AMG Review of Magic Tour Highlights

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

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.