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If I tried to come up with a list of personal rock 'n' roll fantasies, a late-'70s jam session featuring the combined forces of Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and their respective backing groups — the E Street Band and the Attractions — would have to be near the top. Springsteen's Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town albums and Costello's My Aim Is True, This Year's Model and Armed Forces — all released between 1975 and 1979 — made up a big part of the soundtrack of my teenage years, and still rank among my all-time favorites.
So it was thrilling, and a bit surreal, to watch Springsteen, Costello, two E Streeters (guitarist Nils Lofgren and keyboardist Roy Bittan) and two original Attractions (keyboardist Steve Nieve and drummer Pete Thomas) play together on two episodes of Costello's music-and-talk show Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... Those episodes air at 10 tonight and next Wednesday on the Sundance Channel.
The hour-long shows — both taped at a nearly four-hour session in September at New York's Apollo Theatre — will close the second season of this remarkable series, whose previous installments have featured guests like Bono and the Edge of U2, Elton John, the Police and Lou Reed.
Songs performed by the entire ensemble include urgent versions of Springsteen's "The Rising" and "Seeds," as well as a soul-shouting duet on the Sam & Dave hit "I Can't Stand up for Falling Down" and a well-conceived medley of Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere" and Costello's "Radio, Radio."
At Costello's request, Springsteen also performs "Wild Billy's Circus Story," "Galveston Bay" and "American Skin (41 Shots)," while Costello sings Patti Scialfa's "Black Ladder." They also try out an impromptu duet on Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman," but abandon it after one verse.
Costello opens the first episode by singing Springsteen's "She's the One" and introducing him as the "past, present, future of rock 'n' roll." The artists' respect and admiration for each other is obvious as they discuss Springsteen's development as a musician and a person, and their musical philosophies.
"The greatest rock 'n' roll musicians are desperate men," Springsteen muses. "You've got to have something bothering you all the time."
"You can't always be a nice guy in the song, is what it is," Costello responds.
The pair also zero in on specific topics, such as Springsteen's early years performing in Asbury Park (he calls it a "low-rent Fort Lauderdale" and says the town's isolation from the recording industry meant "you were left in a bit of your own wilderness"), fatherhood, the influence of Bob Dylan and President Obama's inauguration.
The most amusing segment comes when they talk about the way Springsteen's songwriting changed between 1975's Born to Run and 1978's Darkness on the Edge of Town, becoming ... well, darker.
"One reason it was different is there was some young English songwriter at the time who said the songs on Born To Run were too romantic," says Springsteen. "I can't remember his name right now, but ..."
Costello looks genuinely surprised. "Was it me?" he asks. "It wasn't me."
"I've been waiting 30 years for this moment," says Springsteen, with delight. "What do you think? Of course it was."
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