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A Gift From Jakob's Dad: The 1986 Bridge School Benefit (13 Oct 1986)
A Gift From Jakob's Dad: The 1986 Bridge School Benefit Ultimix Production
Date: 13 Oct 1986
Location: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
Format: DVD
Duration:
Disc 1:
01- Introduction by Peggy Young
02- Comes A Time [Neil Young]
03- Heart Of Gold [Neil Young]
04- HELPLESS [Young/Springsteen]
05- I Am A Child [Neil Young]
06- Only Love Can Break Your Heart [CSNY]
07- Change Partners [CSNY]
08- Find The Cost Of Freedom [CSNY]
09- Ohio [CSNY]
10- Keith Don't Go [Nils Lofgren]
11- Wonderland [Nils Lofgren]
12- Believe [Nils Lofgren]
13- MAN AT THE TOP [Nils Lofgren]
14- Mud In Your Eyes [Nils Lofgren]
15- Boys Of Summer [Don Henley]
16- New Kid In Town [Don Henley]
17- Best Of Your Love [Don Henley]
18- Yes It Is [Don Henley]
19- Desperado [Don Henley]
20- You Don't Miss Your Water [Don Henley]

Disc 2:
01- American Girl [Tom Petty]
02- Blue Moon Of Kentucky [Tom Petty]
03- Shadow Of A Doubt [Tom Petty]
04- The Waiting [Tom Petty]
05- It'll All Work Out [Tom Petty]
06- Twist & Shout [Tom Petty]
07- Monologue [Robin Williams]
08- YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) [Bruce Springsteen]
09- BORN IN THE U.S.A. [Bruce Springsteen]
10- SEEDS [Bruce Springsteen]
11- DARLINGTON COUNTY [Bruce Springsteen]
12- MANSION ON THE HILL [Bruce Springsteen]
13- FIRE [Bruce Springsteen]
14- DANCING IN THE DARK [Bruce Springsteen]
15- GLORY DAYS [Bruce Springsteen]
16- FOLLOW THAT DREAM [Bruce Springsteen]
17- HUNGRY HEART [Springsteen/Young]
18- TEACH YOUR CHILDREN [All]
19- Slide Show [bonus]


Ultimix 1st Gen Complete Show

Notes from BruceDVDs:

Format: NTSC
Mode: SP
Generation: 1st
Video: pro-shot
Audio: soundboard
Menu: authored
Chapters: songs

The year was 1986 and Bruce Springsteen was cruising at the top of the pop culture consciousness. In his wake was one of the best selling albums of all time and a string of hit singles. Even President Ronald Reagan had cited 'Born in the USA' as the embodiment of American values (much to Bruce's annoyance). It had been a year since the triumphant conclusion of a record breaking world-wide tour and so anticipation was high for his return to the stage.

However, the new army of fans who had jumped on the BITUSA bandwagon was in for a bit of a shock. Bruce's first live show after the tour (apart from a couple of unannounced Stone Pony guest spots) featured no pounding rock anthems with the all conquering E Street Band. Instead, he opened his set at Neil Young's all-acoustic Bridge Benefit with a stark accapella version of 'You Can Look, But You Better Not Touch'. What followed was a mixture of stripped down versions of recent hits and lesser know (and in some cases unreleased) songs. His only accompaniment was acoustic guitar and accordion. The results were stunning.

A professional film crew was there to capture the events and 'Fire' was later used as a promo clip (and can be found on the official Video Anthology). The footage of Bruce's complete performance has been in circulation for many years, but the high generation of the tape meant the quality was disappointing. All that has changed with the release of 'A Gift to Jakob's Dad' which uses a newly discovered 1st generation copy as its source. At last, the performance can now be done justice. Not only that, but we also finally get to see all of the other sets that night (Neil Young, Crosby/Stills/Nash & Young, Nils Lofgren, Don Henley, Tom Petty and Robin Williams).

The show was spread across two tapes. The first was recorded in LP mode, while the second is in SP mode. It is actually the first tape that is in better quality, but both are showing their age. The cut between the two tapes is readily noticeable because there is an increase in noise on the image, a drop in colour definition and introduction of hiss on the audio. Unfortunately, this transition comes after the first song of Bruce's set. Despite these problems, it must be stressed that this still represents a significant upgrade from the previously circulated version. Ultimix has done a fine job of the authoring the DVD, including the well-designed menus, title sequence and bonus slide show of professional photos from both on and off stage.

'A Gift From Jakob's Dad' is an instant classic. This footage can now take its rightful place along side Passaic 78, Largo 78/80 and Toronto '84 as one of the essential items in any self-respecting Springsteen DVD collection. If you haven't got your copy yet, what are you waiting for?