Roll Yer Tapes: Stockholm Night, 7/3/1988

Listen to more Bruce Springsteen at Wolfgang’s Vault.

1988’s Tunnel of Love Express Tour found Springsteen in a state of transition.

Coming off the blockbuster success of the Born in the USA album and tour, having cranked out a boxed set that sold millions of copies, and struggling through the disintegration of an ill-advised marriage, Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love album congeals these disparate threads into a cohesive statement about the unexpected twists and dark turns that are possible within the boundaries of our romantic relationships. More than just a carnival ride, Springsteen’s vision of romantic love is a house of mirrors, where you can’t even trust what you see of yourself.

To tour behind that album, recorded with the help of only a handful of E Streeters and session players, Springsteen must have been at least a bit reluctant to reconvene the full classic band lineup and hit the road for the same kind of shows that supported past records. Yet convene the band he did, along with a full horn section, to craft an evening of music that rocked just as hard as any that had come before, but brought a new thematic cohesion to his songs, continuing to explore the fertile territory of human connections that had proved so compelling on the Tunnel of Love record.

The existing bootlegs from July 3, 1988 rely upon an FM broadcast of the first portion of the show, paired in some cases with audience tapes of the rest of the concert. With crisp and crunchy sound, the FM broadcast is a revelation if you’re the kind of fan who prefers to mine the fertle territory of boots from the “classic” E Street era between 1978 and 1985.

This particular cut — Jesus, what a cut — spotlights the Miami Horns as the band tears through a cover of John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom.” Often slotted into the number two spot each evening, it sets a powerful tone of need, lust, and desire, a driving force that moves the listener unwittingly into the heart of Springsteen’s themes, a space where wanting can only lead to getting what you need if you are willing to pay the price.

If you don’t have this boot, you’re in luck, as Wolfgang’s Vault has the entire FM broadcast portion of the show streaming for free on their site. If you really want the boot, shit, you know where to look.