Our first guest Video post is a contribution from audio engineer Mike Macaluso. Mike has worked on several Bruce Springsteen Tours as well as many other “A list” artists. Check out Mike’s Bio page Here
Land Of Hope And Dreams
Land Of Hope And Dreams – The chorus of the song is very close to a gospel song called “This Train” written by Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 1939, and released on a 10 inch, 78 RPM record.
Bruce’s song was first heard during rehearsals the first two weeks of March, 1999. The song was debuted at the March 18, 1999 rehearsal show at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ. It’s then played the next night and at every show on the 1999 / 2000 reunion tour, with its final tour appearance on July 1, 2000 at Madison Square Garden.
The first official release of the song is a live version of the song, released on April 3, 2001 in CD, cassette, mini-disc and LP formats, entitled Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live in New York City in the 
version recorded July 1, 2000. The same version of the song was featured on the April 7th debut of the HBO Special of the same name and released November 6, 2001 on DVD.
On October 16, 2001 SONY released the album God Bless America- For The Benefit of the Twin Towers Fund. It’s also released on the Austrian 4 track sampler EP for “American Skin” in 2001. Performed in a terrific acoustic version at the 26th Annual Clearwater Festival on August 18, 2001 in Asbury Park, NJ. Played during the soundcheck before the October 18, 2001 Red Bank, NJ, “Alliance of Neighbors” benefit concert. An audience was allowed inside the Count Basie Theater for the soundcheck. Also performed at both of the “Alliance of Neighbors” benefit concerts that night and the next. The live version of the song is released as an extra track on the single for “The Rising”, on July 16, 2002.
Land Of Hope And Dreams was one of just a handful of “old” songs played on July 26, 2002 at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ. Played during the August 2, 2002 rehearsal show. This time the song begins with a coda of “People Get Ready.” In a final rehearsal before the official “The Rising tour”, the song is played during a 21-song set played for VIP’s and about 200 fans on August 5, 2002 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. Played on the opening night of The Rising tour on August 7, 2002 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ. Kept in the set as a staple of the encores, being played at all but a few shows on the tour.
On December 2, 2002 Land Of Hope And Dreams is released again as an extra track on the CD single for “Lonesome Day”. The live version of the song is re-released on 
November 11, 2003 on disc 2 of the album The Essential Bruce Springsteen. Another live version of the song is released on November 18, 2003 on the Live from Barcelona DVD, videotaped live on October 16, 2002, at Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain. Rehearsed for the “Vote for Change” tour at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ on 
September 27-29, 2004, but not played during any of the shows. In 2005, the song is back in the set on the Devils & Dust tour, when it is placed into the set in a fantastic acoustic guitar version on May 10, 2005 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. It was played regularly throughout the remainder of the tour.
With only four more weeks remaining on the Seeger Sessions tour, Land Of Hope And Dreams is added to the set for its first of only three performances on October 25, 2006 in Barcelona, Spain. It is also played on October 29th in Oslo, Norway and a final time on November 12th at Wembley Arena in London, England. Although it’s not played on the Magic tour, the song is back in the set on the Working on a Dream tour, starting with the first open rehearsal show, being played at every show until mid-June, and then being played only a few more times, with a final performance on November 20, 2009 in Baltimore, MD.
In 2011, Bruce and his new producer Ron Aniello laid down basic tracks for Land Of Hope And Dreams during early sessions for the Wrecking Ball album. The track was completed by members of the E Street Band, Seeger Sessions collaborators and Bruce’s new touring musicians. Ron Aniello surprised even Bruce by flying in an edited sax solo by Clarence Clemons recorded live in 2009. It was released on Wrecking Ball in 2012. Again, the song is played regularly during the Wrecking Ball tour.
“Land of Hope and Dreams” is second only to “The Rising” in the number of live performances of songs written in the 21st century and even the previous decade. Also in 2012, Bruce leased the song, along with his likeness to TBS television for use in their post-season baseball commercial, to which they edited the song into 2 minute as well as television spots of 30 and 15 second edits of the song.
The song was played on November 2, 2012, Bruce along with the entire touring band perform an abridged version of the song on NBC television, in a benefit called Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together at Rockefeller Plaza studios in New York City, to benefit the Red Cross and those effected by Hurricane Sandy.
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