I think there is a magic line where a performer moves into the Greatest Hits/Las Vegas territory. For me, Bruce kind of crossed that line in 1985 on the second leg of the Born in the USA Tour. Every stadium tour since has suffered from being very formula driven. He could easily tour around the best songs from the last three albums, as the actual song canon is very strong. A band with similar greatness is the RHCP, who were able to rejuvinate very late in their career.
With that said, I did like his two solo acoustic tours (1995 Joad and 2004 tour) and think the best thing he did last decade was the Seeger Sessions, which in a way reminded me of the greatness of his second album. Very organic feel to the sessions and follow-on tour, based on a real departure for him.
With that said, I did like his two solo acoustic tours (1995 Joad and 2004 tour) and think the best thing he did last decade was the Seeger Sessions, which in a way reminded me of the greatness of his second album. Very organic feel to the sessions and follow-on tour, based on a real departure for him.