Springsteen’s Scandinavian Surprises

Bruce Springsteen has a warm place in his heart for Scandinavia and it showed as he served up some interesting sets for his fans in Norway and Sweden last week.

His second show in Oslo, Norway on Tuesday featured 15 songs not played the night before. And the changes, and surprises, continued Friday and Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden. On Friday he did his third album, Born to Run, in its entirety and on Saturday it was that album’s follow-up, Darkness on the Edge of Town, also in its entirety. He told the audience in Stockholm just how special they were. “To be greeted as we are when we come here, year after year... we want to thank you and all of your relatives for making us a part of your life, your country, your culture."

He also broke out three tour premieres during his first week in Europe -- “Leap of Faith,” “Follow That Dream” and his take on The Isley Brothers’ “Shout.”

Springsteen is in Turku, Finland Tuesday and Wednesday before returning for a third show in Stockholm on Saturday.