I'll echo the other reviewers and say that this is undoubtedly the best live CD I've ever heard, a testament to a combination of the music, lyrics, players, and timeliness of the message.

Springsteen is almost impossible to review, but I'll just say that, as much as I loved the Rising, Live in Barcelona, and Devils and Dust, the Seeger Sessions and this live album have taken him into a musical stratosphere that maybe only Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson can touch -- pure Americana.

Most of the other reviewers have adequately pointed out the highlights, but I'll say that the mournful dirge that the band transformed "When the Saints Come Marching In" to made tears stream down my face when I first heard this version, especially as it comes in the set after "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live". Folk music is as relevant as it ever was.

If you like any strain of Americana roots music -- blues, folk, jazz, gospel, Western swing, roots country, mountain/Scots/Irish music -- this concert will blow you away and make you sing with the crowd.

Watched the DVD last night and I am just blown away by how great this is. The band is amazing, and they are enjoying the music as much as I have ever seen any band enjoy themselves. Bruce is in great form and this CD/DVD proves once again how versitile and talented he is. It is rare for a artist to sucessfully create a project that is outside what made him or her famous, but Bruce knocks it out of the park on this one.
Another great thing about this music (Bruce's as well as the folk classics) is that it appeals to a huge range of people. This is the first music ever that I can think of that my parents, my wife and my young kids enjoy.
Another great thing about this CD/DVD is the Irish crowd. They are top notch as usual.
Rumor has it that Bruce's next project is with the E Street band. I can't wait to see what that brings, but at the same time, I hope Bruce works with the Sessions Band again soon.
Buy this CD/DVD, you will not be disappointed.

I saw Bruce Springsteen's Seeger Sessions concert last year at the PNC Bank Arts Center in NJ and it was an interesting, uplifting show. This live collection perfectly captures that feeling. While I prefer Mr. Springsteen's straight rock concerts, the show was raucous and big departure from his other solo work which are intimate acoustic settings. The cd from which the concerts emanated from was an excellent recreation of the turn of the century musically stylings, but the live show bring out the songs true heart and soul. Mr. Springsteen really cuts loose and you can hear and feel the fun he is having. Backing by a seventeen-piece band, the songs have a carnival, music hall sound. There are some songs from Mr. Springsteen's own catalog that get reworkings, most notably "Open All Night" which is a radical departure from the original Nebraska version. All in all, this two-disk set (there's a deluxe edition which includes a dvd of the show) is great way to experience this different Springsteen concert.

Springsteen has a knack with live albums; you always feel his energy, his passion, his character. True, his voice isn't the best, and his songwriting is more simple than elegant, but nobody really cares--Bruce Springsteen is a performer, a rock and roll icon with a true love of music. No Springsteen album showcases this love better than LIVE IN DUBLIN.

It is a bit egotistical of Springsteen to include his own songs among these traditionals, but to his credit, they fit right in (and the audience loves them just as much; in fact, the audience helps make this record so amazing, as they clap and sing and clearly have as good a time as the band). Springsteen manages a feat that few artists ever achieve--he manages to reinvent songs he has already reinvented. From standards such as "Old Dan Tucker" and "This Little Light of Mine," to almost unrecognizable versions of his own tunes ("Further On Up the Road" and "Open All Night" especially) that are still purely enjoyable. He tackles acoustic rock, country, gospel, bluegrass, and simple layman balladry. He tells tales of outlaws and victims, of people down on their luck and people realizing what they are made of. Basically, though he only wrote a handful of these tunes (and recorded them all previously), this album reads like any other Bruce Springsteen album, going all the way back to GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J. And the Sessions Band is a collection of some of the finest musicians you will ever hear; they aren't the E Street Band, but damned if they aren't good. Springsteen is still in fine form, and LIVE IN DUBLIN ranks with some of his best efforts yet. True rock 'n roll never dies, it just evolves, and Bruce Springsteen keeps evolving right along with it.

While many musicians become more narrow and stereotyped as they get older, Bruce Springsteen has constantly worked to reinvent himself again and again over his 40 years of performing. I loved Bruce and the E Street Band. Although it may be blasphemy to some, I believe this incarnation of the Sessions band is every bit their equal. The growth and integration since the Seeger Sessions CD is fascinating. "Live In Dublin" is a fabulous performance by a virtuoso band who play with infectious enthusiasm. My only regret is that this performance documents the end of the tour. On the other hand, I can't wait to see where Bruce will go next.