Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band celebrated the release of their Letter to You album, with a performance on Saturday Night Live on December 12. (The evening’s guest host was actor Timothée Chalamet.) The album is Springsteen’s first new LP with the E Street Band since 2014. Watch their SNL performance and listen to many tracks from the Oct. 23 release below.
Springsteen and the E Street Band have previously appeared on the sketch comedy series, most recently on Dec. 12, 2015, when they performed three songs including “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (with guest Paul McCartney).
Kristen Wiig hosts the Dec. 19, 2020 finale with Dua Lipa the musical guest.
His name is Timothée…
and he’s Bruce. pic.twitter.com/zIj9diwOvw— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) December 11, 2020
The 12-track Letter to You, described in a press release as “a rock album fueled by the band’s heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound,” was recorded at his home studio in New Jersey. Letter To You, available on CD and 2-LPs via Columbia Records, is Springsteen’s 20th studio album.
Watch them perform “Ghosts” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” on SNL
“I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” says Springsteen. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”
He is joined by Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, Patti Scialfa, Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, Charlie Giordano and Jake Clemons.
Listen to the beautiful “House of a Thousand Guitars”
In a documentary on the making-of the album, he says, “the greatest thrill of my life is standing behind that microphone with you guys behind me.”
Watch the trailer for the documentary
Letter to You includes nine recently written Springsteen songs, as well as new recordings of three of his legendary, but previously unreleased, compositions from the 1970s, “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest,” and “Song for Orphans.”
Listen to “Song for Orphans”
And here’s “Janey Needs a Shooter”
Produced by Ron Aniello with Bruce Springsteen, Letter To You is his first time performing with the E Street Band since The River 2016 tour.
Watch the black-and-white video for “Letter To You”
Letter To You Tracklist
1. One Minute You’re Here
2. Letter To You
3. Burnin’ Train
4. Janey Needs A Shooter
5. Last Man Standing
6. The Power Of Prayer
7. House Of A Thousand Guitars
8. Rainmaker
9. If I Was The Priest
10. Ghosts
11. Song For Orphans
12. I’ll See You In My Dreams
Related: There had been talk of a new album and tour with the E Street Band for a while
Watch the video for “Ghosts”
Springsteen’s previous album, Western Stars, was released on June 14, 2019, his first new studio effort in five years.
Listen to “The Power of Prayer”
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