Collection: 1973-2012

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Commercially Released: March 8, 2013 (Australia) / April 15, 2013 (Europe)
Label: Columbia
Recorded at Record Plant, Power Station, The Hit Factory, Thrill Hill Recording, Southern Tracks,
 Henson Recording Studios, Avatar Studios, 914 Sound Studios, Very Loud House Studio, MSR Studios*
Mixed at Thrill Hill Recording*
Mastered at 914 Sound Studios, Record Plant, A&M Studios and Soundworks West*
Design by Michelle Holme
Photography by Danny Clinch, Eric Meola and Peter Cunningham

^{* See original releases for all credits.}

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Table of Contents

Overview

Released

Additional Information

Overview

Collection: 1973–2012 is a compilation album containing 18 tracks spanning forty years of Springsteen's musical career. Fourteen of the songs on the album are credited to Springsteen as a solo act and four (namely "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Hungry Heart", "Born in the U.S.A.", and "Dancing in the Dark") are credited to the formation "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band". Two of the tracks, namely "Badlands" and "The Promised Land", were remastered for the compilation edition.

Released

Magic

#	Song Title	Running Time	Release
1.	ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT)	7:01	COLL: 7312
2.	THUNDER ROAD ²	4:48	COLL: 7312
3.	BORN TO RUN	4:30	COLL: 7312
4.	BADLANDS	4:04	COLL: 7312
5.	THE PROMISED LAND ²	4:29	COLL: 7312
6.	HUNGRY HEART ¹	3:19	COLL: 7312
7.	ATLANTIC CITY	3:56	COLL: 7312
8.	BORN IN THE U.S.A. ¹	4:39	COLL: 7312
9.	DANCING IN THE DARK ¹	4:02	COLL: 7312
10.	BRILLIANT DISGUISE	4:15	COLL: 7312
11.	HUMAN TOUCH	5:09	COLL: 7312
12.	STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA	3:14	COLL: 7312
13.	THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD	4:22	COLL: 7312
14.	THE RISING	4:47	COLL: 7312
15.	RADIO NOWHERE	3:18	COLL: 7312
16.	WORKING ON A DREAM	3:28	COLL: 7312
17.	WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN	3:53	COLL: 7312
18.	WRECKING BALL	5:49	COLL: 7312

^{Total Running Time: 1:24:24}

^{1: Credited to Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

2: Remastered for this compilation}

Additional Information

^{© All credits to the original photographer.}

ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) - V1	7:17	US5 / ET / ETRJ / ROOI / SA914
ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) - V2	7:00	WIESS / ESSENTIAL / GH09

Note According to Diane Lozito, Bruce's girlfriend 1971-1975, "he wrote 'Rosalita' in bits and pieces and didn't have a title for it," she says. "My mom is Rita Lozito. Then he met my grandma. So I assume that's where he put it together." Her grandmother's full name was "Rose Lozito"; In that part of Jersey, it's pronounced Lazita, so "Rose Lazita". Apparently, the derivation of the sub-title "(Come Out Tonight)" is by an unrelated and unknown process. Also according to Diane, and confirmed independently by her sister, Carol Lisa Lozito, though the song name came from her grandmother, the song was about Diane. Carol also said her sister was 'Crazey Janey" in "Spirit In the Night", "Sandy" in "4th of July, Asbury Park", "Terry" in "Backstreets", and the girl in "Thundercrack". This has never been refuted by Springsteen. In an interview for Mojo magazine published in January 1999, Springsteen told Mark Hagen that he wrote "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" as a live showstopper, just as he had written "Thundercrack" before it.

Rosie was performed for the first time on February 14, 1973 at Richmond, Virginia, fully-formed musically, with plenty of lyrics too, though some were unfamiliar "with her chiffon reigns" and "soft sweet samurai tongue". It was performed live at least four more times, until it was recorded V2 on September 23, 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY. Other than an instrumental backing track V1 from the same day, no other outtakes or alternates are known to exist.

CHRISSIE'S SONG - V1		uncirculating
WINGS FOR WHEELS - V2		uncirculating
THUNDER ROAD - V3a	4:39	BIS / WAR / ET / BWNH / BTRCS / UBTROC
THUNDER ROAD - V3b	5:12	BTRS / BTRO
THUNDER ROAD - V4	4:35	BIS / WAR / ET / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / UBTROC
THUNDER ROAD - V5	5:03	ESRR / BTRS
THUNDER ROAD - V6	5:22	WAR / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / UBTROC
THUNDER ROAD - V7	4:45	BORN TO RUN / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST

Note: Started out as a 1972 song called "Angelina", then after further development, Bruce did V1, a solo recording in October 1974 at 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt NY of "Chrissie’s Song", including the line "Leave what you’ve lost, leave what’s grown cold, Thunder Road". Sometime between November 1974 and January 1975, Bruce took 'Chrissie' and the following lyrics from "Walking In the Street", and combined them into a composition he now called "Wings For Wheels" V2, recorded in February. The line, "they case the promised land" and verse, "Oh baby I can't lay the stars at your feet, but I think we could take it all, just you and me, Oh come on and see there's a lot of room, For you baby in this front seat". On February 5, 1975 at the Main Point, Bryn Mawr, PA, with Angelina his new girl in the song, Ed Sciaky introduced the radio broadcast that included 'Born To Run', 'She's the One', 'Jungleland', and 'Wings For Wheels'. A memorable moment, not preserved for album #3, was Suki Lahav’s violin behind Bruce: "Now the season's over and I feel it getting cold, Well, I wish I could take you to some sandy beach, where we'd never grow old, ah, but baby, you know that's just jive, tonight's bustin' open and I'm alive, Oh, do what you can do to make me feel like a man". But "Wings" had a horrible jazz ending ("snake charmer's song with a beat"), and sometime after March 9 (the last time "Wings" appeared on a set list), Bruce took the music he had written for "Walking In the Street", and patched it on to the end of "Wings for Wheels"; now his new lyric "this is a town for losers, I'm pulling out of here to win" was followed by the new instrumentral outro. "The night's bustin' open, these two lanes will take us anywhere", and a poster for a 1958 Robert Mitchum movie in the lobby of a movie theater, provided the final ingredients for "Thunder Road".

The exact mechanics behind moving "Walking In the Street" to "Wings For Wheels" is not known, but besides being mostly ignored, there seems to be no end of alternate explanations for the magic that suddenly came to "Thunder Road". While the contributions of people like Landau, Roy Bittan, and Max Weinberg cannot be overlooked, nothing came close to the new instrumental ending. According to the 2005 documentary, "Wings For Wheels the Making of Born to Run", Landau says he helped restructure some songs. Meanwhile, the film shows the band performing the old Wings for Wheels outro on February 6, 1975 at Widener College, Chester, Pennsylvania; then it cuts to the now familiar instrumental ending of "Thunder Road", implying Landau was the person who made the change, or you be the judge. Bruce has never breathed a word about this, which worked out quite well, except he claims to have lost the completed tape of "Walking In the Street", recorded May 28, 1975, which is also why it could not go on "Tracks". Another point of view is that most of "Walking In the Street" was incorporated into "Thunder Road", which brings up the question, what was recorded in two takes on May 28 at the Record Plant?

April 13, 1975 was the day Jon Landau officially joined the album #3 production team. Louis Lahav, chief engineer, and his wife Suki, the violin player, quit and returned to their native Israel in late March (this is often misreported as months later). Jimmy Iovine reported to work at the Record Plant on April 18, after Landau was instructed to find better accommodations. Thunder Road and Jungleland were the first two songs recorded that day, and three versions of "Thunder Road", recorded over April 18-19 and 23, 1975, would later leak out on bootlegs. V3a is a full-band version, the girl is now Chrissie, and ends with the build up, instrumental outro, 2 refrains led by Clarence, to a full ending (no fadeout). V3b has 2 extra refrains for an extra long ending. The lyrics are getting there, but the guitar is not yet talking, and "Leave what you’ve lost, leave what’s grown cold, Thunder Road" from "Chrissie's Song" is still there. V4 is a haunting acoustic solo version, one of Bruce’s greatest studio performances; the girl is now Christina, but otherwise no lyrical changes. V5, released on E Street Radio, is from April 23, starts with Roy Bittan's piano, base rhythm and Bruce's vocal and guitar (no organ or sax). "Leave what you’ve lost, leave what’s grown cold" now replaced with "Sit tight, take hold", a major change. The final refrain is led by piano, with Bruce's overdubbed guitar. V6, recorded, or at least overdubbed, on July 15 or 16, and is almost ready to open 'Born To Run'. This take opens with saxophone and Roy's piano, the latter which is featured in the first 2 minutes, Bruce's now awesome vocal, introduces us to Mary, and dominated by guitar. The long outro mixes guitar, sax and piano just like the album, and has 7 refrains, though one variation only has 5. V7 now has piano and harmonica opening without sax, glock, the talking guitar and Mary, and after 12 hours mixing and dubbing guitars, was completed on July 16, 1975, with Mike Appel on background vocals.

BORN TO RUN - V1		uncirculating
BORN TO RUN - V2a	4:24	ESRR / BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V2b	4:28	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V3	4:27	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4a	4:40	BIS / BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4b	4:38	WAR / BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4c	4:34	ETRJ / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / BIS / ROOI / WAR
BORN TO RUN - V4d	4:30	BIS / ROOI / ETRJ / ETRV / BTRS / BTRCS
BORN TO RUN - V4e	4:23	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4f	4:21	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4g	4:30	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4h	4:23	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4i	4:21	BIS / BTRCS
BORN TO RUN - V4j	4:21	BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V4k	3:20	Ktel-CBS
BORN TO RUN - V5a	4:28	BORN TO RUN / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / CHAPTER
BORN TO RUN - V5b	4:28	ETRJ / ETRV / BTRS
BORN TO RUN - V5c	5:27	RTT
BORN TO RUN - V6		uncirculating
BORN TO RUN - V7		uncirculating

Note: On the road in the Mid-South late in 1973, Springsteen awoke suddenly one morning, grabbed his notebook, and inked in the title 'Born To Run'. A few weeks later, "Bruce, the band, and Appel got back to work at the 914 Sound Studios on January 8, 1974, spending a couple of days fiddling with rudimentary versions of both Born to Run and Jungleland." - from 'Bruce!' by Peter Ames Carlin V1. According to Springsteen, the entire writing and recording process took six months, while he was living at a rented cottage at 7½ West End Court in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Though recordings from early 1974 have never surfaced, early lyric sheets of 'Glory Road' contain many lines that would be used in 'Born To Run', including the title. V2a is the original backing track recorded at 914 Sound Studios on May 21, 1974, after obviously being rehearsed and practiced in prior sessions. V2b is from June 26, 1974, with dubs of Bruce's vocals to the V2a track. Bruce continued work on the song, adding lyrics and overdubs, at 914 Sound Studios, both in June and then starting a week's residency on August 1, 1974. Finally, on August 6, 1974. V3, 4 and 5 were mixed down from seventy-two tracks to the sixteen available by engineer Louis Lahav, who described it in an Israeli interview on tapeop.com, "the song "Born to Run" alone we had been working six months! Springsteen kept changing the lyrics and the song got finished only when he was pleased with the text. But we weren't working only on the vocals that entire time. We were tweaking, over-dubbing and pre-mixing until the last moment. In addition to the rhythm section there were strings, glockenspiel, piano, electric guitars, brasses, about four or five acoustic guitars, you name it. You've got to remember it was only 16-track, so pre-mixing and bouncing was the only way to go. There are probably thousands of parts and instruments in it, all bounced down to sixteen tracks. For example, the sax solo was edited from about seven different solo tracks, and for the snare drum we used a big AKG reverb box, maybe it was a BX20, but we didn't have gates so I had to do yet another bounce, muting the reverb after each snare hit. That's the reason why the reverb on the snare sounds different throughout the song. And it took me hours punching in and out, what you can do these days in seconds." The core backing track V3 was mixed, along with numerous test arrangements V4, with backing vocals, double-tracked vocals and strings, and finally the one chosen for release V5a. An advanced tape release of the official version V5b, first aired on WMMR in Philadelphia on November 3, 1974 (V5c), and subsequently broadcast by several USA radio stations during November 74-July 75. There is little difference between these versions.

Sifting through all the information and "fake news" on 'Born To Run' is agony; it is obvious many records of studio takes, dubbing and mixing work are missing. V6 was an unreleased tape from October 16 cancelled by Columbia. V7, which may not exist, is the studio log entry for March 17, 1975, an attempted mix session at Columbia Studios, 49 East 52nd Street, New York. In a quote from the book 'Down Thunder Road', Jon Landau said "Sometime later Bruce … decided to go in and attempt to remix [the single] “Born to Run. Bruce called me and told me. He asked if I would be able to drop by. They were doing this work at CBS Studios in Manhattan …Louis Lahav was there — he was the engineer". Bruce wrote in his autobiography, 'Born To Run', "We took it to a New York studio one evening and in a half hour realized the impossibility of our task. We would never corral that sound again". This was the last reported appearance of Louis, who returned to Israel with his wife Suki later that month. Both Mike Appel and Suki confessed years later that she had an affair with Springsteen, and Louis, though not admitting this was the reason, said in an interview later for haaretz.com, "My daughter died, I lost interest. Over the years I found myself thinking every so often that it was a mistake, but on the other hand, I felt a Mack truck might have run me over if I'd stayed one more day." Though they divorced a few years later, Louis Lahav went on to great success as a producer in Israel, and Suki also, as a songwriter and singer. In an interview in 2007, Suki added, "we were really Mike’s people", referring to the later split of Appel and Springsteen, which was apparently in the making for some time.

Over the years, more than ten alternative mixes of Born To Run have leaked out, and this a short list and description of those we could identify. V4a has a double tracked vocal and strings; V4b has double tracked vocals. strings, and a female chorus; V4c also has a female chorus. V4d has a female chorus that doesn't kick in until the 3rd verse; V4e is an alternative mix with only basic instrumental backing; V4f has only guitars in the instrumental backing; V4g does not have a drum track. V4h is Bruce's vocal without any backing instruments; V4i features string and enhanced high end; v4j has less overdubbing; V4k does not include the middle verse and the sax solo; this was released by Ktel-CBS in Australia-only in early 1976 on a multi-artist LP called Supersounds.

BADLANDS - V1	4:07	LM-2 / DDO / DDOC / DO-3 / AM / UP
BADLANDS - V2	3:47	LM-3 / DDO / DDOC / DO-2 / UP
BADLANDS - V3	3:40	LM-3 / UP / AM / LMEC1
BADLANDS - V4a	3:57	ODM / HOD / AM
BADLANDS - V4b	3:59	uncirculating
BADLANDS - V4c	3:59	uncirculating
BADLANDS - V5 take 23	3:59	DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / CHAPTER

Note: Unfortunately, very few outtakes circulate of Badlands, one of Springsteen's greatest songs and anthems, that he opened concerts with for years, although there must be some good stuff waiting in the vaults. Remember, title, music, lyrics, the Springsteen method of songwriting. The title came from Terrence Malick's 1973 movie, "Badlands" (he had not seen the movie). In late June, the music had been composed, and was first played by the E Street Band on June 27, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. The song's opening riff, Springsteen revealed years later, is a major-key twist on the minor-key intro to the Animals' 1965 hit "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." V1 is an instrumental backing track, recorded on June 27 and 30. Max Weinberg said his opening drum part was suggested by Steve Van Zandt, and inspired by Motown. Bruce had a routine with his engineers to create "Ruffs" tapes for him, so he could take instrumental or early recordings home and write lyrics. V2 had to be recorded in late June, or on July 11 or 13 at Atlantic Studios. Springsteen was working at Atlantic Studios on July 13, 1977, when the twenty-five-hour-long New York City blackout began; soon after, the opening line "Lights Out Tonight", came into being. New takes, with developing lyrics, were recorded on August 24 and 30, 1977, but contrary to Lost Masters liner notes and many other sources, no outtakes circulate from these sessions.

It wasn't until November 1977, that Badlands was re-written with new lines, including, "I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got" from "Iceman", about which he later honestly recalled, "That whole record was a record where I felt like I was going to have to test myself, and that was what I wanted to know, so that line ended up in a few different songs."—Los Angeles Times interview, 1998. Next, from a song by Elvis Presley from the 1962 movie, "Kid Galahad", "King Of The Whole Wide World": "A poor man wants to be a rich man, A rich man wants to be a king, But the man who can sing when he hasn't got a thing, He's the king of the whole wide world". Bruce translated this to these Verse 2 lines: "You better get it straight, darling, Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, And a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything, I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got". Verse 3 was strengthened by, "For the ones who once had a notion, it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive" from "Break Out".

V3 was recorded on December 12, 1977 at the Record Plant, with many new pieces in place. Bruce is still yelling at 'the man on the TV', but Badlands has started to take shape. The vocals for V4, the album version, were dubbed in during a three-day mixing marathon on February 22, 24 and 25, 1978. V4b is an alternate, with less double-tracked vocals than the Darkness version, and V4c was the final mix from April 11, which was pressed to acetate on April 12, 1978. V5 take 23 was a last moment dubbing, on May 5, 1978, of one of Clarence Clemons' greatest sax solos, perhaps ranking just behind Jungleland on his personal list. Springsteen's initial excuse for almost leaving it off was that he believed the instrument evoked the city, leaving it out of place on an album set in something more like "the heartland"; he later admitted, "[that] would have been a major error". Relax Bruce, don't overthink everything, you might inadvertently make a real mistake, like deciding to delete "The Promise" at the last minute.

THE PROMISED LAND - V1		uncirculating
THE PROMISED LAND - V2a	4:14	ODM / HOD / UP
THE PROMISED LAND - V2b	4:25	DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL

^{© All credits to the original photographer.}

Note: One of the last songs written and recorded for the album, it's genesis was from a short trip taken by Bruce, Steve Van Zandt and photographer Eric Meola on August 17, 1977, two days after breaking from recording for a week. Their plan was to fly into Salt Lake City, Utah, rent a vintage American car, and drive to Reno, Nevada, by way of the Utah and Nevada wilderness. The fruits of their journey were "Rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert", "the dogs on Main Street howl because they understand" (based on real dogs howling on a Main Street), and Eric's photographs, which appeared throughout "The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" box set. Upon returning, Bruce composed "The Promised Land", and introduced it to the band on September 30, 1977, with 3 takes attempted. Recording resumed on October 27 at the Record Plant, with 20 takes, including take 19, marked "long ending". Take 5 on December 1, 1977, which was later pressed to metal acetate on April 12, 1978, is V2a, the final album version without the guitar solo. At the last possible moment, Bruce decided a guitar solo by Miami Steve Van Zandt was needed, just before Clarence Clemons's powerful sax part, which then required side two to be remastered, briefly delaying album release.

HUNGRY HEART - V1a	2:48	DROC2 / PYP
HUNGRY HEART - V1b	3:44	DROC2
HUNGRY HEART - V1c	3:26	LM-6
HUNGRY HEART - V1d	3:18	LM-6
HUNGRY HEART - V1e	3:29	LM-6 / RRR
HUNGRY HEART - V1f	3:31	private cdr
HUNGRY HEART - V1g - take 2	3:21	TTTBR / TTTBJ / RIVER: SINGLE / LEK
HUNGRY HEART - V1h	3:15	RIVER / 1980 Single / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST

Note: Apparently penned after Joey Ramone asked Bruce to write a song for the Ramones after he attended a Ramones show at The Fast Lane in Asbury Park in March 1979; this may be apocryphal. In any case, Springsteen has confirmed that it was written with the Ramones in mind, and was considering giving the song away. He played it for Jon Landau, who convinced Bruce to keep it for himself. The eight takes listed above all appear to be different mixes of the same basic performance that are also running at varying tape speeds. The version released on The River has been pitch adjusted, raising the pitch of Springsteen's vocal to achieve a more radio friendly sound. V1b is the backing track only. V1f has heavy echo added to Springsteen's vocal. Recorded at The Power Station on June 14 and 21, 1979, with dubs-mixing for the TTTB album September 5, 1979. Dubbing and mixing sessions for the River took place on March 24 and April 10, 1980. Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles) contributed backing vocals during one of those sessions.

FIST FULL OF DOLLARS - V1	3:44	FFOD / HNWB / MT2
FIST FULL OF DOLLARS - V2	2:24	FFOD / HNWB
ATLANTIC CITY - V3	1:40	FFOD / HNWB
ATLANTIC CITY - V4 take 1		uncirculating
ATLANTIC CITY - V5 - take 4	4:00	LM-1
ATLANTIC CITY - V6a - take 3	3:56	NEBRASKA / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST
ATLANTIC CITY - V6b - take 3	3:43	NEBRASKA (stereo mix)
ATLANTIC CITY - V7		uncirculating
ATLANTIC CITY - V8		uncirculating
ATLANTIC CITY - V9		uncirculating
ATLANTIC CITY - V10		uncirculating

Note: Before he writes the music, and lastly the lyrics, the first thing Bruce Springsteen does is choose a title! This is how he writes many of his songs, and he chose Fistfull of Dollars from the Clint Eastwood movie. The two demos (V1 & V2) he recorded in April 1981, had the title in them, but they also had quite a few verses written, all about Atlantic City. You can hear him turning pages of his notebook as he worked on them. FFOD never went anywhere, but as for Atlantic City…..
The story continues in late 1981, still at Colts Neck, V3 lines are getting into shape; The rest is Bruce trying variations of the chorus. V4, V5 V6 were recorded on his Portastudio at Colts Neck during a two-week period, December 17 to January 3, 1982, with V6 take 3 chosen for Nebraska. Take 5 v5 is the only outtake from this session. In a letter to Jon Landau, Springsteen noted that "this song should probably be done with the whole band really rockin' out". V7 was cut at The Power Station on April 26-28, 1982, with the band during the 'Electric Nebraska' sessions. Landau insisted on releasing the solo version, "No way was it as good as what he had goin' on that demo tape". The three days working on the full-band arrangement, however, paid off handsomely for years after taking it on the road.

VIETNAM - V1	3:15	FFOD / HNWB / MT2
VIETNAM BLUES - V2	2:00	FFOD / HNWB / MT2
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V3	2:22	FFOD / HNWB / MT2
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V4	0:30	FFOD / HNWB
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V5	4:45	FFOD / HNWB
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V6	3:10	FFOD / HNWB
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V7	2:55	FFOD / HNWB
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V8	4:00	FFOD / HNWB
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V9a take 1	3:06	LM-1 / HNWB
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V9b take 1 mix 2	3:06	TRACKS
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V10 take 2	8:09	THLBB / UH / GS / BUERM / MI
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V11a take 4 mix 1	4:34	BITUSA / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / CHAPTER
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V11b take 4 mix 2	4:52	LM-19 / THLBP
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V12		uncirculating
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V13 take 9		uncirculating
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V14a freedom mix	7:20	1984 EP
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V14b radio mix	6:10	1984 EP
BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V14c dub mix	7:36	1984 EP

“I’m a long gone daddy I don’t need you anyhow. ”
—Hank Williams 1948

Note: Writing and recording began at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, New Jersey during October 1981 as the demo, "Vietnam" or "Vietnam Blues". V3 is now titled "Born In the U.S.A. Blues", re-titled after Jon Landau sent Springsteen a Paul Schrader script called "Born In the U.S.A.". V4 is a taken from November 1981, with the lyrics "Born baby in the USA, I believe in the American way". V5 thru V8 were recorded in December, and V9 was recorded on the portastudio Mike Batlan had setup on January 3, 1982. Bruce included it on the "Nebraska demos" cassette tape he sent to Jon Landau. In his notes to Landau, Bruce described the song as a "little ditty. should be done very hard rockin". A copy leaked to bootleggers from Batlan, then V9b was mixed in 1997 and officially released on "Tracks" in 1998. V10 and V11 were recorded in just four takes (two complete), at The Power Station with the E Street Band, on April 27, 1982. V10 is the 8 minute+ extended jam ending, where Max Weinberg takes his shot at the title, as Bruce would say. V11a (take 4) became the first song on side one of the album, "Born In the USA". V11b continues where 11a fades out, with an extended synthesizer ending; it was leaked out of the sessions, and released unofficially on the bootleg, "This Hard Land". V12 represents takes 5-8 on April 28, 1982, and V13 is take 9 on May 3, 1982. V14a thru V14c are dance remixes of V11, undertaken by Arthur Baker, and recorded at Shakedown Studio in New York City in September 1984. Toby Scott was the recording engineer for the remixes (which include additional vocals by The Latin Rascals), which were first released in December 1984.

DANCING IN THE DARK - V1a	4:31	BUERM / 1984AC
DANCING IN THE DARK - V1b	3:57	BITUSA / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST
DANCING IN THE DARK - V2a - blaster mix	6:09	1984 EP
DANCING IN THE DARK - V2b - radio mix	4:50	1984 EP
DANCING IN THE DARK - V2c - dub mix	5:30	1984 EP

Note: The last song on Born In The U.S.A. to be recorded. Written in no time at all after Jon Landau convinced Bruce that the album needed a single. According to Dave Marsh in Glory Days, Bruce was not impressed with Landau's approach. "Look", he snarled, "I've written seventy songs. You want another one, you write it." Despite this reaction, Bruce sat in his hotel room and wrote the song in a single night. It sums up his state of mind, his feeling of isolation after the success of The River, and his frustrations of trying to write a hit-single. Six takes cut on February 14, 1984 at The Hit Factory, then 58 mixes, completed on March 8. V1a contains a longer sax solo at the end that was shortened (cut) for the official album version. V2a thru V2c are dance/disco remixes done at The Power Station in April or early May 1984 by Arthur Baker. The recording engineer for the remixes was Chris Lord-Alge. These remixes were released on June 29, 1984. The 7" and 12" singles were released on May 9, 1984, and the 12" finished as the biggest selling in the U.S.A. that year.

BRILLIANT DISGUISE

4:12

TUNNEL / 1987 single / GREATEST / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER

Note: Released as a single ahead of the album on September 17, 1987. Began life as "Is That You?", which was recorded February 5, 1987. Became "Brilliant Disguise" by the end of that month. Recorded at Thrill Hill East (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multiple instruments and his three-man backing band on this recording is Roy Bittan (keyboards), Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (percussion).

HUMAN TOUCH – V1a	6:41	private cdr
HUMAN TOUCH – V1b	6:28	HUMAN / 1992 single
HUMAN TOUCH – V1c	5:09	GREATEST / ESSENTIAL / promo cd

Note: Written in the Spring of 1990. Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and his three-man backing band on this recording is Randy Jackson (bass), Roy Bittan (keyboards) and Jeff Porcaro (drums). Additional background vocal overdub by Patti Scialfa. All of the above are different mix/edits of the same core recording. V1a features an extended intro and an extra guitar break mid song. V1c is merely an edited version of V1b and was officially released as a promo single in some countries and later on the official Greatest Hits and Essential packages.

STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1a		uncirculating
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1b	4:11	BACK / OST: PHILADELHPIA / 1994 single
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1c	3:17	GREATEST / ESSENTIAL
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1d	2:53	DDITV / 1994 b-side
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1e	4:13	promo-only cd
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1f	3:43	TOTP video mix
STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V2		uncirculating

Note: Written in mid-1993 and first registered at the US Copyright office on August 27. 1993. First issued on December 30, 1993 as part of the Philadelphia soundtrack CD, then issued as a single in February 1994. However, this is a song with a complex recording and release history. All recordings were co-produced by Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin. V1a was recorded during August 1993 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, California, and features only Springsteen – on vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer and drum machine. V1b, the “hit” version that appeared on the album soundtrack and the single, is the exact same as V1a except that there are added background vocals by Tommy Sims. To complicate matters the V1b version was issued in slightly shorter running time lengths on some versions of the single in some countries (done by shortening either the intro or outro). V1c is a significantly edited version of V1b that was released on the Greatest Hits album. V1d is the version used for the commercially released video – it is the same base recording as V1b except that it features an alternate (“live”) Springsteen vocal. V1e was released as a promotion-only single in the UK and Austria and this is allegedly yet another slightly different mix of V1b. V1f is the audio released as part of a black & white video shot in early 1994 at CBS TV Soundstage studios in New York and originally broadcast on the UK TV show ‘Top Of The Pops’. It is alleged this is yet another slight, but unique, mix variation. V2 is a different recording of the song made in October 1993, apparently at A&M Studios in Los Angeles. It features Bruce on lead vocal, instrumentation provided by Springsteen and jazz virtuoso Ornette Coleman, bass and background vocals by Tommy Sims and additional background vocals by Little Jimmy Scott. V2 was allegedly scheduled to be the officially released version up to early December 1993, when it was nixed at the last second, even after the song’s video (which featured Little Jimmy extensively) was shot. The video had to be re-shot. A brief snippet of V2 (including the tell-tale vocals of Little Jimmy Scott) is actually heard about halfway through the movie (but it’s V1b that is heard in the opening sequence of the movie).

THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD - V1	4:20	JOAD / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER
THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD - V2		2007 compilation
THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD - V3	7:34	HOPES

Note: Written as a rock song for the Greatest Hits project, but abandoned when Springsteen couldn't find an arrangement. Re-imagined as an acoustic song, and recorded May 23, 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, California. Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and his four-man backing band on this recording is Danny Federici (keyboards), Garry Tallent (bass), Marty Rifkin (pedal steel, dobro) and Gary Mallaber (drums). The rock arrangement was premiered live on April 7, 2008 in Anaheim, CA, performed with Tom Morello sharing lead vocals. V2 is an entirely re-recorded version, but was not recorded during any of the three Seeger Sessions. It was recorded at various stages and studio locations during the mid-late 2006 period. Bruce’s parts (vocal, harmonica) were recorded at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey in August 2006. Pete Seeger’s vocals were recorded at Seeger’s cabin in Beacon, NY on July 4, 2006. The backing band’s individual parts were recorded at various locations around the USA during mid-late 2006 and then everything was mixed together at Shelter Island Sound Studios in NYC by David Seitz. The additional musicians are Mark Dann (acoustic guitar), David Hamburger (dobro), Mike Visceglia (bass), Tim Carbone (fiddle) and Ken Lovelett (percussion). Produced by Springsteen, Jim Musselman and David Seitz. The recording was first released on September 11, 2007 on the Various Artists charity compilation Sowing The Seeds (Appleseed). V3 was recorded in March 2013 in Los Angeles, the day before a flight to Australia for the Australian leg of the Wrecking Ball Tour. Produced by Ron Aniello and Springsteen. Musician credits are Springsteen (lead vocal, guitar), Roy Bittan (piano), Nils Lofgren (pedal steel, mandolin), Max Weinberg (drums), Tom Morello (lead vocal, guitar), Soozie Tyrell (violin), Charlie Giordano (accordion) and Ron Aniello (bass, synth).

THE RISING