| THE ANSWER - V1 | 1:56 | FFOD / HNWB / MT2 |
| THE ANSWER - V2 | 3:17 | FFOD / HNWB / MT2 |
| LOSIN' KIND - V3 (take 1) | uncirculating | |
| LOSIN' KIND - V4 (take 2) | 5:00 | NEBRASKA82: OUTTAKES / LM-1 / HNWB / MTQ / MT2 |
| LOSIN' KIND - V5 (take 3) | uncirculating | |
| LOSIN' KIND - V6 | uncirculating | |
| LOSIN' KIND - V7 | uncirculating |
Note: "The Answer" is an early work-in-progress version of "Losin' Kind". Two (unusually polished) incomplete takes circulate (V1 and V2) that were recorded consecutively between September and December, 1981. V1 is just the fourth (final) verse, while V2 consists of the third and fourth verses. Both demos are combined into the same track on the bootlegs 'Fistfull Of Dollars', 'How Nebraska Was Born', and 'Missing Tracks Vol. Two'.
At least three takes of "Losin' Kind" were recorded during the December 17, 1981–January 3, 1982 Portastudio sessions, one of the fifteen demos that Springsteen put on a tape and sent to Jon Landau. He wrote to Landau, "Searched and searched for a better title, spent many hours on this task but no good. I like the verses but I can't seem to find a better punchline. Kind of like a James M. Cain story. Could be done with more of a band arrangement." Springsteen's hunt for an ending can be seen in the development between "The Answer" and "Losin' Kind" - Frank barely survives in the former, while his escape in the latter adds an ironic punch. Three takes were included on this tape, each with slight lyrical changes in the first and last verses; take two is the commonly circulated recording, officially released on Nebraska '82: Nebraska Outtakes in 2025 and first heard on Volume 1 of the 'Lost Masters' in 1998. "Losin' Kind" shares DNA with several other songs, most notably "Highway Patrolman" and "Highway 29", which is essentially a re-write of this song.
V6 was a solo take recorded at the Power Station on April 30, 1982; in the Nebraska '82 liner notes, Erik Flannigan calls this version "solid, but without the unique elements that made the home recording so compelling." A total of three takes were attempted; two false starts and a single complete take. Subsequently a take of "Losin' Kind" (with "Pink Cadillac") was transferred to four-track half-inch tape on June 10, 1982 - presumably this was the original demo, not the re-recording. A year later Bruce would make one more attempt to record "Losin' Kind", this time at Thrill Hill West, his Hollywood Hills studio, on March 12, 1983 (V7). This potential re-work was copied to a 24-track "mix" reel alongside "Don't Back Down", "James Lincoln Deer" (as "Jim Deer") and "Johnny Go Down". Evidently all this effort was without reward, because it's the original take 2 that was selected for official release in 2025 on Nebraska Outtakes, notably a substantial audio upgrade over anything heard previously.
Note that the Nebraska Outtakes liner notes state that "Losin' Kind" was recorded by Toby Scott, assisted by Jeff Hendrickson. If accurate, this would mean that the track was recorded at the Power Station, not at Springsteen's home. But given Flannigan's statement in his essay and the sound of the track itself, this is certainly an error.