This four-song EP spotlights special moments on Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's tour in support of the album
Magic, although none of the songs come from that disc. Each song features another performer in addition to
Springsteen, starting with "Always a Friend," by
Alejandro Escovedo, who joins the band on-stage to perform it (and who just happens to be another client of
Springsteen's manager,
Jon Landau). Next up is
Tom Morello, guitarist of
Rage Against the Machine, whose band once covered
Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad." He and
Springsteen sing it together, and he takes characteristically angular guitar solos, transforming it into something of a metal stomp.
Roger McGuinn then steps up for an excellent version of "Turn! Turn! Turn!," joining a man who, like him, has demonstrated an affinity for the music of
Pete Seeger. Finally, the old
Springsteen ballad "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" gives a showcase not to a guest, but to a now-departed bandmate. It features the late
Danny Federici, stepping forward on accordion, and here serves as a valedictory to the E Street Band's longtime keyboardist, who died a few months before this EP was released. ~ William Ruhlmann