Nothing to Lose: The ’77 Tour Revisited: Volume 7: Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, MI: February 15, 1977

Recording Gear: Teac M‐100 microphone > Sony TC‐153SD cassette recorder

JEMS 2015 Transfer: master cassettes > Nakamichi 670 azimuth‐adjusted playback > Wavelab 24/96 > iZotope RX4 > iZotope Ozone 5 > iZotope RX MBIT+ resample 16/44.1 > Peak Pro XT (volume smoothing / edit / index) > xACT 2.21 > FLAC

Notes from info file

Welcome to the seventh edition of JEMS’ Nothing to Lose series revisiting Bruce’s remarkable 1977 tour. For the full history of our obsession with this era and the back story on the “Official Audience Tapes” that made up the first five volumes of the series, please refer to the notes in Vol. One.

Installment No. 7 transports us again to the first week of the tour and a 14‐song set at Detroit’s Masonic Temple Theatre. It is the second of three Springsteen master recordings JEMS made in ’77, and, dare I say, we think you’re going to like this one as much as you liked the first one, Toronto, recorded two days before.

Like Toronto, Detroit ’77 has circulated among collectors since not long after J taped it 38 years ago. A master‐to‐DAT transfer was also made in the early days of the digital format, copies of which almost certainly provided the source for releases like Masonic Temple (Joker) and The Devil In Detroit. It’s long been one of the better audience recordings of the tour, but it has never sounded as good as it could. This marks the first direct digital transfer of the master tapes, and every step along the chain, from the azimuth‐adjusted playback to high‐resolution capture to final mastering, is superior to what was done to DAT 25 years ago.

This particular night holds an interesting place in Springsteen history because it came at a particular low moment in his career. Brucebase explains it succinctly: “Bruce would later comment that this night was the first time in his life that he did not want to get up on stage. At this point the lawsuit preventing him from recording had been dragging on for several months.” Seven shows into his third tour since the release of his last album (Born to Run), it make sense that Bruce might have lost faith in a light at the end of the tunnel.

But you’d never know his mood by listening to the show itself, which is every bit the equal of Toronto. That being said, there is a tone set by the absolutely striking version of “Something in the Night” which opens the show, and this is the last time on the tour he would start with it (“Night” would serve as the opener going forward). Knowing what we know in hindsight, the stark, emotional reading of “Something” feels like some form of catharsis and, for me, it is one of the greatest show openers in Springsteen history. I absolutely adore this version and the audacity of opening with a song that starts with such a slow build. If I only I had been there to witness it.

Happily, J was, and once again his mono capture is quite excellent, consistent and free from audience interruption. Samples provided.

There is one set variation from Toronto with “Growin’ Up” coming out and the “Detroit Medley” coming into the encore for the first and only time in 1977. Brucebase lists “Raise Your Hand” as the last song of the show, a detail included in a Michigan Daily review. That J wouldn’t record the final encore, on a side of a tape that still had nearly 20 mins of recording time left on it, in his hometown no less, strikes me as extremely unlikely, so despite that review, I’d suggest this recording is the complete performance.

I know a lot of you have Detroit ’77 already and, make no mistake, it has always sounded good, but I think this version is definitive. Then again, I’m biased. We’re making it available in both standard and high‐resolution 24/96 editions.

J has been on my mind a lot this week as he faces a new setback in his battle against cancer. He went through successful surgery about a week ago and will begin new treatment soon. If you have positive thoughts, prayers and wishes, it couldn’t hurt to send them his way. J is single‐handedly responsible for hundreds and hundreds of audience recordings the collecting community has enjoyed for decades. We all owe him our thanks.

Massive credit goes to J for his outstanding original recording and for pulling out the masters one last time to capture them at 24/96 and giving me so much to work with. Thanks yet again to M, for providing his ‘77 source tapes; to the folks on the Stone Pony message board whose thread sparked this series; and to mjk5510 who continues to provide invaluable assistance as JEMS’ packaging and distribution supervisor par excellance.

Our final stop in the ’77 series will mark the debut of one of Springsteen’s greatest rock songs.

BK for JEMS