DVD Review: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, "London Calling: Live in Hyde Park"

In an age where music is scarce at regular retail, music DVD's could be considered an endangered species. There is very little incentive for artists or record companies to commit to releasing any sort of video products when a channel called Music Television hasn’t played a music video in its entirety for over half a decade. However, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 2010 concert release "London Calling: Live In Hyde Park" swims against this current tide, and shows why these releases can still be relevant and worthwhile.

Shot in high definition video and sound, “London Calling: Live In Hyde Park” brings the Bruce Springsteen live concert experience right into the living room, minus the heavy ticket/concessions expenses. With a blockbuster setlist spanning over 3 hours, the epic scale of a Springsteen concert is given even more depth as the show starts toward the end of summer daylight, continuing into the night.

This incredible live document was filmed in the midst of the E Street Band's European tour in the summer of 2009. While headlining stadiums and festivals across the Atlantic, this one was the Hard Rock Calling concert in London's historic Hyde Park. The setlist is sprinkled with fan favorites such as "Badlands," "Born To Run," and "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," obscure gems "Night," "Johnny 99," and "Out In The Street” along with some unique covers, such as The Young Rascals’ “Good Lovin’” in all it’s Hammond B3 organ glory, and the most fitting of The Clash's "London Calling" which opens the show. Fellow New Jersey native and lead singer of The Gaslight Anthem guests on the 80’s Springsteen anthem “No Surrender” also. There is plenty here to wet the palette of even the most casual of Springsteen listeners and any fan of music or an appreciation of a live concert experience will get more than their money's worth out of this one.

Some added bonuses to the DVD are extra performances of "The River" from the 2009 Glastonbury Festival, and "Wreckin' Ball" performed exclusively at the band's residency for the closing of Giants Stadium during the same tour. The brilliant direction of Chris Hilson as well as the mixing and mastering of longtime Springsteen collaborators Bob Clearmountain and Bob Ludwig make this release a testament to why this format is still endangered but not extinct, showing that it is noteworthy enough to stand alongside the other albums in the Bruce Springsteen cannon.