This 11-track bootleg compilation is a mixed bag of live recordings and studio outtakes. Six of the tracks are drawn from radio broadcasts made during the 1978 Darkness on the Edge of Town Tour, and included among them is "The Fever," a well-known Springsteen song that has yet to see a legitimate release by its author. All those songs are in good quality, but the real importance of this release is the other five tracks: "Seaside Bar Song" and "Zero and Blind Terry" from the 1973 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle recording sessions; "Thunder Road" from the 1974-1975 Born to Run sessions; and "Because the Night" and "The Promise" from the 1977-1978 Darkness sessions. The first two are excellent extended compositions consistent with the kind of jazzy, atmospheric music found on Springsteen's second album. "Thunder Road" is an interesting slowed-down version, played on guitar and sung to "Christine" instead of Mary. "Because the Night" is an intense, catchy song that probably would have been a hit for Springsteen if he hadn't given it to Patti Smith.And "The Promise," reportedly shelved because Springsteen feared people would interpret it as referring to his legal problems, is simply one of the best songs he ever wrote, if not the best. It is also a crucial song in the artist's development, the missing link between his earlier songs of youthful exuberance and his later songs of disillusionment. In lines like "When the promise was broken, I cashed in a few of my dreams," Springsteen says everything about what became of his hopes. It's songs like this that make bootlegs necessary. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide