Greatest Hits 2009

Home » Statistical Information » Discography » Discography - Retail » Retail - Audio » Greatest Hits 2009

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

Fold

Table of Contents

Overview

Released

Additional Information

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	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	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

Additional Information

^{© All credits to the original photographer. If you want your photo to be removed, let us know, and we will remove it.}

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, and recorded over an untold number of sessions, with only one date discovered so far in studio logs, September 23, 1973. The final album mix, and an instrumental backing track V1, are all that is in general circulation.

BORN TO RUN - V1		uncirculating
BORN TO RUN - V2a	4:24	ESR / 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

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' V1 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.

V2a is the original backing track recorded on May 21, 1974, after rehearsal in prior sessions. V2b is from June 26, 1974, dubbing Bruce's vocal to the V2a 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 by engineer Louis Lahav. The core backing track is V3. The variants of V4 are numerous test mixes and arrangements, with backing vocals, double-tracked vocals and strings: V4a has a double tracked vocal, strings and hard organ stop; V4b has double tracked vocals. swirling strings, female chorus, and hard organ stop; V4c has a female chorus and delayed organ end. V4d has a female chorus that does not start until third verse, with funky dead stop. 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 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 V5a. In late October 1974, an advanced tape release of the official version (V5b) was sent to selected radio stations by Mike Appel and Springsteen. V5c is a live recording from WMMR Studios in Philadelphia on November 3, 1974, with Ed Sciaky and Bruce playing v5b on the air. The tape was broadcast by several USA radio stations from November 1974 to July 1975. There is little difference between V5a and V5b, except v5b is pre-brickwalled for radio broadcast. V6 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
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	ESR / 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 played 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 new composition, coined "Wings For Wheels" by bootleggers. V2, recorded in February. 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".

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 - V1		uncirculating
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2a	4:26	DO-3 / DDO / UP / DDOC
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2b	4:43	RTT / DDITV
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V3a	4:23	ODM / HOD / UP / AM
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V3b	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. Down in the Alternative Album Sequence-section, you can see "Darkness" listed on the first two 1976 'album' sequences Springsteen prepared, supporting his recollection. V1 represents multiple takes reported at Bruce's home, Telegraph Hill, Holmdel, New Jersey, during 1976, even though the odds of recovering any material seem low at this time. Then again, few were aware that Barry Rebo had the film footage released from the Thrill Hill Vault on Blu-Ray/DVD No. 2 from The Promise: The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story box set. No doubt Bruce and the E Street Band worked extensively on "Rendezvous", "Something In the Night", "The Promise", "Frankie", "Candy's Boy", and "Darkness". 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, V2a was not cut until June 6. V2b 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 (5 days), Bruce put "Darkness" aside for the rest of the year. It was not included on the 'Badlands' album sequence from October, or the January 16, 1978 seq. 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. V3a and V3b are the album track recording, with a slight difference. V3a can be identified by the addition of the word "ready" to the line "I'll be there on time ready to pay the cost". V3b 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	3:59	uncirculating
BADLANDS - V5 take 23	3:59	DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / CHAPTER / 1978 SINGLE

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, 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 Clarence Clemons' sax solo. 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 v3 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 demo from January-April 1982, includes the "my dad" verse that was cut from the final album version, but appears in most circulating bootlegs. V2 is a Colts Neck band rehearsal from April 1982. It seems the song was fairly well developed and rehearsed at this point. Some minor lyrical variations throughout, and it lacks the entire call-and-response ending. V3 is recorded at The 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 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 were 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.

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 / 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.

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

3:18

MAGIC / ESSENTIAL: 2015 / GH09

Note: Released as a single August 28, 2007.

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. This was much to the satisfaction of his record label, who were pleased with the songs, and even more by their new artists' response to their implied request. Unnoticed was Henry Boy', which garnered respectable attention during the August Max's Kansas City residency, but was never played again. Perhaps Bruce used most of the song in creating 'Blinded By the Light', just like he did with 'Walking In the Street' when creating 'Thunder Road'. The legendary rhyming dictionary helped him with the lyrics, but 'Henry Boy' was the instant source of the music.

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 - V1		uncirculating
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2a	4:26	DO-3 / DDO / UP / DDOC
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V2b	4:43	RTT / DDITV
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V3a	4:23	ODM / HOD / UP / AM
DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN - V3b	4:23	DARKNESS / ESSENTIAL: 2003 / GH09

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		uncirculating
THE RIVER - V6 take 5	4:48	TTTBR / TTTBJ / RIVER: SINGLE / PYP / LEK / ATMF
THE RIVER - V7		uncirculating
THE RIVER - V8		uncirculating
THE RIVER - V9	5:01	RIVER / ESSENTIAL / GREATEST / TTTB: RIVER / CHAPTER
THE RIVER - V10	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. V5, now known as "The River", was recorded at Power Station studios on August 26, 1979, with the completed take 5 (V6) selected for The Ties That Bind album. Bruce reconsidered in October, and that plan 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 TTTB version. For instance, ooo-ooos by Bruce and Steve were recorded on January 21, 1980 (V7), later overdubbed on either April 12 (V8) or April 24 (V9), and was sequenced as the final track of Disc 1 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. V10 is brief snippets 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: Rumoured to have been initially recorded at The Hit Factory in January 1982, but the Born In The U.S.A. recording is from The Power Station on May 11, 1982. All three are different mixes of the same core recording. The vocalisations and arrangements of the coda vary slightly between V1a and V1b. These two mixes also have 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 at Stone Hill Studio.

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

2009 brucespringsteen g info live retail r_gh09 studio

European Limited Tour Edition	Count	American 'Walmart' Edition	Count
Blinded By The Light	80	Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)	811
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)	811	Born To Run	1723
Born To Run	1723	Thunder Road	1416
Thunder Road	1416	Darkness On The Edge Of Town	700
Badlands	1204	Badlands	1204
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	281
Because The Night	504
Fire	229

Brucebase Wiki

Site Navigation

Overview

Released

Additional Information