Springsteen Used Recorded Tracks at Super Bowl
News
Bruce Springsteen the E Street Band / Photo by Danny Clinch
Jennifer Hudson and Faith Hill didn't act alone. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band also performed to backing tracks during their Super Bowl performance last Sunday, Super Bowl producer and Grammy Awards audio supervisor Hank Neuberger told The Chicago Tribune.
More Bruce on SPIN.com:
>> Bruce Springsteen, 'Working on a Dream' (Columbia)
>> An Open Letter to Bruce Springsteen
>> Bruce Springsteen Unveils Massive U.S. Tour
>> Ignore Oscar -- 'The Wrestler' is Springsteen's Best
"The Super Bowl performances are all on tape," Neuberger said. "There is no way you can set up a full band in five minutes with microphones, get all the settings right, and expect to get quality sound. The Super Bowl has been doing that for years with virtually all the bands."
According to Neuberger, Springsteen's vocals were the only part of the performance that was not pre-recorded. After all, he is the Boss -- not Ashlee Simpson. (Springsteen's label PR had no comment for SPIN.com by press time.)
"It's not fraudulent, it's the opposite of fraud -- it's not like Milli Vanilli," said Neuberger, referring to the pop/dance duo who won a Grammy 1990 for Best New Artist only to have it withdrawn after it was discovered they didn't sing on their album.
"There were too many variables keeping the instruments in tune while playing outside in cold weather," he continued. "You can't control the environment, so the smart decision is to record the performance and play along with it… It's too big of an event to risk something going wrong. Television and music are not always a happy marriage."
3 Comments
Click here to comment- Posted By blackwhiteandread
02.05.09 5:23 AM
Hank Neuberger is not a "Super Bowl Producer". He's a spectator like most of us, and, as such, his opinion is not fact. It's worth asking people who actually were involved with the show and performance. Who knows what they'll say.
- Posted By mylifeisrockandroll
02.05.09 1:00 AM
That is totally true. Try to set up a band for a tv show is always a nightmare.
02.05.09 4:00 PM
I think many musicians have pulled off wilder feats than playing in the cold - like a Blind Pilot's entire west coast tour on bicycles (not even a van for gear). Ha that talk about variables is a lame excuse.