Overview
Blood Brothers, a documentary film made by filmmaker Ernie Fritz, that chronicles a brief reunion of Bruce Springsteen with The E Street Band in 1995. The film was nominated in 1997 for a Grammy for "Best Music Video - Long Form". After a break with The E Street Band since 1989, Springsteen decided in 1995, to reconnect with The E Street Band for a week of recording sessions as well as a couple of New York City promotional concert appearances. The recordings were to add a few new tracks to Springsteen's upcoming 1995 Greatest Hits release. After the brief reunion, Springsteen then went on his own way again. The next reunion was not until 1999's Reunion Tour and 2002's The Rising album. Fritz documented the entire period - capturing Springsteen and manager/producer Jon Landau deciding what songs to put on Greatest Hits album, working on arrangements of the new songs, the recording sessions themselves and performances at the promotional shows. The Blood Brothers documentary film received very positive reactions. It premiered on March 3, 1996 on the Disney Channel. It was released on Laserdisc on October 1, 1996, on VHS on November 19, 1996, and on DVD on January 16, 2001.
The documentary is accompanied by Blood Brothers, a five-song EP by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, released in 1996. The EP (not to be sold seperately) was originally released along with VHS version of the film, also titled Blood Brothers. Long out of print, the EP was re-released in January 2014 to iTunes, Spotify and other download sites. It was remastered and included in Album Collection Vol 2 1987-1996, released in 2018. Four of the five songs on the EP were written and recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York, NY, during the band's Greatest Hits sessions, while "Murder Incorporated" was recorded live in February. Springsteen assembled the entire E Street Band, including Little Steven, together for about ten days of recording. Although Springsteen had utilized individual band members in the studio since 1987, this was seemingly the first time the E Street Band had worked together in the studio since March 1984 (a point Nils Lofgren has since confirmed in an interview). The title track was also released on the Greatest Hits album in an acoustic version. The studio version of "Murder Incorporated" can also be found on Greatest Hits along with the original version of "Secret Garden" minus strings. The live version of "Murder Incorporated" featured here is the same version used in the "Murder Incorporated" music video, played six times in total.