Categories : Folk + Roots, Music Reviews.
 |
Rating: 4/5 Released: June 5, 2007 Reviewer: David Coats |
In the liner notes of his acclaimed 2006 release We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Bruce Springsteen writes about ‘Mrs. McGrath,’ It was “strongly associated with the Irish Republicans and the Easter Rising of 1916, this antiwar ballad was first published in 1815 as a Dublin broadside.†Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that he chose Dublin in which to record the companion Seeger Sessions live record.
Recorded over three nights in November 2006 (as usual with cherry-picked live releases, any between-song banter is left out), the two-CD-one-DVD package contains all but three of the Seeger Sessions songs, in addition to a litany of reworked Springsteen classics, all played before a fanatically appreciative audience, who continue singing the chorus of ‘Pay Me My Money Down’ long after the band walks offstage as though a football riot were going to break out – the studio versions don’t do justice to how communal these songs are. The musicianship from the 17-member band is tremendous, and the jam-session, three solos on three different instruments in every song performance exudes sheer joy in simply making music.
Opening with what should be considered the definitive version of ‘Atlantic City,’ and including the raise-your-glass, Celtic-inspired ‘American Land,’ and a touching duet between Springsteen and wife/guitarist Patti Scialfa of ‘If I Should Fall Behind,’ Springsteen’s ability with arrangements is almost second to none. Though the band throws everything at the audience over these two-and-a-half hours, just when things seem to start dragging a little, the band vibrantly explodes into ‘Open All Night,’ the infectious enthusiasm of which is the turning point of the set.
Considering the Seeger project has now resulted in the release of a studio album, a reissue of that album, and now a live album, one hopes that Springsteen won’t rest on his laurels, but even for an artist such as The Boss, projects like this don’t come along often, and Live In Dublin is a wonderful celebration of it.
or 
