Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
The Roxy Theatre
West Hollywood, CA
October 17, 1975 (Late Show)
(CB aka: Mr. Anonymous Master)
"Watch Me Now"

2016 Transfer: CB Master Tapes > Nakamichi DR-01 (azimuth adjusted) > Audacity > Peak Pro XT (pitch adjusted / channel repair / subtle tweak / edit) > xACT > FLAC

01 Thunder Road
02 Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out
03 Spirit In The Night
04 It's Gonna Work Out Fine
05 When You Walk In The Room
06 She's The One
07 Born To Run
08 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sanday)
09 Backstreets
10 Kitty's Back
11 Jungleland
12 Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
13 Goin' Back
14 Detroit Medley

Known Faults:
-She's The One: end cut
-Born To Run: start slightly cut
-Kitty's Back: end cut

JEMS is pleased to continue a long partnership with CB aka Mr. Anonymous to present fresh transfers of one of Bruce's legendary multi-night stands directly from CB's master tapes.  In the annals of Bruce Springsteen tour lore this series of shows stands out as one of the most important to his legend.

There is only one previous release of this show on Fanatic Records with the lineage of  "Cassette > CDR". That transfer was done extremely well but was not azimuth adjusted and runs slow. This release is azimuth and pitch adjusted, which we believe takes the show up a notch. It only needed a subtle touch of additional work to make this one really shine.

CB gives us a glimpse into the proceedings that night;
"My wife and I were at the 10/17 early show, staying in the club between shows we grabbed one of the front tables that abutted the stage.  We were directly in front of Clarence.  I used a basic Panasonic Walkman with the built-in mic.  The deck was literally on the edge of the stage under my Springsteen type blue hoodie.  I just had to slide it under the table for tape flips.  Before the shows we stopped at Tower Records and bought three copies of BTR that I brought with us.  I saw Steve near the stairs going up to the musician’s lounge and asked him if he could get the records autographed.  He said “no problem” and came back with all three signed by the whole band."

CB's taping location is clear from the the photos he took that night, two of which we've used for the front and back covers. If Clarence, identified in a review of the show as Clarence Simmons, was any closer he'd be sitting at their table. Though the deck was not considered "hi-fi" for the time, it was positioned extremely well for an overall excellent capture.

The series of shows at the Roxy Theatre were a triumph and important point in Bruce's career. Having already conquered the East Coast and coming off a successful run of shows at the Bottom Line two months prior, Bruce and the band were primed to conquer the West Coast.  No tape has surfaced for the opening night, the 16th, which Columbia had stacked with media and industry people, a fact Bruce became aware of, and very frustrated with, as the show progressed.
After a lack of audience enthusiasm on the opening night and the pressure of a radio broadcast the second night, this late show is loose with a high level of energy.

We take our title "Watch Me Now" from a barely whispered line at the end of Thunder Road. As the song wraps up and Bruce delivers the line "it's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win," Bruce gives us a barely whispered "watch me now." It's not the joyful celebratory "watch me now" from the Born In The USA tour encores but seems to be a validation the world is next. Little did they know at the time the next two years would push the band to the brink.

Once again, we owe a big debt of gratitude to CB aka Mr. Anonymous for not only trusting us with his master tapes but having the foresight to come armed with a deck in the first place. 

JEMS