ACROSS THE BORDERLINE

Live 17 Nov 1990 version

Info

The above lyrics are for the live 17 Nov 1990 performance of ACROSS THE BORDERLINE at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA, during the second of the two Christic Institute benefit shows. The song featured Bruce Springsteen on vocals and guitar, Jackson Browne on vocals and piano, and Bonnie Raitt on backing vocals.

Ticket stub for the 17 Nov 1990 show at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA

Christic Institute Benefit Shows

Bruce Springsteen joined Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne on 16 and 17 Nov 1990 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA, for two acoustic benefit shows for the Christic Institute. The shows "were two of the most important and dramatic concerts of [Springsteen's] career", Backstreets magazine founder Charles R. Cross wrote. According to the Golden Globe, Springsteen and manager Jon Landau even considered making an album from these shows at one point.

Promotional poster for the 16-17 Nov 1990 Christic Institute benefit shows at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA

The Christic Institute was a public interest law firm whose most high-profile case was going to expose the CIA's involvement in the Iran-Contra drug smuggling scandals. The case was dismissed by the judge days before the trial was to begin, claiming that Christic's attorneys had failed to present some of the evidence. Christic was ordered to pay over $1 million in court costs for the defendants, effectively bankrupting the firm.

In June 2016, the complete recordings of Bruce Springsteen sets from both the 16 and the 17 Nov 1990 Christic Institute benefit shows were officially released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net (see the "Official Live Downloads" section below for more details). The audio was sourced from digital audio tape (16-bit/44.1kHz) and was transferred by Rob Lebret at Thrill Hill Studio, NJ, and mastered by Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, ME.

Bruce Springsteen -- The Christic Shows November 16 & 17, 1990

Official Live Downloads

Prior to the High Hopes Tour, Bruce Springsteen's management announced a new service allowing fans to download concert recordings approximately 48 hours after each show. The initial plan required fans to purchase a special USB wristband, which could then be used to download a single High Hopes Tour show of the purchaser's choice and also functions as a regular reusable USB flash drive. The wristband, which could be purchased online or at the concert venue, was priced at $40. Following some negative response from fans over the high cost for the wristband, Springsteen's management subsequently announced a separate cheaper option for purchasing shows directly, without the need for the wristband. The shows were available for purchase and download via Live Nation, Bruce Springsteen's concert promoter, priced at $9.99 for MP3 and $14.99 for FLAC. Audio recordings for 31 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, and 03 May 2014) were released as such and they were available until 30 Jun 2014.

On 17 Nov 2014, Live.BruceSpringsteen.net was launched. It's a new addition to the official website, serving as an online store offering high-quality live concert recordings as well as high-resolution digital releases of Springsteen's album catalog. The download store is powered by Nugs.net in cooperation with Columbia Records. Audio recordings for 30 of the 34 High Hopes Tour dates (all except 16 Feb 2014, 06 Apr 2014, 03 May 2014, and 18 May 2014) were re-released on the new download store in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Nugs.net adopted the MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) format on 24 May 2017. From then on, all Bruce Springsteen live concert recordings, including the previously released ones, became also available in MQA.

Audio recordings for all 75 The River Tour 2016 dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Audio recordings for all 14 Summer '17 Tour dates were also released on Live.BruceSpringsteen.net in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless CD-quality FLAC or ALAC, and 24-bit HD FLAC or ALAC or MQA, as well as audio CD-R with custom artwork. Each show was generally released within a month after it took place.

Archival releases were periodically released on the same site, as part of the Bruce Springsteen Archive Series. These shows were also made available in multiple formats, including MP3, lossless FLAC or ALAC, 24-bit FLAC or ALAC or MQA, DSD, and audio CD-R. So far 90 shows (or sets of shows) were released from the ongoing series.

Available Versions

List of available versions of ACROSS THE BORDERLINE on this website:

Page last updated: 07 Mar 2020