Bruce Springsteen MTV Plugged

Though Bruce Springsteen has always been an impeccable solo acoustic performer, he opted to perform electric and with a band (not The E Street Band, it should be noted) for the MTV series Unplugged. So after a quick run-through of the previously unreleased track “Red Headed Woman,” Bruce plugged in and ran through a set heavy on his then-current albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town. “Better Days” and “Lucky Town” catch fire. “I Wish I Were Blind” is riveting. “If I Should Fall Behind” and “My Beautiful Reward” are touching without lapsing into sentimentality. A scorching version of “Light of Day,” which Springsteen wrote for the movie of the same name, highlights the set. Classics such as “Darkness on the Edge of Town,” “Thunder Road,” and “Atlantic City” could use the boost of The E Street Band (only keyboardist Roy Bittan and wife Patti Scialfa kept their jobs), but it’s interesting to hear the songs in what can be considered alternate arrangements.