Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
August 27, 1985
CNE Stadium
Toronto, Canada
JEMS Master Recording

Recording Gear: Teac M-100 Microphone > Sony Walkman D6

JEMS 2025 Transfer: Master cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.7.5 (24/96 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX7 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT+ resample to 16/44 > FLAC

The E Street Band is:

Roy Bittan (piano, keyboards, vocals)
Clarence Clemons (saxophone, percussion, vocals)
Dan Federici (organ, piano, keyboards)
Nils Lofgren (guitar, vocals)
Patti Scialfa (vocals, tambourine, keyboards)
Bruce Springsteen (guitar, lead vocals, harmonica)
Garry Tallent (bass)
Max Weinberg (drums)

01. Born in the U.S.A.
02. Badlands
03. Out in the Street
04. Johnny 99
05. Seeds 
06. Darkness on the Edge of Town
07. The River
08. Working on the Highway
09. Trapped
10. Darlington County
11. Glory Days
12. The Promised Land
13. My Hometown
14. Thunder Road
15. Cover Me
16. Dancing in the Dark
17. Hungry Heart
18. Cadillac Ranch
19. Downbound Train
20. I’m On Fire
21. Growin’ Up
22. Bobby Jean
23. Can’t Help Falling in Love
24. Born to Run
25. Band Introductions
26. Ramrod
27. Twist and Shout → Do You Love Me
28. Sherry Darling

Known faults:

“Born in the U.S.A.” and Trapped” (both missing first few seconds)
Growin’ Up (missing a few seconds of the story; fade applied around 8:00)

With this new-to-circulate master recording, the JEMS Archive reaches the final leg of the Born in the U.S.A. tour, offering another fine capture from our late and great friend Jared Houser.

By 1985, Bruce Springsteen was playing the biggest venues, from Slane Castle in Ireland to RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and the Los Angeles Coliseum. On August 27, Jared taped the show at Toronto’s CNE Stadium, attending with his good friend and oldest comrade in ROIO, ML.

Jared traveled from his home in Detroit to Toronto for many performances: The Who began and ended several tours in The Six, and his tape of Springsteen’s 1977 gig at Maple Leaf Gardens (February 13) stands as a prime example of why this thing of ours matters. Toronto offered Jared the chance to make his first capture of Bruce at stadium scale.

Seemingly a world away from the turmoil that followed Born to Run, Springsteen had grown from a cult figure into the biggest name in rock, and one of the most visible figures in popular culture. The shows in ’85 were very much in line with the image and music of Born in the U.S.A.: fueled by an avalanche of Top 10 hits, it was still in heavy rotation on FM radio — “I’m Goin’ Down” was released as a single in the U.S. that very day (though played the night before, it sits out in favor of “Darlington County”).

Newly transferred and mastered, Jared’s tape drops us right in the middle of that summer’s excitement and achieves two key goals. First, it lets us hear August 27 in the best fidelity yet. Thanks to an azimuth-adjusted transfer, mastering courtesy of mjk5510, and pitch correction by Goody, the recording now reflects the full strength of the performance. Second, having a true master-source edition allows us to evaluate what may be an overlooked show.

As mjk5510 put it, this was a “quiet crowd so no real work there — just mastering.” But Jared worked his magic, too — in the middle of Bossmania, he found the sweet spot, the same way great ROIOs always do. That’s an important way for a tape to earn its place in the canon, as we know from Born in the U.S.A. tour standouts like Kansas City and the second night in Osaka.

Even detractors of Springsteen’s stadium-era shift must admit the power these sets brought to bear. This is one of the few performances to feature only a single selection from Nebraska, a sinewy “Johnny 99,” but it includes the always-welcome “Darkness on the Edge of Town” (in place of “Atlantic City”) and, for longtime fans and new ones alike, “Growin’ Up.” If you heard it on that tour, you know the feeling as Bruce ends the story and slides into the song’s final verse — Jared’s tape captured it beautifully.

A stirring version of “The River” is here, along with his remarkable reinvention of Jimmy Cliff’s “Trapped” — both mid-’80s highlights, expanded in scope and resonance from their original forms. “Seeds,” which debuted the month before in London, brought a sharp and topical edge. And in the encore, Bruce recounts his 1976 visit to Graceland before a gorgeous reading of “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

There was something for everyone on night two in Toronto. We hope you enjoy it.

Thanks as always to BK, mjk5510, and Goody. And here’s to Jared and Stan, whose spirits are never far from the music they loved.

Share it freely, and for free!

– slipkid68