Bruce Springsteen Releases 1986 Bridge School Live Album

Bruce Springsteen surprise-released a new live album chronicling his October 13th, 1986 acoustic set at Neil Young’s inaugural Bridge School Benefit Concert at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California.

The concert marked Springsteen’s first major appearance since the end of his massive Born In the U.S.A. tour, during which he played 156 shows across four continents between June 1984 and October 1985. The stripped-down show also marked Springsteen’s first acoustic set since 1972.

The new 10-song collection opens with two Springsteen solo offerings — an a cappella version of “You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)” and the debut of his acoustic rendition of “Born in the U.S.A.” — after which he was joined onstage by E Street Band members Danny Federici on accordion and Nils Lofgren on acoustic guitar. To close out the set, Springsteen performed “Hungry Heart” with some special harmonies and accompaniment from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Most of the audio from Springsteen’s Bridge School set was pulled from the original soundboard recording. But because some sections of the audio were missing from the master tapes, it also incorporates fan recordings and an alternate soundboard source.

The Bridge School set is available to purchase digitally and on CD. $2 from each purchase will be donated to the Bridge School.

Springsteen released his most recent album, Western Stars, in June. On Friday, he also unveiled a previously unreleased track, “I’ll Stand By You,” which will appear on the soundtrack to Blinded By the Light, a new film inspired by his music.