Youngstown
1996-1997: So Youngstown is from The Ghost Of Tom Joad album which is mainly acoustic. It made it's debut during the GOTJ Tour. During this tour it was played basically in it's album form, on acoustic guitar. Great lyrics to this song, but if you're in it for the music, this is just your standard acoustic track, nothing too special in the arrangement (see Live in Youngstown 1996).
Then it happened...
My ears were not ready for the full band arrangement of Youngstown, A little back story...I used to be Bruce's biggest hater, in a half loving way. I knew he was good, and I knew many of his lyrics from hours of car listening with my mom, and in fact I didn't HATE anything he did, I was just determined to not like him for whatever reason. At the time I was big into classic rock and jamming out to guitar riffs and solos. While Bruce is classified as classic rock, he just didn't quite fit the typical classic rock mold. I blame a lot of this opposition towards Bruce on one of his biggest fans...my mom. She wanted me to like him so much, but didn't cater to my listening needs. She would play all the songs SHE liked (very little guitar, softer, slower songs) when I wanted to hear raging guitar and rocking out. As far as I knew though, Bruce didn't have songs like that, because my mom always skipped them in the car. If she had played me a live Darkness concert, I would have flipped.
Anyways, back to Youngstown. My friend Kyle and I used to go on this website that would compile lists that ranked; guitar solos, bands, songs, guitarists, drummers, basically anything to do with classic rock. They had a list of "Best Live Guitar Solos" which included (to my surprise) a Bruce Springsteen song - "Youngstown - Live In New York City - Nils Lofgren". I knew my mom owned that DVD and also made me watch it every Mother's Day or on her birthday but I never heard anything guitar solo list worthy. I demanded an explanation from her and she replies "Youngstown? Ew, I always skip that one...too dark and angry for me." So then I did something I never thought I'd do...pop the Bruce Springsteen Live In New York and watched all by myself and discovered what could possibly be the greatest song to ever grace my ears.
1999-2000: I'll start with the 2000 version because the Live in New York version of Youngstown is the first I ever heard (see Live In New York City 2000), and still ranks up there in my favorites. The powerful first note sets the tone for the rest of the song. The whole song evokes power and drive that can energize and determine me at any time despite its dark nature. Youngstown was a staple in the very middle of the Reunion Tour sets and was the beginning of a force of songs to be reckoned with (Youngstown, Murder Inc, Badlands, Out In the Street, Tenth Ave.). The 2000 version is a little more cleaned up than the 1999, but the better production makes it great. The vocals are pure and well thought out without any 90's Bruce accent or echo effects on the mic. When Bruce belts out the "chorus" it's "here darlin' in YOUNGSSTOWWWNNNNNNNNNN!" (which is different from 1999 and will be explained later). That scream always hits me and send shivers down my spine because you know this electric version is going to take you on a ride. One of my favorite parts of the song is when it quiets down and all you can hear is the tambourine, a slight accordion, and Nil's mystic guitar picking. A low feedback shriek almost always comes from the amp during this part which just adds to the amazingness of the song. My favorite lines always hit me hard towards the end "when I DIE I don't want no part of heaven, I not two heavens worth WAIT! I pray the devil comes and takes me to stand in the fiery furnace of HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL". Ok that "hell" seems excessive, but once you listen you'll realize it's not. I often struggle to keep my voice going for as long as Bruce does when singing along to this. This scream sends the song into what I'm ultimately waiting for...the mastery of Nils Lofgren on guitar...the thing that online list was talking about...the guitar solo. Nils blitzes into the solo with searing scales and then takes the songs to the heavens as he pours all his energy and emotion into this one solo. Bruce seems to feed off that as he slams his guitar against himself pumping up Nils and the whole band. You can tell that the song has truly taken over the band and that's what really drew me to love this song, they don't play it that way because they want to, they do it because they HAVE to. Nils drops to his knees as he busts out the build up to the end of the song and then explodes into the screaming final notes as he gets up and begins spinning in circles on the stage sending the crowd into a frenzy of disbelief as to what they just saw. The song ends in typical slamming guitar fashion as Nils plays a few more notes as the solo dwindles.
1999: There aren't a whole lot of noticeable differences in the 1999 and 2000 versions of Youngstown to the casual Bruce fan. First of all, it's worth noting that 1999 was the first full band version, thus very experimental. This is significant because of the huge overhaul the song got. It isn't just a jazzed up version of an acoustic song, this is a full blown re-orchestrated version of the song. The 1999 version (as noted above) is rough and raw in comparison to the 2000 version. It's not cleaned up, therefore you get a little more emotion out of it that I really like. There's also a prominent echo on the vocals that sounds crazy. The other final difference that is the kicker for me is instead of "here darlin' in YOUNGSSTOWWWNNNNNNNNN!!" it's more like- "here darlin' in YOUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGSSSSTTOOOOOOOOOWNN!! (TOWNNN *echo) he drags out the young so much more, and while I seem a little too obsessed of a fan when I talk about these differences, but trust me, when you hear it, you'll know...it'll knock your socks off (see Live in Cleveland 1999).
Post 2000: After the Reunion Tour, Youngstown exited the regular spot on the set list and didn't start appearing more frequently again until The Magic Tour. On this tour the arrangement was very similar to that of 2000, same pounding vocal, mysterious guitar and accordion, and of course that melting guitar solo. I was fortunate enough to see Youngstown live in Richmond, VA 8/18/2008, and nearly cried when I heard the first notes. In the most recent tour (High Hopes Tour) the song seemed to pop up the most times throughout the tour since the Magic Tour.
Murder Incorporated
The final notes of Nil's guitar ring out as Bruce continues to pound his honey burst Telecaster against his chest, letting the feeback go wild from the amps. Max eagerly looks on and awaits Bruce's cue. One look from Bruce and Nil's is sliding from the bottom of the neck to the top and Max pounds the snare....and so begins Murder Inc.
Murder Incorporated is Youngstown's brother, 90% of the time they come one after the other which is curious because they don't seem to be related at all. Occasionally they are separated, but very rarely. It first appeared (just as Youngstown did) during the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour as an acoustic number, but came from a very different place. Murder Incorporated was an outtake from the Born In the USA album, and was released on Bruce's 1995 Greatest Hits album (ironic that the song was not really heard much before). The only reason I can think of for this song following Youngstown is because of their ties to the GOTJ Tour (which was the most recent tour Bruce did before the Reunion) and maybe he wanted to treat the audience to two songs they may have previously heard acoustic, all suped up into full blown electric songs.
1996-1997: As stated before, Murder Incorporated was just another acoustic song played during the Ghost Of Tom Joad Tour, not much special, but it's a decent listen if you've heard the electric version first.
Reunion Era: Murder Incorporated is somewhat of a 180 from Youngstown, following the latter in the majority of sets. Once you get Youngstown, you can almost bet that the tortuous, gravely vocals of Murder Incorporated will follow. Staccato'd chords ring out as Bruce lets out a yell slightly away from the mic. Next comes the thing we all love "ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!!". The band kicks in as the chords continue, accompanied by a groovy organ. The song utilizes a lot of background vocals as well as guitar solos all around from Nils, Bruce, and Stevie. The climax of the song is the best part. Bruce tires himself during the third verse with word after word mushed together as if it was a run-on sentence, building and building to the band coming to a complete halt after "But I can tell that you was just...frustrated...with livin with..." then Bruce gives his last scream that cuts you like a knife..."MURDER INCORPORATED!!!!!!!!" The crowd roars for the showmanship and feels out of breath themselves. The song typically ends with dueling guitars between Bruce and Stevie, clearly showing that Bruce has improved his skills over the years, while Stevie's has definitely dwindled, usually opting for a one note solo, just bending the string up and down to change the pitch slightly. All of this organized chaos comes to a cymbal crashing, guitar pounding end, only to blast straight into Badlands (Reunion Tour)...it's a wonder how they do it. In later years, Nil's solo has sometimes been eliminated, yielding to just Bruce doing the guitar work.
The Future Of Youngstown/Murder Incorporated?
I could see Bruce continuing to separate these songs in concert as opposed to playing them back to back. It's a big time commitment in the set to play both in a row. I think the arrangements will generally stay the same, but if Tom Morello continues to be a big part of the E Street Band, I could see him possibly getting a solo in there as well (on either song).
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