presented in anamorphic widescreen(16x9), the picture quality, when displayed correctly,is crisp and sharp. Forget about what this looked like in the CBS special.The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or PCM digital.It's the sheer joy of the band interacting with an INCREDIBLE crowd that makes this one of the best shows of the tour. Turn it up, turn it up, turn it up, turn it up........Five stars.
Rating:
Summary: "Are you ready!!"...YES I'AM READY!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Bootleg quality?...2nd disc doesn't work correctly?. I'm sorry for the latter, but for the person who said this is of bootleg quality must be just trying to plant some bad press.This concert DVD captures all the excitment and raw emotion of any dozen or more Springsteen shows I've been to.The quality is so good you feel that you can almost touch Bruce's guitar. This Barcelona crowd is so pumped up that it seems that it's the last show they will ever see. The band delivers, Bruce delivers and this disc delivers a complete Bruce show from beginning to the end of pure Rock n Roll bliss.
Rating: 
Summary: Great concert, crap DVD
Review: Many reviewers are right - it's a fantastic concert. Bruce and co really gave it their all. The first disc is great. The second disc, however, is where the problem is. The menu function doesn't work, so you can't access the special features. I will return my copy to the shop, and wait for the second, proper, batch, if Sony ever wakes up and does something about it.
Rating:
Summary: Springsteen delivers...Sony does not.
Review: Great performer, great band, great songs, great show. What more could a fan ask for? How about some QUALITY CONTROL? When I purchased "The Essential Bruce Springsteen" CD, I had to go through three editions before I found one that would play properly. Now, with this DVD, the second disc's menu is nonfunctional. I called Sony, and was told that they have had many complaints regarding the second disc. What are they going to do about it? Why, send me a return mailer so I can send them the defective edition, after which they will send me a new, hopefully defect-free copy. Turnaround time for this whole process will be approximately three weeks. Oh, I almost forgot. Sony said if I don't hear from them in a week to call them back. Nice.
Hey Bruce...if you're listening, how about sending Jon Landeau over to Sony to check out how they're handling your product?
Rating:
Summary: I thought this guy was a freak for quality control
Review: As with most recent Springsteen products, the quality control seems to have gone out the window. The special features simply don't work on a lot of DVD players, and you must order a "replacement" disc, to be sent to you only after you return the defective disks. Just as the liner notes for Tracks and Essential were chock full of erros and typos, so too does this leave a lot to be desired. If you can get it to work, however, it's a great show.
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