The Prodigal Son meets JEMS at the Main Point (Masters+ Edition)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
February 5, 1975
The Main Point
Bryn Mawr, PA

Disc 1: The Prodigal Son
Source: Pre FM Reel 
Transfer: Remaster--> Flac

Disc 2 & 3: JEMS M+
Source:  (FM) Broadcast Reel 
Recording:  FM --> Tandberg 3300 tape deck (3-3/4 IPS)
Transfer: Otari 5050mk2 -->  Sound Devices USBPre2 audio interface (24/96) -->  Audacity 1.3 --> Converted from 24/96 to 16/44.1 using Isotope RX --> Speed corrected and lightly EQed in 
Adobe Audition --> Split using batch function -->  Traders Little Helper --> Flac

The Prodigal Son at the Main Point
Disc One: (1:15:24)

101. Incident On 57th Street (10:34)
102. Mountain Of Love (3:21)
103. Born To Run (4:47)
104. Intro E Street Shuffle (5:17)
105. E Street Shuffle (7:40)
106. Wings For Wheels (Thunder Road) (6:27)
107. I Want You (7:00)
108. Spirit In The Night (6:19)
109. She's The One (6:30)
110. Growin' Up (3:25)
111. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City (4:08)
112. Jungleland (9:50)

JEMS M+
Disc Two: (1:02:42 )

201. Kitty's Back (12:13)
202. DJ Chatter (0:53)
203. New York City Serenade (18:12)
204. Shout Outs (2:01)
205. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (12:18)
206. Intro to 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (2:15)
207. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (6:46)
208. A Love So Fine (8:02)

JEMS M+
Disc Three (23:20 )

301. Intro to For You (1:25)
302. For You (Solo Piano) (8:06)
303. Back in the USA (8:04)
304. Closing DJ Comments (0:28)

Total Show (2:36:10)

BONUS TRACKS (CBS Studio Demo 1986-06-21)

305. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) (6:42)
306. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) (10:57)
307. A Love So Fine (7:45)

Bonus Tracks (25:23)

The Production Team
Pre Production: Wayne 'Boom' Darlington
Mixed by: Flynn
Artwork Design: Schoolhouse Rd.
Producer: Oats

Notes: From Brucebase:

The complete show was broadcast and the above-noted 18-song setlist represents the entire concert. Not only is it one of the longest (160 minutes) single-show gigs up to this point but it's 
one of the most compelling performances of Springsteen's entire career. There are spellbinding renditions of "Incident On 57th Street", "New York City Serenade" and "For You" 
(in the solo piano arrangement), the earliest known performances of "Mountain Of Love" and "Thunder Road" (with work-in-progress "Wings For Wheels" title/lyrics) plus a wild, majestic 
version of Chuck Berry's "Back In The U.S.A.". "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" includes a snippet of "Theme From Shaft" in the midsection.  Contrary to myth the police siren heard at the 
conclusion of “Incident On 57th Street” is an audio prop that had been utilized at a few of Bruce’s shows just prior to this one, i.e. it was not a real vehicle.

Notes: How this project came about.

To my ears, The Prodigal Son at the Main Point was always the best version of this show. In 2011, JEMS released the second part of the show.  After listening to the JEMS release, I was 
excited.  I took Wayne's advice.  (See the excerpt from his original notes below)  I grabbed JEMS Disc 2 and added it to Disc 1 of The Prodigal Son's. I sat back, put on my headphones and 
listened to the best version I ever heard (until now).  I placed the two disc combination in my hard drive and player, then forgot about it.  Don't get me wrong, I listened to it... a lot!  I just 
never went back to my hard drive and organized the files.  I finally went back and decided I had to do something about the mismatched files.  I wanted to produce one complete bootleg 
comprised of both discs and retitled accordingly.

I reached out to the JEMS crew and received their blessing.  JEMS suggested we go back to the original source, the master tape, and start fresh. They thought it could be improved upon and 
mastered a bit better than the original which was mastered in 2011.  So what started out as a quick fix to rename and join two discs became a much bigger project and collaborative effort by 
all involved.

JEMS added a bit of bass and passed along the complete master.  I listened to it and got excited all over again.  In turn I passed it on to a friend of mine, a Master Editor known throughout the 
Springsteen Community. There, it was fleshed out, smoothed over and the finishing touches were added.  Thank you Flynn.

At first I was skeptical. I was thinking how could this sound any better?  However as soon as you hear the timbre of those first few notes, the clarity of Bruce’s voice, that first sax solo… it hits 
you!   This version is much brighter, fresher and cleaner. To my ears, this newly enhanced Masters + Edition is a noticeable upgrade. 
 
This Masters+ Edition is a bit longer than the original which had some miscellaneous chatter removed to fit on two discs. This is complete and will fit on three discs with plenty of room to 
spare. We’ve added three bonus tracks from a previously unreleased Studio Demo to help fill that space (wink).  

Another good friend and Master Artist created the fabulous artwork.  His help was invaluable.

Lastly, I want to thank the JEMS team.  Without their music and support this project would not have been possible.
I hope you get as much enjoyment listening to the new Masters+ Edition as we did producing it.

Oats

Notes: From JEMS

Early in 2011, a box of reel-to-reel tapes was obtained from a home-taping enthusiast who lived in Philadelphia in the '70s. Using his Tandberg 3300 tape deck, the fan recorded several live 
radio broadcasts over the years, preserving the shows on reel at 3-3/4 IPS. The tapes had not been played since the late '70s and one of them, as luck would have it, was of WMMR's Main 
Point broadcast, captured as it happened that night. A fresh, azimuth-adjusted transfer was made and the recording was then speed-corrected, de-clicked, phase-corrected and ever-so-lightly 
mastered to make it sound as good as possible.

Now before anyone gets too excited, this master recording of the broadcast still has the limiter issues of the prior source (only a pre-FM would fix that) and there's still a wee bit of distortion 
at the climax of "NYC Serenade." But guess what, it sounds better. Materially better. Not pre-FM better, but in moments you might confuse it with the first set. Says one knowledgeable and 
trusted collector: "There is absolutely no comparison between the master FM reel and the Prodigal Son version.  This new one sounds so much smoother, warmer and fuller.  And the PS version 
has some sections in mono, as well." It is wide stereo here.

And while it contains no additional music, the new recording does add some deejay chatter, station IDs and closing credits that were edited out of the original source.

So for now, until the Angel of Pre-FMs answers our prayers, this Masters+ upgrade offers the best version to date of those amazing last 70+ minutes of the Main Point. The switch from pre-FM 
to FM occurs around the 8:14 point in "Kitty's Back".  Prior to this, it was immediately noticeable.  Now you’ll have trouble noticing the transition, if you do at all. Previously the first couple of 
minutes on the new FM source appeared to be its weakest (also the case on the circulating source), that’s no longer the case. Give this a good listen and you'll start to realize just how good 
this sounds and what an improvement it is. The original sounded very good.  Now the Masters+ Edition sounds even better.  

Wayne ‘Boom’ Darlington for JEMS
RIP Jared.

Notes: The Bonus Tracks

When I first approached JEMS regarding this project.  Wayne “Boom’  Darlington informed me, he had acquired a CBS Studio Demo which included three tracks from the second part of this 
show.  In other words, the three tracks were on Disc 2.  I immediately thought, WOW, after adding these three tracks almost the entire boot will have similar pre-FM sound quality.
Alas, it was not meant to be.  The sound quality of these three tracks although very good, is not quite as good as the fm reel used.  The origin of these three tracks is a CBS Studio Demo from 
June 21, 1986.  It’s a compilation of songs put together for possible inclusion on the official ‘Live 1975-85’ Box Set.  We have no knowledge about the original source tape from which these 
three songs originated for the Studio Demo. 

We’ve included these tracks for historical purposes and for those who are curious.  The three tracks in order of appearance on the Studio Demo are:

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
A Love So Fine

If you desire more information on this Studio Demo or just want to give the entire Demo Compilation a listen, look for the upcoming release; ‘Live 1973-78’ Those That Didn’t Make the Cut.
For now you can appease your appetite with these three bonus tracks recorded from the Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA on 1973-02-05.  

Oats