Overview

• Bruce Springsteen closed the Monmouth University symposium with “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run” in the 700-seat Pollack Theatre.
• The performance paired pre-1975 members David Sancious and Ernest Carter with later E Street mainstays Roy Bittan and Max Weinberg alongside Steven Van Zandt, Garry Tallent and saxophonist Ed Manion in what was reported as the first time this exact combination shared a stage.
• During “Born to Run,” Carter delivered the intricate drum fill that Weinberg has said he struggles to replicate, as the room took on arena-like energy.
• Springsteen took part in three panels, as engineers, managers and collaborators including Jimmy Iovine, Mike Appel, Jon Landau, photographer Eric Meola and Columbia Records veterans offered first-hand accounts of the album’s making and rollout.
• Van Zandt demonstrated how a conversation with Springsteen led to changing the final note of the title track’s guitar riff from a minor to a major chord, illustrating the record’s meticulous construction amid a broader year of retrospectives that includes a new book, box sets and an upcoming biopic.