The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts is a live album and concert film by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, released on November 19, 2021. It was recorded over two nights, September 21 and 22, 1979, at Madison Square Garden, as part of the No Nukes concerts organized by activist group Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE) against the use of nuclear energy.^[1]

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts
Live album by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Released	November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)
Recorded	September 21–22, 1979
Venue	Madison Square Garden
Genre	Rock
Length	90:12
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Letter to You (2020) The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts (2021) Only the Strong Survive (2022)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Letter to You (2020) The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts (2021)

Most tracks are from Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and its predecessor, Born to Run (1975), while the album also includes performances of "The River" and "Sherry Darling" preceding their release in studio form on the following year's The River (1980).^[2] Springsteen's "Detroit Medley" and his cover of Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs' "Stay" were previously released in a different form on the 1980 album No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	93/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Classic Rock	[1]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[5]
PopMatters	10/10[6]
Under the Radar	[7]

On review aggregator Metacritic, the album has a score of 93 out of 100 based on six critics' reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[3] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the audio recording and accompanying film "flesh out a pivotal moment in Springsteen's rise to superstardom, providing the first professionally recorded and filmed glimpse of the E Street Band at full roar", complimenting the set list for being "structured like a party" and concluding that Springsteen's other performances over the years "haven't diminished the power of this one: It has a distinctive blend of magic and might, the sound of a band who knows they've hit their stride and still gets giddy at the noise they make".^[5]

Track listing

Tracks 1–5, 10 and 12 were recorded on September 22, 1979, while tracks 6–9, 11 and 13 were recorded on September 21, 1979. All tracks are written by Bruce Springsteen, except where noted.^[8]

The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Prove It All Night"		5:58
2.	"Badlands"		5:45
3.	"The Promised Land"		6:21
4.	"The River"		6:05
5.	"Sherry Darling"		6:11
6.	"Thunder Road"		5:26
7.	"Jungleland"		10:10
8.	"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" (with a snippet of "Stagger Lee" as introduction)	"Stagger Lee" by Lloyd Price, Harold Logan	12:07
9.	"Born to Run"		4:59
10.	"Stay"	Maurice Williams	4:28
11.	"Detroit Medley" (consisting of "Devil with the Blue Dress On", "Good Golly Miss Molly", "C.C. Rider" and "Jenny Take a Ride")	William Stevenson, Frederick Earl Long ("Devil with the Blue Dress On"); Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco ("Good Golly Miss Molly"); Traditional ("C.C. Rider"); Enotris Johnson, Richard Penniman, Robert Crewe ("Jenny Take a Ride")	9:41
12.	"Quarter to Three"	Gene Barge, Frank Guida, Joseph Royster, Gary Anderson	9:56
13.	"Rave On"	Sunny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty	2:57
Total length:			90:12

Personnel

Musicians

• Bruce Springsteen – guitar, harmonica, vocals
• Roy Bittan – piano
• Clarence Clemons – tenor and baritone saxophones, percussion, backing vocal
• Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel
• Garry Tallent – bass
• Stevie Van Zandt – guitar, backing vocal
• Max Weinberg – drums

Additional musicians on "Stay"

• Jackson Browne – co-lead vocal
• Tom Petty – co-lead vocal
• Rosemary Butler – backing vocal

Technical personnel

• Bruce Springsteen – production
• David Hewitt and crew – live recording
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing
• Brandon Duncan – assistant engineer, music editor
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Rob Lebret – sound engineer
• Shari Sutcliffe – music contractor
• Michelle Holme – art direction, design
• Joel Bernstein – front and back cover photography
• Richard E. Aaron, Joel Bernstein, David Gahr, Lawrence Kirsch, Peter Simon – all other photography

Film credits

• Bruce Springsteen – executive producer
• Jon Landau, Barbara Carr, Thom Zimmy – producers
• Bob Clearmountain – music mixing
• Thom Zimmy – editing
• Haskell Wexler – original cinematography

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts Chart (2021) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[9] 6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] 8 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[11] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 24 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[13] 38 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[14] 31 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 4 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 8 French Albums (SNEP)[17] 28 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 7 Irish Albums (OCC)[19] 10 Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] 6 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[21] 33 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] 10 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[23] 5 Scottish Albums (OCC)[24] 6 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[25] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 5 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 11 UK Albums (OCC)[28] 11 US Billboard 200[29] 33 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 4

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts Chart (2021) Position Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[31] 65

References

1. Henderson, Paul (November 23, 2021). "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band explode at No Nukes show". Classic Rock. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Loudersound.
2. Womack, Kenneth (November 20, 2021). "Springsteen's "Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" has the best live version of "The Promised Land"". Salon.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
3. "The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts by Bruce Springsteen Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
4. Deming, Mark. "The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts – Bruce Springsteen". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
5. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (November 20, 2021). "Bruce Springsteen / The E Street Band: The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
6. Horowitz, Steve (December 6, 2021). "Bruce Springsteen: The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". PopMatters. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
7. Davis, Hays (January 12, 2022). "Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts (Legacy) – review". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
8. The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts (liner notes). Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. Columbia Records. 2021. 19439892932.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. "Australiancharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
10. "Austriancharts.at – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
11. "Ultratop.be – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
12. "Ultratop.be – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
13. "Bruce Springsteen the E Street Band Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
14. "Danishcharts.dk – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
15. "Dutchcharts.nl – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
16. "Bruce Springsteen& the E- Street Band: The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
17. "Lescharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
19. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
20. "Italiancharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
21. "Charts.nz – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
23. "Portuguesecharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
24. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
25. "Spanishcharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
26. "Swedishcharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
27. "Swisscharts.com – Bruce Springsteen / E Street Band – The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
29. "Bruce Springsteen the E Street Band Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
30. "Bruce Springsteen the E Street Band Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
31. "Top 100 Albums Annual 2021". El portal de Música. Archived from the original on January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 29, 2022.

External links

• The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts at Discogs (list of releases)