Bruce Springsteen
Alexander Hall
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
October 12, 1974
Late Show
(Joe Kivak Master Tapes via JEMS)

JEMS 2023 Transfer: Joe Kivak Master Cassettes > Nakamichi RX-505 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.1 capture > iZotope RX > iZotope RX8 Advanced and Ozone 9 > MBIT+ resample to 16/44.1 > xACT 2.50 > FLAC

01 Intro and Tuning
02 Incident On 57th Street
03 Spirt In The Night
04 Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?
05 The E Street Shuffle > Having A Party
06 It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City
07 Lost In The Flood
08 She's The One
09 Jungleland
10 Kitty's Back
11 New York City Serenade
12 Tuning and Dialogue (NEW TO THIS RELEASE)
13 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
14 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
15 A Love So Fine

Known Faults: (Same issues as previous releases but this the first time all are listed)
-Spirit In The Night: two splices (almost seamless, very little music missing)
-Lost In The Flood: missing a few notes at the start (seamless)
-Kitty�s Back: splice
-Sandy and A Love So Fine: some tape instability, this is now a major improvement over
previous releases

The fourth installment from the master tapes of Joe Kivak takes us back to an electrifying performance by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on October 12, 1974, in Princeton, New Jersey. While Joe�s recording has circulated, this file set presents a transfer directly from Joe�s cassette tapes, judicious 2024 mastering, and pitch correction. More about that in a moment.

Let us first acknowledge a half-century of Joe Kivak recordings. Joe was unquestionably the first serious and committed taper of Springsteen concerts, with dozens, even hundreds, of dates under his belt. His efforts in 1974 merit special attention, as they provide essential documentation prior to the Born to Run era.

Previous volumes include restorations of Kivak captures from New York�s Bottom Line (July 13), Avery Fisher Hall (October 4), and Trenton (November 29). Joe�s dedication not only preserves these concerts but also deepens our understanding of Springsteen�s evolution as a recording artist and live performer.

The late show from October 12 at Princeton University�s Alexander Hall is another helping of audio goodness, featuring pianist Roy Bittan and drummer Max Weinberg, who joined in August and made their stage debuts in September. (Violinist Suki Lahav had begun her five-month residency, giving this era a distinct sound and tone.)

Playback reveals a somewhat relaxed set, as Bruce and the band quickly cover a rare miscue in �Spirit in the Night,� and the lead-up to �E Street Shuffle� sounds like a postcard from the scenic route. But �Saint in the City� is a blast, especially the rave-up outro; intricacy carries over to the intro to the next track, �Lost in the Flood.� As for new compositions, Springsteen is still working out �She�s the One� and �Jungleland,� beta versions that approximate ones he�d commit to tape for Born to Run and offer a fascinating glimpse into Springsteen�s creative process as he prepared for his make-or-break third LP. This set doesn�t feature the title track�perhaps he�d played it in the early show? The recording misses much of �Kitty�s Back,� but �New York City Serenade� is complete.

While the sonics aren�t perfect � minor distortion and sibilance get committed to tape � this recording captures the essence of Springsteen�s live energy during this pivotal time. Springsteen�s remarks are hard to make out, but the music isn�t. It�s more than likely that you�ll hear what we do: another really interesting take on late 1974 Bruce Springsteen.

Joe has graciously loaned the first portion of his master tapes to JEMS so we could attempt a modern and (we hope) definitive preservation, capturing the sound, correcting the pitch, and fixing issues to provide the best representation of this terrific and historic performance.

*************** MASTERING NOTES *****************

We are pleased to present the first azimuth adjusted transer direct from Joe's master tapes. As mentioned in the previous release of this show, it comes with a number of challenges. It sounds as if Joe was some distance from the stage on this night and the raw recording is limited by the recording equipment of the era. The raw capture does not have a lot of instrumentent separation and the vocals were low in the mix. Additionally, the last two songs suffered from some serious tape warp.

Thanks to modern technology, the vast majority of these issues have been corrected. After balancing the mix and opening up the top end, there is much clearer instrument seperation. The vocals have been rebalanced and pulled up in the mix. Numerous mic bumps and movements have been removed, transitions smoothed and the tell-tale tape drag sounds when stopping and starting the recording have been removed and smoothed. The whole show has been pitch adjusted (thanks to Goody) to run at the correct speed which was very flat.

*** One interesting note, this release restores five minutes and thirty-two seconds of dialogue and tuning that was cut from the original master tape to CDR release between "New York City Serenade" and "Rosalita" (Track 12 here "Tuning And Dialogue"). The pitch adjustment to the proper speed shaved off approximately six minutes compared to the original release but restoring the "Tuning And Dialogue" makes the total time of the show almost the equal. There is also approximately thirty more seconds of "Introduction and Tuning" at the start of the show. ***

As mentioned, quality is limited by taping location and recording equipment of the era but, we hope you enjoy this new edition of this historically important recording to Bruce's live legacy.

Huge respect to Joe Kivak for the foresight to capture Bruce multiple times as the music led the way for the legend that followed. Thanks for allowing us to revisit your work! Thanks also to SE, who got the ball rolling on our little project, and Goody for his never-ending work to ensure we present all our shows at the proper pitch.

mjk5510 and slipkid68 for JEMS

Previous Releases
Bruce Springsteen 1974-07-13 Bottom Line - NYC, NY
Bruce Springsteen 1974-10-04 Avery Fisher Hall - NYC, NY
Bruce Springsteen 1974-11-29 War Memorial Theater - Trenton, NJ