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Tracks (Bruce Springsteen album)

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Tracks
Box set by
Bruce Springsteen
ReleasedNovember 10, 1998
Recorded1972-1998
GenreRock
Length254:58
LabelColumbia
ProducerVarious
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Blood Brothers
(1996) 		Tracks
(1998) 		18 Tracks
(1999)
Singles from Tracks
  1. "I Wanna Be with You"
    Released: May 8, 1999[1]
  2. "Sad Eyes"
    Released: June 8, 1999[2]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Tom HullB+ ((1-star Honorable Mention))[3]

Tracks is a four-disc box set by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1998 containing 66 songs. This box set mostly consists of never-before-released songs recorded during the sessions for his many albums, but also includes a number of single B-sides, as well as demos and alternate versions of already-released material.

History

The project began in early 1998, when Springsteen and his chief recording engineer, Toby Scott, began going through his massive collection of unreleased songs. Springsteen had been known as a very prolific songwriter (Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River, and Born in the U.S.A. each had more than 50 songs written for them), and by 1998 the number of unreleased songs was up to more than 350— 3/4 of all his recorded material.

Although the idea of simply releasing the rough demos of the songs was kicked around, Springsteen eventually decided to mix them properly. Springsteen, Scott, and three sets of engineers spent most of 1998 going through his massive song library, mixing songs and picking out the best of the unreleased material. Sometimes, a song would need extra parts added on, such as in the case of "Thundercrack", a song dating back to 1973. Springsteen called in then-former bandmates Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, along with original drummer Vini Lopez to fill in the missing pieces.[4]

By July, 100 songs (six CDs worth) had been selected as the songs for the box set, and it was being prepared for commercial release. However, Springsteen eventually decided to cut the number to 66, leaving a total of four CDs. The project was completed in mid-September 1998, and was released two months later.

Even though the original intention was to cover material from all aspects of Springsteen's career, acoustic demos from 1972 (such as "Arabian Nights", "Jazz Musician", "Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol", and "Visitation at Fort Horn") were not available for release, due to ongoing court proceedings surrounding the songs (concerning the attempted release of these songs by a different, European based label in 1993).[5][6] Songs from the "Electric Nebraska" sessions, as well as songs from an unreleased 1994 album, were also missing.

The songs came from varying backgrounds:

  • "Roulette", "Be True", "Pink Cadillac", "Johnny Bye Bye", "Shut Out the Light", "Stand on It", "Janey Don't You Lose Heart", "Lucky Man", "Two for the Road", and "Part Man, Part Monkey" were all B-sides to singles. However, the take of "Stand on It" included on Tracks is a previously unknown alternate version that features an extra verse and a fully finished ending (as opposed to the fade-out on the original B-side).
  • "Bishop Danced", "Santa Ana", "Seaside Bar Song", "Zero and Blind Terry", "Thundercrack", "Rendezvous", "So Young and in Love", "Man at the Top", "The Wish", "When the Lights Go Out", and "Brothers Under the Bridge" were all known from previous live performances.
  • "Hearts of Stone" was previously recorded by Southside Johnny.
  • A rerecorded "This Hard Land" was released on Greatest Hits, although the original recording did not appear until Tracks.
  • "Linda Let Me Be the One", "Iceman", "Bring On the Night", "Don't Look Back", "Restless Nights", "Where the Bands Are", "Loose Ends", "Living on the Edge of the World", "Take 'Em as They Come", "Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own", "I Wanna Be with You", "Mary Lou", "Cynthia", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "Frankie", "T.V. Movie", and "Back in Your Arms" had previously been unofficially released on bootlegs, sometimes under different titles.
  • "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)" and "Lion's Den" were documented to exist, but had not been officially released.
  • "Give the Girl a Kiss", "Dollhouse", "Wages of Sin", "Car Wash", "Rockaway the Days", "Brothers Under the Bridges ('83)", "When You Need Me", "The Honeymooners", "Leavin' Train", "Seven Angels", "Gave It a Name", "Sad Eyes", "My Lover Man", "Over the Rise", "Loose Change", "Trouble in Paradise", "Goin' Cali", and "Happy" were all unknown songs before Tracks.

The box set was a minor success, peaking at #27 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It has been certified platinum in the U.S. and gold in Canada.

Since its release, 44 of the songs on the set have been played live at least once, with "My Love Will Not Let You Down" receiving the most attention at over 100 plays.[7]

The box set was later condensed into a single-disc album called 18 Tracks, with 3 songs ("Trouble River", "The Fever", and "The Promise") not on the 4-CD box set.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bruce Springsteen, except where noted

Disc one
No.TitleRecording date and locationLength
1."Mary Queen of Arkansas" (Demo Version)
  • May 3, 1972
  • Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY
4:27
2."It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" (Demo Version)
  • May 3, 1972
  • Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY
2:52
3."Growin' Up" (Demo Version)
  • May 3, 1972
  • Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY
2:38
4."Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" (Demo Version)
  • May 3, 1972
  • Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY
1:58
5."Bishop Danced"
4:18
6."Santa Ana"
4:35
7."Seaside Bar Song"
  • July 24, 1973
  • The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake
3:33
8."Zero and Blind Terry"
  • August 7, 1973
  • The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake
5:56
9."Linda Let Me Be the One"
4:24
10."Thundercrack"
  • August 9, 1973 + 1997
  • The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake
8:25
11."Rendezvous" (writers: Springsteen, Doug Cameron)
2:48
12."Give the Girl a Kiss"
3:51
13."Iceman"
  • October 27, 1977
  • Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake
3:17
14."Bring On the Night"
2:36
15."So Young and in Love"
  • June 1, 1974
  • Born to Run outtake
3:47
16."Hearts of Stone"
  • October 14, 1977 + 1997 horns
  • Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake
4:29
17."Don't Look Back"
  • July 2, 1977
  • Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake
3:00

[8]

Disc two
No.TitleRecording date and locationLength
1."Restless Nights"
  • May 2, 1980
  • The River outtake
3:44
2."A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)"
3:15
3."Roulette"
  • April 12, 1980
  • The River outtake
3:51
4."Dollhouse"
  • August 21, 1979
  • The River outtake
3:31
5."Where the Bands Are"
  • October 9, 1979
  • The River outtake
3:43
6."Loose Ends"
  • July 18, 1979
  • The River outtake
4:00
7."Living on the Edge of the World"
  • December 3, 1979
  • The River outtake
4:17
8."Wages of Sin"
  • May 10, 1982
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
4:51
9."Take 'Em as They Come"
  • April 10, 1980
  • The River outtake
4:28
10."Be True"
  • July 18, 1979
  • The River outtake
3:39
11."Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own"
  • April 10, 1980
  • The River outtake
2:44
12."I Wanna Be with You"
  • May 31, 1979
  • The River outtake
3:21
13."Mary Lou"
  • July 13, 1979
  • The River outtake
3:21
14."Stolen Car" (alternate version)
  • September 24, 1979
  • The River outtake
4:26
15."Born in the U.S.A." (Demo Version)
3:08
16."Johnny Bye-Bye" (writers: Chuck Berry, Springsteen)
  • January 4, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
1:49
17."Shut Out the Light"
  • January 19, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
3:51
Disc three
No.TitleRecording date and locationLength
1."Cynthia"
  • June 15, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
4:13
2."My Love Will Not Let You Down"
  • May 5, 1982
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
4:28
3."This Hard Land"
  • May 11, 1982
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
4:46
4."Frankie"
  • May 14, 1982
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
7:22
5."TV Movie"
  • June 13, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
2:48
6."Stand on It" (alternative version)
  • June 16, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
3:05
7."Lion's Den"
  • January 25, 1982
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
2:18
8."Car Wash"
  • May 31, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
2:06
9."Rockaway the Days"
  • January 12, 1984
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
4:40
10."Brothers Under the Bridges '83"
  • September 14, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
5:06
11."Man at the Top"
  • January 12, 1984
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
3:19
12."Pink Cadillac"
  • May 31, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
3:33
13."Two for the Road"
1:57
14."Janey, Don't You Lose Heart"
  • June 16, 1983
  • Born in the U.S.A. outtake
3:24
15."When You Need Me"
  • January 20, 1987
  • Tunnel of Love outtake
2:54
16."The Wish"
  • February 22, 1987
  • Tunnel of Love outtake
5:14
17."The Honeymooners"
  • February 22, 1987
  • Tunnel of Love outtake
2:04
18."Lucky Man"
  • April 4, 1987
  • Tunnel of Love outtake
3:31
Disc four
No.TitleRecording date and locationLength
1."Leavin' Train"
4:05
2."Seven Angels"
  • June 29, 1990
  • Human Touch outtake
3:26
3."Gave It a Name"
  • August 24, 1998
  • Human Touch outtake, re-recorded for "Tracks"
2:47
4."Sad Eyes"
  • January 25, 1990
  • Human Touch outtake
3:47
5."My Lover Man"
  • December 4, 1990
  • Human Touch outtake
3:56
6."Over the Rise"
  • December 7, 1990
  • Human Touch outtake
2:38
7."When the Lights Go Out"
  • December 6, 1990
  • Human Touch outtake
3:05
8."Loose Change"
  • January 31, 1991
  • Human Touch outtake
4:18
9."Trouble in Paradise" (writers: Roy Bittan, Springsteen)
  • December 1, 1989
  • Human Touch outtake
4:37
10."Happy"
  • January 18, 1992
  • Lucky Town outtake
4:51
11."Part Man, Part Monkey"
  • January 1990
  • Human Touch outtake
4:28
12."Goin' Cali"
  • January 29, 1991
  • Human Touch outtake
2:59
13."Back in Your Arms"January 12, 19954:35
14."Brothers Under the Bridge '95"
4:55[9]

Personnel

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[10] Gold 25,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Bruce Springsteen - I Wanna Be With You (CD, Single) at Discogs". Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  2. ^ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004UU3I
  3. ^ Hull, Tom (October 29, 2016). "Streamnotes (October 2016)". Tom Hull - on the Web. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
  4. ^ Carlin, Peter Ames (2012). "Bruce". Touchstone.
  5. ^ "Tracks - Studio Sessions Edit 25…". Brucebase. 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  6. ^ Gaar, Gillian G. (2016). Boss : Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band : the illustrated history. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780760349724.
  7. ^ "My Love Will Not Let You Down | Bruce Springsteen Live | Greasy Lake". www.greasylake.org. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  8. ^ Heylin, Clinton (2012). E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. London, UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd. pp. 71–83. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  9. ^ Heylin, Clinton (2012). E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. London, UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd. pp. 71–83. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
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