commercially released: January 13, 2009 (American edition) / June 1, 2009 (European edition)
Label: Columbia
Produced by Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, Chuck Plotkin and Roy Bittan
Recorded by Toby Scott
Overview
Greatest Hits (2009 edition) was released by Columbia Records on January 13, 2009 in the United States, where it was sold exclusively through Wal-Mart retailers. Wal-Mart the sole rights to release a 12-track anthology of hits at the discount price of $10. Springsteen released a similar Greatest Hits album in 1995, but unlike that edition, this compilation was billed to the E Street Band instead of just "Bruce Springsteen". It contains no Springsteen material recorded between 1984 and 2002, during which period he did virtually no studio recording with the E Street Band.
Seen as controversial in liberal circles, Wal-Mart refuses to recognise unions and has been criticised by groups such as Human Rights Watch for its alleged hardline treatment of low-wage staff. Why was he helping a company that had to pay $135,540 in response to child labor law violations in 2005? Even if the disc was "a shameless Super Bowl cash-in cooked-up by his withering label, Columbia" (opinion of Pitchfork.com), Springsteen had to sign off on it. To loyal fans, the Wal-Mart exclusive seemed like a mistake. And now Bruce agrees with them.
"It was a mistake", he told the New York Times. "We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it just kind of came down and really, we didn't vet it the way we usually do." Admitting that he had "dropped the ball", Springsteen said that instead of handing the album to Wal-Mart, "given its labour history, it was something that if we'd thought about a little longer, we'd have done something different." He added: "Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be."
On June 1, 2009, Columbia Records released a European edition of the 2009 compilation album, advertised as the "2009 Limited Tour Edition" with an alternative track listing to promote Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band's European leg of the Working On A Dream Tour. It contains 16 previously released studio tracks and 2 live bonus tracks taken from the Live/1975-85 box set.
Released
# | Song Title | Running Time | Release |
---|---|---|---|
1. | ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) | GH09: WALMART | |
2. | BORN TO RUN | GH09: WALMART | |
3. | THUNDER ROAD | GH09: WALMART | |
4. | DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN | GH09: WALMART | |
5. | BADLANDS | GH09: WALMART | |
6. | HUNGRY HEART | GH09: WALMART | |
7. | GLORY DAYS | GH09: WALMART | |
8. | DANCING IN THE DARK | GH09: WALMART | |
9. | BORN IN THE U.S.A. | GH09: WALMART | |
10. | THE RISING | GH09: WALMART | |
11. | LONESOME DAY | GH09: WALMART | |
12. | RADIO NOWHERE | GH09: WALMART |
Total Running Time: 53:34
# | Song Title | Running Time | Release |
---|---|---|---|
1. | BLINDED BY THE LIGHT 2 | GH09: TOUR | |
2. | ROSALITA (COME OUT TONIGHT) | GH09: TOUR | |
3. | BORN TO RUN | GH09: TOUR | |
4. | THUNDER ROAD | GH09: TOUR | |
5. | BADLANDS | GH09: TOUR | |
6. | DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN 2 | GH09: TOUR | |
7. | HUNGRY HEART | GH09: TOUR | |
8. | THE RIVER 2 | GH09: TOUR | |
9. | BORN IN THE U.S.A. | GH09: TOUR | |
10. | I'M ON FIRE 2 | GH09: TOUR | |
11. | GLORY DAYS | GH09: TOUR | |
12. | DANCING IN THE DARK | GH09: TOUR | |
13. | THE RISING | GH09: TOUR | |
14. | LONESOME DAY | GH09: TOUR | |
15. | RADIO NOWHERE | GH09: TOUR | |
16. | LONG WALK HOME 2 | GH09: TOUR | |
17. | BECAUSE THE NIGHT 1 2 | GH09: TOUR | |
18. | FIRE 1 2 | GH09: TOUR |
Total Running Time: 1:18:51
1: Bonus live tracks, previously available on Live/1975-85 box set
2: Only available on the EU Edition.
Additional Information
- Gallery
- Personnel
- Related Releases
- On The Tracks
- Recording 'Live' Dates
- Performance
- Gallery/News
- Lyrics
© All credits to the original photographer. If you want your photo to be removed, let us know, and we will remove it.
- Bruce Springsteen: Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica
- Roy Bittan: Piano, Synthesizer
- Ernest "Boom" Carter: Drums
- Clarence Clemons: Saxophone, Percussion
- Danny Federici: Organ, Synthesizer, Accordion
- Nils Lofgren: Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Patti Scialfa: Backing Vocals
- Garry Tallent: Bass Guitar
- Steven Van Zandt: Guitar, Mandolin
- Max Weinberg: Drums
See individual song-pages for all personnel.
- All Versions
- Other
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". According to roadie and baritone sax player "Albany" Albee Tellone, Rosalita'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 WIESS sessions. The final album mix, and an instrumental backing track V1, are all that is in general circulation.
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 and overdubs, at 914 Sound Studios, both in June and then after starting a week's residency at the studio on August 1, 1974. Finally, on August 6, 1974, seventy-two tracks were mixed down to the sixteen available on 914 Studios' equipment by engineer Louis Lahav. The core backing track is V2. The variants of V3 are numerous test mixes and arrangements, with backing vocals, double-tracked vocals and strings: 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, 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, 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".
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". Sometime 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 a live Feb 5, 1975 performance. 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 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", 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 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.
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V1a | 4:26 | DO-3 / DDO / UP / DDOC |
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V1b | 4:43 | RTT / DDITV |
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2a | 4:23 | ODM / HOD / UP / AM |
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2b | 4:23 | DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL: 2003 / GH09 |
Note: Bruce began writing "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" right after Born To Run, according to a 1978 interview. Indeed, the title can be found in two lists of songs that were penned some time in 1976, supporting his recollection. It is rumoured that band rehearsals during 1976 at Bruce's home at Holmdel, NJ included versions of "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". Music and some lyrics written by February 1976, was sub-titled "The Racer" for a time.
Though it is listed on the 'Star Wars' demo tape of June 1, 1977, pictured below, V1a was not cut until June 6. V1b is the full length, speed corrected version. Sony logs show takes recorded on June 8, 9, 20 and 23, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. Work on the lyrics was needed. Then, after putting forth such a good effort, Bruce put "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" aside for the rest of the year. It was not included on the 'Badlands' album sequence from October, nor the January 16, 1978 sequence. On March 8, he suddenly called his forces together, and over three days, they re-recorded "Darkness" from scratch and completed what would become the title track of the album. The March takes were cut in a studio with bare concrete walls, after the room was gutted prior to renovation. V2a and V2b are the album track recording, with a slight difference. V2a can be identified by the addition of the word "ready" to the line "I'll be there on time ready to pay the cost". V2b is mix take #28 from March 30, 1978, and was pressed to metal acetate on April 12.
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", the anthem 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; 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 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, 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' 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 would have been a major error".
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 / LEK |
HUNGRY HEART - V2e take 2 | 3:21 | RIVER: SINGLE |
HUNGRY HEART - V3 | 3:15 | RIVER / 1980 Single / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST |
Note: "Hungry Heart"" was 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 mixes listed above show the progression from backing track v1a to completed track v2. V2c has heavy echo added to Springsteen's vocal. Recorded at Power Station on June 14 and 21, 1979, with mixing for The Ties That Bind single album by Bob Clearmountain, V2d on September 5, 1979. Dubbing and mixing sessions for the mix found on The River took place on March 24 and April 10, 1980. The version released on The River has been pitch adjusted, raising the pitch of Springsteen's vocal to achieve a more radio friendly sound. Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles) contributed backing vocals during one of those sessions.
GLORY DAYS - V1 | 1:59 | LM-10 |
GLORY DAYS - V2 | 4:24 | private |
GLORY DAYS - V3a | 4:54 | THLBP / THLBB |
GLORY DAYS - V3b | 5:18 | LM-19 / UH / GS / MI / BUERM / TDB / RTT |
GLORY DAYS - V3c | 5:05 | private cdr |
GLORY DAYS - V3d | 4:11 | BITUSA / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST |
Note: V1 is a very early solo acoustic demo recorded sometime between September 1981 and April 1982. It includes an early version of the verse about Springsteen's father that was cut from the final album version but appears in most circulating bootlegs. V2 is a Colts Neck band rehearsal that can be dated to around the same period, but after V1. The verse about his father is there, Bruce can be heard calling out instructions occasionally, there are minor lyrical variations throughout, and it lacks the entire call-and-response ending. V3 is recorded at Power Station on May 5, 1982; four different mixes are known. V3a only appears on 'This Hard Land' issues and 'Roll The Tapes', and is unique because of the serious audio distortion that runs throughout. V3b is unedited and contains the extra verse cut from the officially released version. The wild variations in track length appear to be due to tape speed, and there are two variations in the count-in. An alternative source of V3b includes an engineer identifying the take as #11.
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 selling in the U.S.A. that year.
VIETNAM - V1 | 3:15 | FFOD / HNWB / MT2 |
VIETNAM BLUES - V2 | 2:00 | FFOD / HNWB / MT2 |
BORN IN THE U.S.A. BLUES - 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 |
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 take 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 1998 and officially released on Tracks. V10 and V11 were recorded in just four takes (two complete), at Power Station studios 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.
THE RISING | 4:50 | RISING / ESSENTIAL / GH09 / CHAPTER |
Note: Song composed post 9/11, November 2001 - 2002. Recorded at Southern Tracks, Atlanta, during February-March, 2002. Soozie Tyrell contributes violin and background vocals, Jane Scarpantoni plays the cello.
LONESOME DAY - V1a | 4:08 | RISING / GH09 |
LONESOME DAY - V1b | 3:34 | promo CD |
Note: It remains unclear if this composition was written before or after 9/11. Recorded at Southern Tracks, Atlanta, during February-March, 2002. Soozie Tyrell contributes violin and background vocals, Larry Lemaster and Jere Flint play the cello. V1b is a shorter radio edit issued on a US-only 1-track promotional single in 2002.
RADIO NOWHERE - V1 | uncirculating | |
RADIO NOWHERE - V2 | 3:18 | MAGIC / ESSENTIAL: 2015 / GH09 |
Note: V1 was recorded late 2006 in New Jersey. V2 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.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT - V1a | 5:03 | GREETINGS / ESSENTIAL: 2003 / GH09 |
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT - V1b | 3:58 | 1973 Single |
Note: According to Springsteen in Songs, both "Blinded By The Light" and "Spirit In The Night" were written to order, after Clive Davis told him in mid-August 1972, there was nothing on Greetings From Asbury Park, New Jersey which could get radio play. His response was to go home with a rhyming book, which is what he used to write "Madman’s Bummers", which he changed to "Blinded By the Light", and without delay, "Spirit" and "Blinded" were both recorded on September 11, 1972.
After the Greetings sessions were completed, and the master submitted on August 10, most of the not-yet-called The E Street Band had dispersed to other obligations; David Sancious and Danny Federici were in Virginia, and Miami Steve was playing with the Dovells. Bruce found his drummer, Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez, special guest star Clarence Clemons, who had not played in the June sessions, and Harold Wheeler to play piano; he played the rest of the instruments. It is not known how many takes were needed to finish "Blinded", but it was completed in one day. Before it was released as a single on February 23, 1973, coupled with "The Angel", the engineers at Columbia edited out a verse, reducing the time below four minutes. It was given an extremely limited commercial release in the United States. The lyrics on the back of the 7” picture sleeve are also missing a verse. A stereo fold down mono version is available as the b-side of the white label promo 45.
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V1a | 4:26 | DO-3 / DDO / UP / DDOC |
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V1b | 4:43 | RTT / DDITV |
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2a | 4:23 | ODM / HOD / UP / AM |
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2b | 4:23 | DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL: 2003 / GH09 |
Note: Bruce began writing "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" right after Born To Run, according to a 1978 interview. Indeed, the title can be found in two lists of songs that were penned some time in 1976, supporting his recollection. It is rumoured that band rehearsals during 1976 at Bruce's home at Holmdel, NJ included versions of "Darkness On The Edge Of Town". Music and some lyrics written by February 1976, was sub-titled "The Racer" for a time.
Though it is listed on the 'Star Wars' demo tape of June 1, 1977, pictured below, V1a was not cut until June 6. V1b is the full length, speed corrected version. Sony logs show takes recorded on June 8, 9, 20 and 23, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. Work on the lyrics was needed. Then, after putting forth such a good effort, Bruce put "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" aside for the rest of the year. It was not included on the 'Badlands' album sequence from October, nor the January 16, 1978 sequence. On March 8, he suddenly called his forces together, and over three days, they re-recorded "Darkness" from scratch and completed what would become the title track of the album. The March takes were cut in a studio with bare concrete walls, after the room was gutted prior to renovation. V2a and V2b are the album track recording, with a slight difference. V2a can be identified by the addition of the word "ready" to the line "I'll be there on time ready to pay the cost". V2b is mix take #28 from March 30, 1978, and was pressed to metal acetate on April 12.
OH ANGELYNE - V1 | 1:35 | LM-6 / DROC1 / RRR |
OH ANGELYNE - V2 | 0:47 | LM-6 |
OH ANGELYNE - V3 | 2:52 | LM-6 |
OH ANGELYNE - V4 | 2:13 | LM-6 / MT2 |
THE RIVER - V5 take 5 | 4:48 | TTTBR / TTTBJ / RIVER: SINGLE / PYP / LEK / ATMF |
THE RIVER - V6 | 5:01 | RIVER / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / TTTB: RIVER / CHAPTER |
THE RIVER - V7 | 0:36 | TTTB: DOCUMENTARY |
Note: Springsteen kicked around the verses of "Oh Angelyne" for six months, until he received inspiration from "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" by Hank Williams (1950), and wrote the chorus in August 1979. The original inspiration had been the economic situation his sister Ginny and her husband found themselves in, during the late 1970s. Thanks to 'Lost Masters', we have four takes of a solo demo recorded by Bruce at home in February-May, 1979.
"The River" was first recorded at Power Station studios on August 26, 1979, with the completed take 5 (V5) selected for The Ties That Bind album and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Bruce changed his mind in October, and the single album fell through. But in September, he performed "The River" live twice at Madison Square Garden, New York, to great response by fans and critics, including Ginny, his special guest. The version finally released on The River double album had a number of embellishments to the single album mix. For instance, ooo-ooos by Bruce and Steve were added (possibly on January 21, 1980), and later overdubbed on either April 12 or 24, and was sequenced as the final track on the first LP of The River. Studio logs give us those three dates in 1980, but don't specify what was done. In an interview, engineer Neil Dorfsman says he recalls cutting several versions of the song, trying out different tempos and a more embellished rock 'n' roll arrangement. None of these alternative arrangements circulate, and it is not known whether they exist in the vaults. V7 is a brief snippet of an acoustic demo heard in Thom Zimny's documentary about the making of The River, included in the The Ties That Bind (The River Collection) box set, and including some well-known verses, like "is a dream a lie that don't come true, or is it something worse".
I'M ON FIRE - V1a | 2:42 | private cdr |
I'M ON FIRE - V1b | 2:58 | LM-20 / THLRR / UH / 1984AC |
I'M ON FIRE - V1c | 2:32 | BITUSA / GH09 |
Note: Rumored to have been initially recorded at The Hit Factory in January 1982, but the Born In The U.S.A. track was completed on May 11, 1982 at Power Station Studios. V1a and 1b have slightly different vocals and arrangements, and longer fade-outs than the officially released V1c.
LONG WALK HOME - V1 | uncirculating | |
LONG WALK HOME - V2 | 4:34 | MAGIC |
Note: Song written by Springsteen during 2006. Studio recording history is uncertain – this was not recorded during any of the three Seeger Sessions, although Bruce is likely to have recorded a solo home studio demo in the months that followed. Bruce premiered the song live as "Gonna Be A Long Walk Home" on November 11, 2006 during the Seeger Session Tour. The song was later studio recorded in Atlanta during March-April 2007 by Springsteen & The E Street Band and released on the album Magic. Patrick Warren adds Chamberlin and tack piano.
BECAUSE THE NIGHT (Belongs To Lovers) - V1 | 3:17 | DO-3 / UP / AM |
BECAUSE THE NIGHT - V2 - fade in | 2:32 | LM-3 / UP / AM |
BECAUSE THE NIGHT - V3 | 3:19 | DO-2 / DDO / DDOC / ESR / O711S |
BECAUSE THE NIGHT - V4 | 3:22 | PROMISE / 2010 SINGLE |
Note: First appeared on pre-sessions song list as "The Night Belongs To Lovers". V1 "Because the Night (Belongs To Lovers)", was recorded at Atlantic Studios, New York on June 1, 1977 with the lyrics not finished. V2 was recorded July 1, 1977 at Atlantic Studios, and is less embryonic but still with some unfinished lyrics. Springsteen cut his last take on September 27, 1977 V3. It is not clear if this was a demo for Patti Smith. The transfer of the song was orchestrated by Jimmy Iovine, who, in his own words, "was engineering Darkness and producing Easter at the same time. Now, Bruce was very understanding and very flexible, because he realized that this was my first real break as a producer. Anyway, one night whilst we were lounging around the Hotel Navarro in New York I told Bruce I desperately wanted a hit with Patti, that she deserved one. He agreed. As he had no immediate plans to put "Because The Night" on an album, I said why not give it to Patti. Bruce replied, If she can do it, she can have it." Iovine brought Smith the September 27 demo of the song, and Smith added her own lyrics, recording it for her album Easter, and scoring her first and biggest hit single. The officially released V4 uses Smith's lyrics and is a modern vocal take, recorded 2010 in the Record Plant Studio truck parked on his Colts Neck, NJ property.
FIRE - V1 | 5:14 | LM-2 / DDO / DO-2 / MT1 / AM |
FIRE - V2 | 4:05 | PROMISE |
Note: Written in May 1977, a few days after Bruce and Steve attended an Elvis Presley concert in Philadelphia. V1 (which is not a final take) comes from June 17, 1977 at Atlantic Studios. Introducing the song on November 20, 1978 in Champaign, IL, Bruce said "This is a song I wrote, oh, we jammed it up in the studio one night in twenty minutes". Allegedly (and this may be myth) a finished demo take was sent to Elvis Presley in July or August 1977, shortly before his death, with the hope that Elvis might cover it. Bruce ended up donating the song to Robert Gordon, who recorded his cover (with Bruce on piano) in early December 1977 (released April 1978). The Pointer Sisters then quickly covered Gordon's released version and had a major international hit in early 1979. The officially released V2 was partly recorded in 1977, and partly recorded in 2010.
Studio Sessions: None
Media | Song Title | Recording Date | Location |
---|---|---|---|
17. | Because The Night 1 | December 28, 1980 | Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York |
18. | Fire 1 | December 16, 1978 | Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, California |
1: Live recording available on the "Greatest Hits (2009 Limited Tour Edition)" originally taken from the Live/1975-85 box set.
European Limited Tour Edition |
Count |
American 'Walmart' Edition |
Count |
Blinded By The Light | 80 |
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) | 813 |
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) | 813 |
Born To Run | 1726 |
Born To Run | 1726 |
Thunder Road | 1418 |
Thunder Road | 1418 |
Darkness On The Edge Of Town | 700 |
Badlands | 1205 |
Badlands | 1205 |
Darkness On The Edge Of Town | 700 |
Hungry Heart | 738 |
Hungry Heart | 738 |
Glory Days | 549 |
The River | 682 |
Dancing In The Dark | 1025 |
Born In The U.S.A. | 992 |
Born In The U.S.A. | 992 |
I'm On Fire | 292 |
The Rising | 864 |
Glory Days | 549 |
Lonesome Day | 381 |
Dancing In The Dark | 1025 |
Radio Nowhere | 181 |
The Rising | 864 |
||
Lonesome Day | 381 |
||
Radio Nowhere | 181 |
||
Long Walk Home | 282 |
||
Because The Night | 504 |
||
Fire | 229 |
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