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.
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
| # | 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. If you want your photo to be removed, let us know, and we will remove it.
- Bruce Springsteen: Lead Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Harmonica, Recorder, Keyboards, Banjo, Piano, Drums, Organ, Percussion, Loops
- The E Street Band:
- Roy Bittan: Piano, Synthesizer, Keyboards, Organ, Drums, Glockenspiel, Loops, Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals
- Clarence Clemons: Saxophone, Percussion, Backing Vocals
- Danny Federici: Piano, Keyboards, Accordion, Organ, Glockenspiel, Backing Vocals
- Nils Lofgren: Guitar, Vocals
- Patti Scialfa: Vocals, Backing Vocals
- Garry Tallent: Bass, Vocals, Backing Vocals
- Steven Van Zandt: Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals
- Max Weinberg: Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Check the original retail-pages for a full listing of musicians.
- All Versions
| 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, his girlfriend from 1971 to 1975, Bruce "wrote "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" in bits and pieces and didn't have a title for it. My mom is Rita Lozito. Then he met my grandma. So I assume that's where he put it together." Diane's grandmother's full name was "Rose Lozito"; In that part of Jersey, it's pronounced Lazita, so "Rose Lazita". 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 Crazy Janey in "Spirit In The Night", Sandy in "4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)", Terry in "Backstreets", and the girl in "Thundercrack". This has never been refuted by Springsteen. In an interview for Mojo 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. The song 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, e.g. "with her chiffon reigns" and "soft sweet samurai tongue." According to roadie and baritone sax player "Albany" Al Tellone, the song's layered sound was recorded over numerous sessions at 914 Sound Studios, culminating on Bruce's birthday, September 23, 1973, also the last known date of the Wild & Innocent sessions. The final album mix and an instrumental backing track (V1) are all that is in general circulation.
| CHRISSIE'S SONG - V1 | uncirculating | |
| ANGELINA - V2 | uncirculating | |
| THUNDER ROAD - V3a | 4:39 | BIS / WAR / ET / BWNH / BTRCS |
| THUNDER ROAD - V3b | 5:12 | BTRS / BTRO |
| THUNDER ROAD - V4 | 4:35 | BIS / WAR / ET / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS |
| THUNDER ROAD - V5 | 5:03 | ESR / BTRS |
| THUNDER ROAD - V6 | 5:22 | WAR / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / UBTROC |
| THUNDER ROAD - V7 | 4:45 | BORN TO RUN / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST |
Note: According to Backstreets: Springsteen, The Man And His Music by Charles R. Cross, a 1972 song called "Angelina" contains the first two lines of "Thunder Road". This may have been the basis of a solo recording from October 1974 at 914 Sound Studios of "Chrissie's Song" (or this was a new composition), which includes the line "Leave what you’ve lost, leave what’s grown cold, Thunder Road." Some time between November 1974 and January 1975, Bruce took "Chrissie", lyrics from "Walking In The Street", and combined them into "Angelina" V2, possibly also known as "Wings For Wheels", the bootleg title of contemporary performances. 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 "Angelina"/"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 lines "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".
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. 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, two refrains led by Clarence, to a full ending with no fadeout. V3b has two 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, 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." 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 two 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 seven refrains, though one variation only has five. V7 now has piano and harmonica opening without sax, glock, the talking guitar and Mary, and after twelve hours mixing and dubbing guitars, was completed on July 16, 1975, with Mike Appel on background vocals.
| BORN TO RUN - V1a | 4:24 | ESR / BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V1b | 4:28 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V2 | 4:27 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3a | 4:40 | BIS / BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3b | 4:38 | WAR / BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3c | 4:34 | ETRJ / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / BIS / ROOI / WAR |
| BORN TO RUN - V3d | 4:30 | BIS / ROOI / ETRJ / ETRV / BTRS / BTRCS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3e | 4:23 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3f | 4:21 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3g | 4:30 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3h | 4:23 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3i | 4:21 | BIS / BTRCS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3j | 4:21 | BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V3k | 3:20 | Ktel-CBS |
| BORN TO RUN - V4a | 4:28 | BORN TO RUN / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / CHAPTER |
| BORN TO RUN - V4b | 4:28 | ETRJ / ETRV / BTRS |
| BORN TO RUN - V4c | 5:27 | RTT |
| BORN TO RUN - V5 | uncirculating |
Note: In his 2012 biography, Bruce, Peter Ames Carlin wrote that "While 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"." According to Springsteen, the entire writing and recording process for the song 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.
V1a is the original backing track recorded on May 21, 1974, after rehearsal in prior sessions. V1b is from June 26, 1974, dubbing Bruce's vocal to the V1a track. Work continued, adding lyrics, overdubs, and layer upon layer of sound, at 914 Sound Studios, both in June and then after starting a week's residency at the studio on August 1, 1974. Finally, on or about August 6, 1974, "Born To Run" was completed. 72 tracks were down-mixed to 16 by engineer Louis Lahav. "We only had 16 tracks to work with and they were packed, because he had had so much going on in the songs," Lahav remembers. "I had to ping-pong between tracks all the time to get everything in. Clarence Clemons's sax solo on "Born to Run" was recorded in different parts and I had to edit them to make it a whole solo. It was a really long voyage on that song."
The core backing track is V2. The variants of V3 are numerous test mixes and arrangements, with female choir vocals, double-tracked lead vocals, strings, and hard stop organ endings. Some items listed here may have been created by AI software that separates elements like vocals from the music. V3a has a double tracked vocal, strings and hard organ stop; V3b has double tracked vocals, swirling strings, female chorus, and hard organ stop; V3c has a female chorus and delayed organ end. V3d has a female chorus that does not start until third verse, with funky dead stop. V3e is an alternative mix with only basic instrumental backing; V3f has only guitars in the instrumental backing; V3g does not have a drum track. V3h is Bruce's vocal without any backing instruments; V3i features string and enhanced high end; V3j has less overdubbing; V3k does not include the middle verse and the sax solo and was released by Ktel-CBS in Australia-only in early 1976 on a multi-artist LP called Supersounds.
In a 2006 interview, Louis Lahav described the mixing process: "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, overdubbing 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, there are probably thousands of parts and instruments in it. For example, the sax solo was edited from about seven different solo tracks…it took me hours punching in and out what you can do these days in seconds." The final mix chosen for release is V4a. In late October 1974, an advanced tape release of the official version (V4b) was sent to selected radio stations by Mike Appel and Springsteen. V4c is a live recording from WMMR Studios in Philadelphia on November 3, 1974, with Ed Sciaky and Bruce playing V4b on the air. The tape was broadcast by several USA radio stations from November 1974 to July 1975. There is little difference between V4a and V4b, except V4b is pre-brickwalled for radio broadcast. V5 is a studio log entry for March 17, 1975, an attempted mix session at Columbia Studios, 49 East 52nd Street, New York. Jon Landau is quoted in Down Thunder Road: "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." Bruce similarly wrote in his autobiography, "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."
| 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 take 23 | 3:59 | DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST |
Note: Unfortunately, very few outtakes circulate of "Badlands", although given Springsteen's recording methods at the time far more likely exists in the vault. The title came from Terrence Malick's 1973 movie Badlands (though Bruce 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; 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 on June 27, 30, 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 lyric "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" borrowed from "Iceman", about which Bruce later 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: "Poor man wanna be rich, rich man wanna be king, and a king ain't satisfied till he rules everything." 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 "Breakout".
V3 was recorded, perhaps 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 has less double-tracked vocals than V4c, a last moment dubbing of Clarence Clemons's sax solo on April 11, which was pressed to acetate on April 12, 1978. 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 "that would have been a major error."
| THE PROMISED LAND - V1 | uncirculating | |
| THE PROMISED LAND - V2 | uncirculating | |
| THE PROMISED LAND - V3a | 4:14 | ODM / HOD / UP |
| THE PROMISED LAND - V3b | 4:25 | DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL |
Note: One of the last songs written and recorded for the album, "The Promised Land" had its genesis in 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 three takes attempted (including V1). Recording resumed on October 27 at the Record Plant with twenty takes (including V2, take 19, marked "long ending"). V3 (take 5) was completed on December 1 or 27, 1977, and pressed to metal acetate on April 12, 1978. V3a was the final version without the guitar solo. On or about May 10, Bruce decided a guitar intro was needed before Clarence Clemons's powerful sax solo. After Steve Van Zandt recorded it in New York, Side 2 was mastered for a second time, at The Mastering Lab, Los Angeles, which briefly delayed the album release to June 2.
| HUNGRY HEART - V1a | 2:53 | DROC2 / PYP |
| HUNGRY HEART - V1b | 3:30 | LM-6 |
| HUNGRY HEART - V1c | 3:32 | LM-6 |
| HUNGRY HEART - V2a | 3:28 | LM-6 / RRR |
| HUNGRY HEART - V2b | 3:47 | DROC2 / ATMF |
| HUNGRY HEART - V2c | 3:31 | private cdr |
| HUNGRY HEART - V2d take 2 | 3:21 | TTTBR / TTTBJ / RIVER: SINGLE |
| HUNGRY HEART - V3 | 3:15 | RIVER / 1980 Single / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST |
Note: "Hungry Heart"" was supposedly penned after Joey Ramone asked Bruce to write a song for the Ramones, after he attended a show at The Fast Lane, Asbury Park, in March 1979. Springsteen has confirmed that it was written with the Ramones in mind, and he was considering giving the song away, but after he played it for Jon Landau, Jon convinced Bruce to keep it for himself. Engineer Neil Dorfsman recalls "Hungry Heart" was recorded "live" in the studio, on June 14 and again on June 21, 1979. Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles) contributed backing vocals during one of these sessions. V2c has heavy echo added to Springsteen's vocal. Mixing by Bob Clearmountain for The Ties That Bind single album took place in September, and there is a session logged on September 5, but it is not clear what occurred on that date. Additional sessions took place on March 24 and April 10, 1980, but it is confirmed that Clearmountain's mix from 1979 was not tampered with, making it the first of many Springsteen releases he would go on to mix. However, "Hungry Heart" was pitch adjusted, raising the pitch of Springsteen's vocal to achieve a more radio friendly sound. That is why The River track is slightly shorter than The River: Single Album version.
| 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 |
Note: Two demos (V1 & V2) were recorded in April 1981, under the title "Fist Full Of Dollars", 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. Some lyrics would remain for "Atlantic City", including the opening lines "Well they blew up the chicken man in Philly last night / Now that town sets in for a fight."
The story continues in late 1981, still at Colts Neck with V3. The lyrics are getting into shape; The rest is Bruce trying variations of the chorus. V4, V5 and 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 1, V4 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." And indeed, Bruce went into the studio for two weeks from late April 1982 and spent the first day working on "Atlantic City", and a number of takes were cut at the Power Station over three days on April 26–28, 1982. However these recordings remain unheard; information from various sources suggests this was with the band, but we can't confirm.
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V1 | 2:22 | FFOD / HNWB / MT2 |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V2 | 0:30 | FFOD / HNWB |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V3 | 4:45 | FFOD / HNWB |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V4 | 3:10 | FFOD / HNWB |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V5 | 2:55 | FFOD / HNWB |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V6 | 4:00 | FFOD / HNWB |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V7a (take 1) | 3:06 | LM-1 / HNWB |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V7b (take 1 mix 2) | 3:06 | TRACKS |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V8 (take 2) | TS - Mexico April 2022 | |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V9 (take 3) | TS - Mexico April 2022 | |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V10 (take 4) | TS - Mexico April 2022 | |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V11 (takes 5-8) | uncirculating | |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V12 (take 9) | 8:09 | THLBB / UH / GS / BUERM / MI |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V12a (take 9 edit 1) | 4:34 | BITUSA / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V12b (take 9 edit 2) | 4:52 | LM-19 / THLBP |
| BORN IN THE U.S.A. - V13 (take 10) | 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 |
Note: Writing and recording began at Springsteen's house in Colts Neck, NJ during the fall of 1981 with a set of acoustic demos. V1 evolved, both musically and lyrically, from the bluesy demo "Vietnam". V1 includes the chorus "born in the USA" that Springsteen lifted from the title of a script of a Paul Schrader movie given to him by Jon Landau, as well as many lyrical elements that would remain in the final released version. The demo begins its transition with V2, a brief snippet of the "Born In The U.S.A." riff, the opening verse, and then the sardonic chorus "Born baby in the USA / I believe in the American way". V3-V6 were all recorded soon after, and see Springsteen developing the lyrics with every take. V7 was recorded between December 17, 1981 and January 3, 1982 on the TEAC Portastudio that Mike Batlan had set up in Bruce's home, and was included on the demo cassette tape 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 via Batlan and was pressed on 'Lost Masters I' in 1996, before V7b was mixed in 1998 and officially released on Tracks.
When Bruce and the E Street Band entered Power Station on April 26, 1982, the aim was to re-record the songs on his demo tape in a professional studio environment. Logs indicate that work on "Born In The U.S.A." began on the second day, and continued on April 28 and May 3. What work was done on what day is unclear, but it appears that the bulk of the song was recorded across ten takes on a single night, most likely May 3. A Power Station mixsheet dated to May 3 exists, which supports this position. We know that Springsteen initially attempted to re-record his demo tape alone, which may have occurred on April 27 and 28.
On May 3, Springsteen and the band cut a number of takes of a rocking electric reimagining of that original acoustic demo. In take 2 Bruce sung the first verse over his electric guitar, before bass and drum joined in. Take 3 sees Max accompanying Bruce right from the opening, yet the famous organ riff is nowhere to be found. Take 4 begins with Springsteen singing the first verse a cappella, before the band join in. We now skip ahead to take 9, where the riff is now in place alongside other new elements, some of which did not make the final track. Brief audio of the opening verse of takes 2, 3, 4, and the multitracks of take 9 first emerged in April 2022, played by Toby Scott at a public event in Mexico City. Recollections vary as to the origin of the riff; Roy Bittan remembers Springsteen demonstrating the song on acoustic guitar before he improvised the organ riff on a new Yamaha CS-80 synth, and the first take evolved from there. Max Weinberg, however, recalls the first recording was as "a country trio" with a country beat (Max may have been referring to the arrangement found in takes 2-4 above), and the main riff came from Springsteen's guitar. Weinberg doesn't dispute Bittan's memories though.
The eight minute V12 is the full length of take 9. With some edits, including using all or parts of take 10 (V13) for the ending, this take eventually became the first song on side one of Born In The U.S.A (V12b). V12c continues where V12b fades out with an extended synthesizer ending. Toby Scott recalls a total of eight to ten takes, with take six (or nine, recollections seem to vary) as the master. V14a-V14c are 12" dance remixes by Arthur Baker that were recorded at Shakedown Studios in New York City in September 1984. Toby Scott was the recording engineer for the remixes (which include additional vocals by The Latin Rascals), and all were mixed by Bob Clearmountain. The remixes were first released in December 1984. Baker utilised several aspects of the original mixes that were removed for the final album take.
| 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 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. Six takes were cut on February 14, 1984 at The Hit Factory, but not completed until March 8, after 58 mixes. 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 Power Station Studios 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 seller in the U.S.A. that year.
| IS THAT YOU? - V1 | uncirculating | |
| BRILLIANT DISGUISE - V2 | uncirculating | |
| BRILLIANT DISGUISE - V3 | 4:12 | TUNNEL / GREATEST / ESSENTIAL |
Note: Released as a single ahead of the Tunnel Of Love album on September 17, 1987. Began life as "Is That You?", recorded February 5, 1987, but became "Brilliant Disguise" by the end of that month. Recorded at Springsteen's home studio in Rumson, New Jersey, with overdubs in April by Roy Bittan (keyboards), Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (percussion). The video was filmed on October 8, 1987 at Fort Hancock, Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
| 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 | 4:13 | uncirculating |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1b | 4:11 | BACK / ASOBS / OST: PHILADELHPIA |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1c | 3:49 | 1994 single |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1d | 3:17 | GREATEST / ESSENTIAL |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1e | 2:53 | DDITV / 1994 b-side |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1f | 4:13 | promo-only cd |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V1g | 3:43 | TOTP video mix |
| STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA - V2 | uncirculating |
Note: Written in mid-1993 and registered at the U.S. Copyright office on August 27, 1993. Released on December 30, 1993, as part of the Philadelphia soundtrack, then issued as a single in the U.S. on February 2, 1994. However, this is a song with a complex recording and release history. All recordings were co-produced by Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin.
The base track, V1a, was recorded during August 1993 at Bellevue Studios (the house next to the residence) at Thrill Hill Recording, 40 Bellevue, Rumson, New Jersey. Springsteen was on vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer, and drum machine. V1b added background vocals and bass by Tommy Sims, and in December would become the album soundtrack version. V1c, the single mix, only adds Sims's vocals to V1a, and is trimmed to under four minutes. V1d is a significantly edited (one minute shorter) version of V1b, mixed for Greatest Hits, released on February 28, 1995. V1e 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. V1f was released as a promotion-only single in the UK and Austria and this is allegedly yet another slightly different mix of V1b. V1g is the audio released as part of a black-and-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 | uncirculating | |
| THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD - V2 | 4:20 | JOAD / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER |
| THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD - V3 | 2007 compilation | |
| THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD - V4 | 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). V3 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 mid-/late-2006. 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 United States during mid-/late-2006 and then everything was mixed together at Shelter Island Sound Studios in New York City by David Seitz, and produced by Springsteen, Jim Musselman, and Seitz. The recording was first released on September 11, 2007 on the Various Artists charity compilation Sowing The Seeds (Appleseed). V4 was recorded in March 2013 in Los Angeles, the day before a flight to Australia for the Australian leg of the Wrecking Ball Tour, and was produced by Ron Aniello and Springsteen.
| THE RISING | 4:50 | RISING / ESSENTIAL / GH09 / CHAPTER |
Note: Song composed post-9/11, November 2001–February 2002. Recorded at Southern Tracks, Atlanta, during February–March, 2002. Soozie Tyrell contributes violin and background vocals, Jane Scarpantoni plays the cello.
| RADIO NOWHERE - V1 | uncirculating | |
| RADIO NOWHERE - V2 | 3:18 | MAGIC / ESSENTIAL: 2015 / GH09 |
Note: V1 was recorded in late 2006 in New Jersey. V2 was recorded March 2007 at Southern Tracks studio and released as a single ahead of the album, after it had leaked out the previous week, resulting in several cease and desist letters to radio stations. On August 28, 2007, it was officially released by Sony as a free limited-time download on iTunes, to go with pre-orders of Magic.
| WORKING ON A DREAM | 3:30 | DREAM / ESSENTIAL: 2015 |
Note: Premiered November 2, 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio at a Barack Obama election rally, and released November 21 as Working On A Dream's first single. Winner of the 2010 Grammy Award for "Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance".
| WE TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN | 3:53 | WRECKING / ESSENTIAL: 2015 |
Note: The first song written for Wrecking Ball and the first single from the album, "We Take Care Of Our Own" was released digitally on January 19, 2012. Features Springsteen on vocals, guitars, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, and loops and Ron Aniello on some combination of guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, drums, and/or loops. Soozie Tyrell, Patti Scialfa and Lisa Lowell provide backing vocals. The New York Chamber Consort contribute strings.
| WRECKING BALL | 5:49 | WRECKING / CHAPTER |
Note: features Springsteen, Ron Aniello (some combination of bass, keyboards, drums, percussion and/or loops, plus backing vocals), Max Weinberg (drums), Charlie Giordano (piano, B-3 organ), Rob Lebret (electric guitar, backing vocals), Curt Ramm (trumpet, cornet), Clarence Clemons (saxophone solo), Soozie Tyrell (violin & backing vocal) and backing vocals from Patti Scialfa, Lisa Lowell, Ross Peterson, Clif Norrell and Steve Van Zandt (uncredited). The New York Chamber Consort provide the strings. Written in September 2009 and premiered on September 30th 2009, performed as a tribute to the soon-to-be-demolished Giants Stadium. Recorded by Ron Aniello at Very Loud House Studio, Woodland Hills, California. Recorded by Toby Scott, Project Supervisor and Rob Lebret, Assistant Engineer at Stone Hill Studio, New Jersey. Also Clif Norrell and Ross Peterson, MSR Studio B, New York, New York. Mixed by Bob Clearmountain at Mix This!, Pacific Palisades, California.
Studio Sessions: None
|
|
Count |
| Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) | 814 |
| Thunder Road | 1451 |
| Born To Run | 1727 |
| Badlands | 1205 |
| The Promised Land | 1406 |
| Hungry Heart | 739 |
| Atlantic City | 365 |
| Born In The U.S.A. | 1025 |
| Dancing In The Dark | 1060 |
| Brilliant Disguise | 437 |
| Human Touch | 126 |
| Streets Of Philadelphia | 99 |
| The Ghost Of Tom Joad | 451 |
| The Rising | 896 |
| Radio Nowhere | 181 |
| Working On A Dream | 93 |
| We Take Care Of Our Own | 127 |
| Wrecking Ball | 193 |
Full Album Performances
Performed live as a full album 0 times.
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