| CADILLAC RANCH - V1a |
2:58 |
DROC2 / RO / ATMF |
| CADILLAC RANCH - V1b |
3:03 |
private cdr |
| CADILLAC RANCH - V1c |
3:05 |
private cdr |
| CADILLAC RANCH - V1d |
3:03 |
private cdr |
| CADILLAC RANCH - V1e |
3:01 |
O&S |
| CADILLAC RANCH - V1f |
3:01 |
RIVER |
Note: Recorded at the Power Station on February 16, March 9, 15 and 17, and mixed at Clover Studios in Los Angeles on April 9 and 26, 1980. All of the above are mixed variations of the same basic recording. V1b has less echo on lead vocal, V1c is take #47 with piano and guitar higher in the mix, V1d is described as "basic rundown take 2", and V1e adds a siren and screeching tires to the introduction.
Note: These are all mix permutations of the same basic recording. Recorded at Power Station studios on October 11 and 12, 1979.
| DRIVE ALL NIGHT - V1a |
8:22 |
LM-2 / DDO / DO-1 / AM / UP / LMEC2 |
| DRIVE ALL NIGHT - V1b |
8:23 |
UP |
| DRIVE ALL NIGHT - V2 |
4:42 |
LM-2 / AM / UP |
| DRIVE ALL NIGHT - V3 |
0:30 |
LM-7 |
| DRIVE ALL NIGHT - V4 |
8:22 |
RIVER |
Note: Studio logs indicate that Springsteen worked on this song at two sessions in 1977; June 16 at Atlantic Studios and August 24 at Record Plant. V1 is definitely from that June session, V2 is probably also from June (see image), but could be from the August session. If V2 is from June, then the August 24 take does not currently circulate among collectors. V2 has a different opening and is shorter, lacking Clarence's saxophone solo. Note that some bootleg CDs (such as Godfather's 'The Unbroken Promise') include two versions of the eight minute "Drive All Night"; they may be the same recording, but since two bootleg collections carry them, we list them as alternate mixes. Listed on some early vinyl boots by the title "Sad Eyes".
Bruce re-recorded the vocal track during the River sessions, using the 1977 Darkness backing track for V4, officially released on The River. V3 was worked on at Power Station (possibly on February 24, 1980, a date found in the studio logs), again with Springsteen singing over the backing track. V4 was completed on March 8 or 16. Preliminary mixing took place on April 10 by Neil Dorfsman; the song was later remixed by Toby Scott at Clover Recorders, Los Angeles. Springsteen is credited with the piano on this track. The only song from The River to be recorded by Jimmy Iovine, a final confirmation that the backing track was recorded during the Darkness sessions.
| FADE AWAY - V1 |
2:50 |
LMEC1 |
| FADE AWAY - V2a |
1:01 |
private cdr |
| FADE AWAY - V2b - take 29 |
1:37 |
private cdr |
| FADE AWAY - V2c - take 26 |
4:40 |
private cdr |
| FADE AWAY - V2d - take 27 |
4:46 |
private cdr |
| FADE AWAY - V2e |
4:46 |
DROC2 / RO / RRR / ATMF |
| FADE AWAY - V2f |
4:36 |
RIVER / 1981 single |
Note: "Fade Away" V1 is a work-in-progress version from late 1979, recorded at Telegraph Hill, listed as "Slow Fade" in the Lost Masters liner notes, but it bears no resemblance to that song, which is known from February 1980 Telegraph Hill rehearsals. Takes were recorded at Power Station on March 9 and 15–17, 1980 and V2 is likely to emanate from one of those sessions. Work on April 9 and 29 is also logged - these are likely to be related to mixing at Clover Studios in Los Angeles. All circulating versions of V2 appear to be different mix permutations of the same basic recording. V2a is described as "end tag intercut number two, dry voice fade, loud last line" by the engineer. V2b appears to be an aborted mix, "the take after the last one, 28." V2c is take #26, V2d is take #27 with less piano. Released as a single in 1981 with "Be True" as the B-side.
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.
Note: Studio logs show takes were recorded at Power Station studios on July 5, 11, and 12, 1979, V1a is the earliest mix. V3 was mixed in September by Bob Clearmountain for the abandoned The Ties That Bind album, and later issued in 2015 on The River: Single Album. Additional sessions for The River were logged on April 12 and May 6 and 7, 1980. The final mix was by Toby Scott at Clover Recorders in Los Angeles, between May and July.
| SHE'S A ROCKER - V1 take 4 |
3:10 |
LM-5 |
| SHE'S A ROCKER - V2 take 6 |
3:18 |
LM-5 / ATMF |
| I'M A ROCKER - V3 |
3:32 |
RIVER |
Note: V1 and V2 were recorded at the Power Station on December 4, 1979, in the third person ("She's A Rocker"). The only other documented date in the logs is April 10, 1980, which is likely to be related to mixing at Clover Studios in Los Angeles, leaving the recording date of the album cut undocumented.
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V1 - take 3 |
|
uncirculating |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V2 |
6:17 |
LM-3 / AM / UP / LMEC2 / GT |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V3a - mix take #10 |
5:18 |
uncirculating |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V3b |
5:27 |
DROC1 / RRR / ATMF |
| INDEPENDENCE DAY - V3c |
4:39 |
RIVER |
Note: In a phone interview with a CHOM-FM DJ after a show on November 8, 1978 at the Montreal Forum, Bruce said "Independence Day" was written "before a lot of the stuff recorded on Darkness." It also appears on a "New Songs" list generally attributed to the pre-Darkness era. It was first recorded on August 15, 1977, and take 3 was dubbed to a ruffs mix tape, the inlay of which was reproduced in The Promise facsimile book. V2 was a bootlegged take likely recorded on September 26–27 at Record Plant Studios. Springsteen must have completed the song to some extent, because it was slated to be track 4 on the October 'Badlands' album, until Bruce canceled the project. He went back to work on it on November 4, 7, and December 9, 1977. When a proposed track sequence was assembled on January 16, 1978, "Independence Day" was an alternate track, but it was soon dropped from consideration. Bruce played it live on July 7, 1978 at the Roxy, and over thirty times to the end of the Darkness Tour. Sessions resumed at Power Station studios on May 29 and October 11, 1979, with mixing and dubbing sessions on April 24 and 25, 1980. V3a is mix take #10, with slight alterations to the snare drums and vocals. V3b is the complete, uncut recording with the instrumental coda that was removed from the album version, V3c.
Note: V1 and V2 of "Jackson Cage" can be heard on 'Lost Masters VII', a disc of 1979 home demos. V2 is an undated demo, generally credited to the fall of the year, but more likely from May 1979 before the resumption of studio work on May 22, when the whole session was devoted to "Jackson Cage". Springsteen did not work on the song again until V3 on January 1980, when he sang the lyrics over a playback of a January 11 Telegraph Hill band rehearsal of "Restless Nights". V4 and V5 are rehearsal workouts of an alternative arrangement from Telegraph Hill on February 5, 1980. The album track (V6) was recorded at Power Station on February 17, 1980, with overdubbing and mixing on April 10, 1980.
Note: V1 and V2 are both Telegraph Hill band rehearsals from January 11, 1980. By March, Bruce had completed the lyrics to "Out In The Street", and on March 21, 1980 at Power Station, the band was ready to finish the song. V3 was recorded that night, as sessions were drawing to a close. Neil Dorfsman said it was "a beast" of a track to record. Everybody left on vacation after it was done.
| POINT BLANK - V1 |
1:00 |
LMEC1 |
| POINT BLANK - V2 - take 3 |
5:39 |
DROC1 / RO |
| POINT BLANK - V3 - take 9 |
5:50 |
DROC1 / RO |
| POINT BLANK - V4 - take 11 |
5:20 |
DROC1 / RO |
| POINT BLANK - V5 - take 12 |
5:17 |
DROC1 / RO / ATMF |
| POINT BLANK - V6 |
5:59 |
RIVER |
Note: Initially written in early 1978 after the conclusion of the Darkness sessions, and completed during the early stages of the Darkness Tour. Bruce confirmed in a 1978 interview that "Point Blank" was composed during the soundcheck at the Music Hall in Boston in late May. Unfortunately, there were no studio sessions at this time, so no recordings exist. Premiered live at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood on July 7, 1978 and played regularly once the song returned to the setlist two months later. Both the lyrics and arrangement used on the Darkness Tour are quite different to the final take on The River.
V1 is an acoustic demo from around January–June 1979 and consists of harmonies and guitar practice. V2–V5 are takes 3, 9, 11, and 12 respectively, all recorded on the same night at the Power Station on May 29 and 30, 1979. These four takes feature a completely different, faster, rocking arrangement with alternative lyrics to both the 1978 live versions and the eventual River release. The mid-section includes a searing guitar solo. When Springsteen performed "Point Blank" in 1995 during the Solo Acoustic Tour, he used an arrangement that was clearly inspired by the abandoned rock version. V6, the final arrangement, contains a new second verse taken from the opening section of "Party Lights", as well as a newly written, extended narrative middle section. It was recorded some months later, possibly on August 23–25, 1979, or February 16, 1980.
Note: Written during sessions for Darkness On The Edge Of Town, and at least four takes were recorded at Record Plant studios on September 12, 1977. The V1 lyrics are far from complete; after the first verse and chorus, the rest of the song is bluffed. Note that the car had a "Pontiac engine in a '32 Ford." It was played once on the Darkness Tour, on December 28, 1978 in Pittsburgh, PA. Bruce finished writing the song before resuming work at Power Station studios on June 12, 1979. Several complete takes were again recorded, though it was decided the base track recorded in 1977 would remain. V2a through V2j consist of these tracks, and are a collection of overdubbed guitars and vocals, trying to find the right combination. Studio talk between engineer Neil Dorfsman and Springsteen can be heard on several of the tracks describing the setup. The next two sessions were with Bruce, Dorfsman, and Bob Clearmountain on August 27, 1979 and September 5, 1979, trying to get the final mix for the Ties That Bind album. Unfortunately, "Ramrod" was taken out of the track list at the last minute, and then Springsteen cancelled the album, going back to recording. V2a through V2e were mixed on these two dates. All are complete takes with varying overdubs added. V2c is a thirty second guitar part for overdubbing. When it came time for mixing for The River, two more sessions were held with Dorfsman on April 4 and 19, 1980. V2f through V2i are likely from these dates. The increased length of some of the tracks is due to reduction of the tape speed. V2j is the track chosen for the album, mixed by Toby Scott at Clover Recorders in Los Angeles.
In January 2011, a song titled "Rocker" was registered with the US Copyright Office, but information on the copyright claim suggests this is actually "Ramrod". It was registered because a short audio snippet was included in Thom Zimny's The Promise: The Making Of Darkness On The Edge Of Town, the documentary included on the box set. It can be heard at exactly 1:00:00. A remastered and remixed version of "Ramrod" was included in The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, released on December 4, 2015.
Note: "Sherry Darling" was recorded at Atlantic Studios on June 24 and 27 and July 1, 1977 during the Darkness sessions, but was held over for the next album for thematic reasons. V1 and V2 are from one of these three dates. Inspired by sixties frat-rock bands such as The Swingin' Medallions and The Kingsmen, it was premiered live during the Darkness Tour with a spoken introduction: "This was a song that we recorded live in the studio about two years ago, the beginning of the summer and it was originally gonna be on Darkness, but it was too weird so we left it off." Bruce would often refer to "two summers ago" when introducing the song in 1978, which would indicate it was first recorded in 1976. However, Bruce's dates are notoriously unreliable so it is more likely he is referring to June 1977. Springsteen returned to "Sherry Darling" in the spring of 1979, with takes at Power Station on May 25, 1979. V3 may pre-date that session, featuring a guide vocal with still unfinished and bluffed vocals. Despite completion before the abandoned Ties That Bind, it appears the song was never considered for that album. The logs show more work on February 23, 1980 and V4 was completed on March 8 with final overdubs before a mixing session on April 12, 1980 and inclusion on The River. Crowd and party noises were overdubbed, perhaps in an attempt to capture some of the excitement of the live performances.
Note: "Stolen Car" is actually the tale of two songs. The first "Stolen Car" was written, recorded and sequenced for release on the aborted album, The Ties That Bind, between June and September 1979. Springsteen later re-wrote and re-recorded the song and released it on The River in October 1980. "Stolen Car" was first recorded at Power Station on June 20–21, 1979, with takes attributed to the latter date. V1, the first take, contains different lyrics and is longer. V2 is referred to as "The Stanton Lake" version, because it started with that line. Take 3 (V4) was selected for The Ties That Bind, with final dubbing and mixing (by Bob Clearmountain) on September 24, 1979. It was later officially released on Tracks in 1998, and on The River Single Album in 2015, now dubbed "Stolen Car Vs. 1". V3 is the fourth and last distinct take of this arrangement. It was this take that was on a tape that fell into the hands of bootleggers, subsequently dubbed "Son You May Kiss the Bride", and pressed into a vinyl LP of the same name. It contained four unreleased River tracks, the title track, "Loose Ends", "Where The Bands Are", and "Don't Do It To Me" (aka "Little White Lies").
Despite the song being completed, Bruce was dissatisfied and decided months later to radically alter the musical arrangement. V5 is less than a minute of a solo take, and in V6, Springsteen sings over a tape of a band rehearsal of "Restless Nights", both recorded in January 1980. V7–V14 were recorded on January 16, 1980 at Telegraph Hill, and feature revised arrangements. The end result was V15, which was recorded at Power Station on January 21 and February 20, with overdubs and mixing undertaken on April 1 and 9, and May 9, 1980. The final mix for The River was by Toby Scott, at Clover Recorders, Los Angeles, CA in May–July 1980, with Springsteen watching over his shoulder.
Note: Studio takes covered four days, June 15, 18, 19 and 21, 1979 at the Power Station. V1 is an earlier take (but dated to June 21 in the Lost Masters liner notes) and a different mix, with some minor lyrical variations and vocalisations over the instrumental ending. V2 was completed on the final day, and submitted for the single album. Once the single album was canned Bruce returned to the song with a re-written third verse. It is unknown if that verse was recorded at the same time as the rest of the song, or if it was recorded later and overdubbed over the original. Logs show just one more entry, April 4, 1980, which may be a mixing date. Springsteen added the "original" third verse back to "The Price You Pay" for live performances during the River Tour, though all performances since 1981 have used the original album lyrics. Many consider V2 to be the definitive studio take, and it was officially released on The River Single Album in 2015.
Note: Springsteen kicked around the verses of "Oh Angelyne" for six months until he received inspiration from Hank Williams' "Long Gone Lonesome Blues" that includes the lyric 'I jumped in the river, but the doggone river was dry', and added a 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 the Power Station on August 26 and 29, 1979, with the completed take 5 (V5) selected for The Ties That Bind and mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Bruce changed his mind in October, and the single album fell through. In September he performed "The River" live twice at Madison Square Garden, New York at the No Nukes MUSE benefits. The version finally released on The River double album had a number of embellishments to the single album mix. For instance, the ethereal vocalisations by Bruce and Steve over the closing coda were added, possibly recorded on January 21, 1980. Mixing took place on April 12 and 24, and the result 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.
Note: First known from a soundcheck performance on September 20, 1978 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic. While it shares some lyrics with the finished article, the soundcheck version otherwise bears little resemblance. This first incarnation of "The Ties That Bind" is a minor-key blues driven hard rock song with some searing lead guitar work. Another soundcheck performance of this arrangement circulates, a partial recording said to have been taped from outside the Capitol Theatre the following day, although this is in some doubt. A faster, more confident performance. This original arrangement was extensively revised by October 26, 1978, when V1–V3 were recorded at Telegraph Hill in a rehearsal a few days before the final leg of the Darkness Tour. Although still a work-in-progress, it is much closer to the final arrangement, and now in the major key. It was premiered live six days later at Princeton University and played regularly for the remainder of the tour, eventually taking a prominent spot as the opening song of the second set.
The band picked it back up in the Spring of 1979 at Telegraph Hill with V4 and V5, still needing work on the second and third verses. V5 is more advanced, and both still retain the drum introduction from the Darkness Tour arrangement that was dropped for the final take. In April, sessions commenced at Power Station studios for album #5, with engineer Bob Clearmountain. After finishing "Roulette", work began on finishing "The Ties That Bind", with takes recorded on April 9, 10, and 11. V6 is take 8, chosen as the title track for an album to be released later in the year. V6a was an early mix with different vocals. V6b was mixed by Clearmountain in September 1979, but after the album came back from mastering in October, Bruce called a halt to the release, and resumed writing and recording. Jon Landau helped to sell him on the double album idea, and The River was released in 1980. The first track on side one was V6c with a freshly recorded vocal track over the 1979 base and possible overdubs and mixing on April 10, 1980. Final mixing by Toby Scott took place at Clover Studios in Los Angeles, during May–July.
| TWO HEARTS - V1 |
1:23 |
LM-7 |
| TWO HEARTS - V2 |
2:36 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V3 |
1:55 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V4 |
2:37 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V5 |
2:41 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V6 |
1:13 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V7 |
4:23 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V8 |
5:08 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V9 |
3:26 |
LM-11 |
| TWO HEARTS - V10a |
2:39 |
RIVER |
| TWO HEARTS - V10b |
2:44 |
private cdr |
Note: V1 is an acoustic demo recorded at Springsteen's home in Holmdel, NJ in early 1980. The chorus heard here is similar to the album take, but the remainder of the lyrics and the melody are quite different. V2–V9 are band rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on February 22, 1980, and are a fascinating glimpse of the band developing a song live. V2 includes a guitar solo mid-song (also found in V4 and V5) along with many bluffed lyrics. V6 has Bruce working on a new verse, which is incorporated into V7–V9. Both the solo and extra verse are unique to these takes, and were dropped by the time "Two Hearts" was cut in the studio.
"Two Hearts" was recorded at Power Station on February 23 (the day after the Telegraph Hill rehearsals) and 24, with further work undertaken on March 17, April 9, and April 26, 1980. V10b is a different mix that lacks the double-tracked vocal found on the album.
| WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY - V1 |
3:30 |
LM-13 |
| WRECK ON THE HIGHWAY - V2 |
3:44 |
RIVER |
Note: V1 is a full-band rehearsal from Telegraph Hill on January 11, 1980, in a country arrangement that bears a very strong resemblance to Springsteen's cover of Hank Williams's "Wedding Bells" that he rehearsed during soundcheck at Passaic's Capitol Theatre in September 1978. Studio documentation shows entries for "Wreck On The Highway" over three consecutive days on April 10–12, 1980. It's likely that these entries are referencing mixing sessions at Clover Studios in Los Angeles, and the true recording dates are undocumented.
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V1 |
2:40 |
LM-7 |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V2 |
2:45 |
LM-7 / LMEC2 |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V3 |
0:44 |
DROC1 / SFEM / AT |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V4 |
0:30 |
DROC1 / SFEM / AT |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V5 |
2:11 |
DROC1 / AT |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V6 take 3 |
2:04 |
RIVER: SINGLE / TTTBR / TTTBJ / DROC2 |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V7 |
|
uncirculating |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V8 |
2:34 |
RIVER |
| YOU CAN LOOK (BUT YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH) - V9 |
1:18 |
YBNT2 / BB: DOC |
Note: V1 and V2 are actually two takes of Bruce working on the start and end, singing the lead guitar part over his acoustic, recorded at Telegraph Hill, January–March 1979. It's clear that he thinks he's onto something. V3–V5 are demos from May, well developed, with the lyrics of the first and third verses almost complete. V6, in a rockabilly arrangement, was probably recorded over two days at the Power Station on August 24 and 25, 1979, and sequenced on side two of The Ties That Bind before Springsteen rejected the concept and moved to a double album. Later released in 2015 on The River: Single Album. This arrangement was performed regularly on the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour in 1988, but not before and never since.
Some time later, Springsteen dropped the rockabilly arrangement, and instead lifted the music from "Held Up Without A Gun". V7 was recorded at a Telegraph Hill rehearsal on January 11, 1980, using the music from "Held Up Without A Gun", but the recording does not circulate. V8 was recorded on February 17 and 23, 1980, at Power Station, and final mixes for The River took place on April 1, 9, and 21, 1980.
V9 is a short acoustic take from January 1995, from the soundtrack of the Blood Brothers video, shot during the Greatest Hits sessions at the Hit Factory, New York.
