Concert for Human Rights Now, Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10-15-1988, Part 5 - Bruce Springsteen

This album continues right where the previous one left off. That's because these are different sets from a benefit concert that was five and a half hours long. The first sets featured Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel and Sting. This is Bruce Springsteen's closing set.

I explained the basics about this concert in Part 1, the Youssou N'Dour set. Read that if you want to know more, including a Wikipedia link about the tour. But the gist is that these artists got together for a short world tour to promote the work of the non-profit Amnesty International and its campaigns against human rights abuses.

Unlike some of the other artists in this concert, Springsteen hadn't yet gotten overtly political with his songs, though he would later, for instance with his 1995 album "The Ghost of Tom Joad." But he had done some political benefits before, such as the "No Nukes" concerts in 1979, and a frequent theme in his songs has been the problems of the common man. 

He also was the only one to release music to support this tour at the time. He put out the "Chimes of Freedom" EP in August 1988, which contained four songs recorded during a different tour earlier in the year. But it helped draw attention to the tour, especially the Bob Dylan cover "Chimes of Freedom," which he hadn't recorded before.

One interesting thing about this concert is that there doesn't seem to have been an emcee. Instead, each artist was introduced by the previous one. So the first track here is the introduction by Sting.

The last two songs might not be considered part of Springsteen's set. Since this was the last set of the entire concert, all five of the headlining artists - Springsteen, N'Dour, Chapman, Gabriel, and Sting - joined together on stage to sing two encore songs. But I've included them here since they came right after his set.

In 1987, Springsteen released the album "Tunnel of Love," which was well received. But, oddly, he didn't play any songs from it during this set. Instead, he leaned particularly heavily on his 1984 smash album "Born in the U.S.A." Also, I'd like to note that he made some valiant attempts to speak Spanish for the Argentine audience, but he didn't seem as fluent as some others. I was particularly amused how he introduced Sting as "El Stingo" when Sting joined in singing the song "The River."

As I mentioned in my Part 1 write-up, there has been an official album of this concert, but it's only a double album, so it merely contains highlights from the full show, which is over five and a half hours long. Luckily, a soundboard bootleg of the entire thing exists, and the sound quality here is excellent.

This album is an hour and 25 minutes long. Since I consider it a part of the entire concert, I've had the track number start with 46, so you can put all the parts together in one folder and have them be in the proper order.

46 talk by Sting (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
47 Born in the U.S.A. (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
48 The Promised Land (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
49 Cover Me (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
50 I'm on Fire (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
51 talk (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
52 The River (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band with Sting)
53 Cadillac Ranch (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
54 War (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
55 Monologue (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
56 My Home Town (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
57 Dancing in the Dark (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
58 Glory Days (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
59 Raise Your Hand (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
60 Twist and Shout (Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band)
61 Chimes of Freedom (Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour & Sting)
62 Get Up, Stand Up (Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour & Sting)

https://pixeldrain.com/u/6P24jWZ9

alternate: 

https://bestfile.io/en/SmzsH9hwB7Zyr0I/file 

The cover photo is from this exact concert. I could have used a photo of just Springsteen, but I thought it was more interesting to use one of Tracy Chapman, Sting, and Springsteen from one of the encore songs. The graphic in the upper left corner was the logo for this tour. I also used the same font that was featured on the promotional material for the tour.

Concert for Human Rights Now, Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10-15-1988, Part 4 - Sting

This album continues right where the previous one left off. That's because these are different sets from a benefit concert that was five and a half hours long. The first sets featured Youssou N'Dour, Tracy Chapman and Peter Gabriel. This set is by Sting. The remaining set features Bruce Springsteen.

I explained the basics about this concert in Part 1, the Youssou N'Dour set. Read that if you want to know more, including a Wikipedia link about the tour. But the gist is that these artists got together for a short world tour to promote the work of the non-profit Amnesty International and its campaigns against human rights abuses.

Sting was a good fit for this concert, due to a couple of songs on his most recent album at the time, "...Nothing like the Sun." One was "They Dance Alone," which was about the disappearance of thousands of political activists in Chile in the 1970s and 80s. Another, "Fragile," is about Ben Linder, a U.S. engineer who was working on a microhydro dam in Nicaragua in 1987 when he was killed by the Contras, a rebel group secretly funded by the U.S. government. 

Additionally, early in 1988, Sting released an EP called "Nada Como el Sol," which contained Spanish versions of four songs from his "...Nothing like the Sun." That included the two political songs mentioned above. So perhaps it's not surprising that he performed the Spanish versions of those two songs instead of the English versions, since this concert took place in Argentina, where the dominant language is Spanish. I don't know if he speaks Spanish or had to be coached, but he also ably made some comments in Spanish between songs.

One interesting thing about this concert is that there doesn't seem to have been an emcee. Instead, each artist was introduced by the previous one. So the first track here is the introduction by Peter Gabriel. Gabriel also helped sing the song "Ellas Danzan Solas" (the Spanish version of "They Dance Alone"). Also, Bruce Springsteen helped sing the final song, the huge Police hit "Every Breath You Take."

As I mentioned in my Part 1 write-up, there has been an official album of this concert, but it's only a double album, so it merely contains highlights from the full show, which is over five and a half hours long. Luckily, a soundboard bootleg of the entire thing exists, and the sound quality here is excellent.

This album is an hour and 19 minutes long. Since I consider it a part of the entire concert, I've had the track number start with 34, so you can put all the parts together in one folder and have them be in the proper order.

Note that on the mp3, I had to shorten the title for the medley "Bring on the Night - When the World Is Running Down You Make the Best of What's Still Around" because it's so damn long.

34 talk by Peter Gabriel (Sting)
35 The Lazarus Heart - Too Much Information (Sting)
36 We'll Be Together (Sting)
37 If You Love Somebody Set Them Free (Sting)
38 One World [Not Three] (Sting)
39 talk (Sting)
40 Fragilidad [Spanish Version of Fragile] (Sting)
41 Driven to Tears (Sting)
42 Bring on the Night - When the World Is Running Down You Make the Best of What's Still Around (Sting)
43 Don't Stand So Close to Me (Sting)
44 Ellas Danzan Solas [Spanish Version of They Dance Alone] (Sting with Peter Gabriel)
45 Every Breath You Take (Sting with Bruce Springsteen)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15451357/ConcrtfrHumnRightsNw__10-15-1988__Part4-_Stng.zip.html

The cover is from this exact concert. It's a screenshot I took from a YouTube video. The graphic in the upper left corner was the logo for this tour. I also used the same font that was featured on the promotional material for the tour.

Concert for Human Rights Now, Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10-15-1988, Part 3 - Peter Gabriel

This album continues right where the previous one left off. That's because these are different sets from a benefit concert that was five and a half hours long. The first set mainly featured Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, and the second set featured Tracy Chapman. This is Peter Gabriel's set. The remaining two are the sets of  Sting and Bruce Springsteen.

I explained the basics about this concert in Part 1, the Youssou N'Dour set. Read that if you want to know more, including a Wikipedia link about the tour. But the gist is that these artists got together for a short world tour to promote the work of the non-profit Amnesty International and its campaigns against human rights abuses.

Peter Gabriel was a good fit for this concert, due to his interest in human rights abuses as well as world music. For instance, his 1980 song "Biko," which he played here, is about Steven Biko, an anti-Apartheid activist who was beaten to death by security officials while detained in a South African prison in 1977. It's too bad he didn't play "Wallflower," because that's a 1982 song about the mistreatment of political prisoners in Latin America, which couldn't have been more relevant to this concert in Argentina.

One interesting thing about this concert is that there doesn't seem to have been an emcee. Instead, each artist was introduced by the previous one. So the first track here is the introduction by Tracy Chapman. Chapman also helped sing the song "Don't Give Up," taking the female vocal part done by Kate Bush on the record version. Also, Youssou N'Dour sang some on the record version of "In Your Eyes," so he naturally sang on this version as well.

As I mentioned in my Part 1 write-up, there has been an official album of this concert, but it's only a double album, so it merely contains highlights from the full show, which is over five and a half hours long. Luckily, a soundboard bootleg of the entire thing exists, and the sound quality here is excellent.

This album is an hour and five minutes long. Since I consider it a part of the entire concert, I've had the track number start with 24, so you can put all the parts together in one folder and have them be in the proper order.

24 talk by Tracy Chapman (Peter Gabriel)
25 Red Rain (Peter Gabriel)
26 Games without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel)
27 Shock the Monkey (Peter Gabriel)
28 No Self Control (Peter Gabriel)
29 Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel & Tracy Chapman)
30 Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel)
31 Monologue (Peter Gabriel)
32 In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel with Youssou N'Dour)
33 Biko (Peter Gabriel)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15451551/ConcrtfrHumnRightsNw__10-15-1988__Part3-_PetrGbriel.zip.html

The cover is from this exact concert. It's a screenshot I took from a YouTube video. The graphic in the upper left corner was the logo for this tour. I also used the same font that was featured on the promotional material for the tour.

Concert for Human Rights Now, Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10-15-1988, Part 2 - Tracy Chapman

This album continues right where the previous one left off. That's because these are different sets from a benefit concert that was five and a half hours long. The first set mainly featured Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour. This one is Tracy Chapman's set. The next three are the sets of Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Bruce Springsteen.

I explained the basics about this concert in Part 1, the Youssou N'Dour set. Read that if you want to know more, including a Wikipedia link about the tour. But the gist is that these artists got together for a short world tour to promote the work of the non-profit Amnesty International and its campaigns against human rights abuses.

Chapman was a natural fit for such a concert, since she's often sung about political and social issues. But note that this concert came very early in her career. Her debut album "Tracy Chapman" was released in April 1988. It would go on to sell about 20 million copies! This concert only took place about six months after that album's release.

One interesting thing about this concert is that there doesn't seem to have been an emcee. Instead, each artist was introduced by the previous one. So the first track here is the introduction by Youssou N'Dour.

As I mentioned in my Part 1 write-up, there has been an official album of this concert, but it's only a double album, so it merely contains highlights from the full show, which is over five and a half hours long. Luckily, a soundboard bootleg of the entire thing exists, and the sound quality here is excellent.

This album is 33 minutes long. For whatever reason, Chapman's set is the shortest. All of the songs are from her debut album except "Freedom Now," which would go on her second album. She mostly played solo acoustic, even doing one song acappella. However, Branford Marsalis contributed a saxophone solo on one song.

Since I consider this to be a part of the entire concert, I've had the track number start with 14, so you can put all the parts together in one folder and have them be in the proper order.

14 talk by Youssou N'Dour (Tracy Chapman)
15 Across the Lines (Tracy Chapman)
16 Why (Tracy Chapman)
17 Baby Can I Hold You (Tracy Chapman)
18 Behind the Wall (Tracy Chapman)
19 Fast Car (Tracy Chapman)
20 talk (Tracy Chapman)
21 Freedom Now (Tracy Chapman)
22 Mountain O' Things (Tracy Chapman)
23 Talkin' Bout a Revolution (Tracy Chapman)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15451322/ConcrtfrHumnRightsNw__10-15-1988__Part2-_TrcyChapmn.zip.html

The cover photo comes from this exact concert. The graphic in the upper left corner was the logo for this tour. I also used the same font that was featured on the promotional material for the tour.

Concert for Human Rights Now, Estadio River Plate, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10-15-1988, Part 1 - Leon Gieco, Charly Garcia & Youssou N'Dour

You may well ask: "Who the heck are Leon Gieco, Charly Garcia & Youssou N'Dour?" Prior to putting this album together a few days ago, I had only of Youssou N'Dour, and just a bit, mainly due to his musical collaborations with Peter Gabriel. The reason I'm posting this album is because it's the first part of five albums that make up a big, long benefit concert held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1988, in front of 75,000 people. The other artists are Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Bruce Springsteen.

The concert was the last one in a worldwide tour of 10 benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Although it did raise funds for charity, it was even more focused on raising awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty International to combat human rights abuses around the world.

You can read more about the concerts at Wikipedia, here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Now

Youssou N'Dour is from the country of Senegal. Rolling Stone Magazine has said he is arguably the most famous musician from Africa. He was one of the five headliners for this concert tour, along with Chapman, Gabriel, Sting, and Springsteen. However, at each concert venue, there would be one or two additional musicians on the bill, generally those who were only regionally or nationally famous, in order to help them reach larger audiences. That's why Leon Gieco and Charly Garcia are included here. Both of them are from Argentina. Gieco is a singer-songwriter known as the "Argentine Bob Dylan." Charly Garcia is better known throughout Latin America. He's played many genres of music, from folk to prog rock. Both of them are known for being politically outspoken, making them a good fit with the themes of this concert.

Here's the Wikipedia page of Gieco:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3n_Gieco

And here's the page of Garcia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charly_Garc%C3%ADa

I'm pretty sure the sets of Gieco and Garcia are incomplete, with only two and four songs respectively. But something is better than nothing. Both sang entirely in Spanish.

N'Dour generally sings in Wolof, a language popular in Senegal and a few nearby countries. So if you prefer your music in English, this album may be tough sledding for you. However, the music of both Garcia and N'Dour is lively and often danceable, which helps transcend language barriers.

Note that portions of this concert have been officially released, but not much. The official album, "Released! The Human Rights Concerts," came out in 2013, long after the concert, and didn't seem to sell many copies. It was only a double album, and the concert was over five and a half hours long, so it only captured some highlights. For instance, that album has no songs by Gieco or Garcia, and only two by N'Dour. But this is an excellent soundboard bootleg, so there's no worries about sound quality.

This album is an hour and two minutes long. Only eight minutes are of Gieco's songs. Another 16 minutes are of Garcia's songs. The vast majority, 38 minutes, are of N'Dour's songs.

01 Hombres de Hierro (Leon Gieco)
02 Solo le Pido a Dios (Leon Gieco)
03 Demoliendo Hoteles (Charly Garcia)
04 Los Dinosaurios (Charly Garcia)
05 Nos Siguen Pegando Abajo [Pecado Mortal] (Charly Garcia)
06 La Ruta de Tentempie [Extasis] (Charly Garcia)
07 N'Dobine (Youssou N'Dour)
08 Immigres-Bitim Rew (Youssou N'Dour)
09 Kocc Barma (Youssou N'Dour)
10 talk (Youssou N'Dour)
11 Nelson Mandela (Youssou N'Dour)
12 Deugeu [The Truth] (Youssou N'Dour)
13 The Lion [Gaiende] (Youssou N'Dour)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15451327/ConcrtfrHumnRightsNw__10-15-1988__Part1-_YssouNDour.zip.html

Also, here's a link if you want to download all five parts of this concert at once (including the Bruce part that is otherwise unavailable). Be warned though that this is a big download - 750 megabytes - since the concert is five and a half hours long.

https://www.imagenetz.de/ihHwY

The cover photo is of N'Dour. I took a screenshot of a YouTube video of this exact concert. The graphic in the upper left corner was the logo for this tour. I also used the same font that was featured on the promotional material for the tour.