Springsteen looking at archival releases

Bruce Springsteen may be considering releasing more concerts from the archives. While talking about last year's Born To Run reissue, which came with a DVD of Springsteen and the E Street Band's November 18th, 1975, concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, Springsteen's long-time manager Jon Landau was asked by the Australian website timeoff.com.au if the rumors about a DVD from the Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour were true. Landau didn't confirm that story, but he did say, "We have been paying more attention to the video archives. I think we're now on a track where, in between releases, we're going to find more and more ways of releasing stuff of Bruce's. We should get a lot of stuff out. I think 25 years ago, we were sort of the opposite. Unless it was perfect and met certain criteria, (Bruce) didn't want anybody to hear it. Now, it's just so much more relaxed."

There's also been talk of a new E Street Band album, and according to Landau, it might not take all that long to record. The manager said, "I think Bruce, in the last eight to 10 years, has gotten more comfortable with finishing things. It's a less a tortuous process than it once was... The old days of two-year albums -- well, we look back on that sometimes and laugh trying to remember exactly what took two years!"

One thing that was shot down in the interview was the release of the "electric" version of Springsteen's Nebraska album. Full-band recordings were made before it was decided to just release the acoustic demos, and Landau said, "Before Bruce made the decision to put out the Nebraska sessions as-is, we sort of looked at the possibility of it as a blueprint for a studio album. We spent a certain amount of time in the studio recording band versions of a few of the songs... In my judgment... the right version of Nebraska came out... I'd go slow with that idea."

The Boss will return to Europe in the fall with his Seeger Sessions Band. It's unknown whether they'll do any more North American shows this year.
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