Ramrod

Ramrod

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Disc 2 track 6 of The River, 1980.

The River (1980)
- Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar
- Roy Bittan: piano, backing vocals
- Clarence Clemons: saxophone, percussion, backing vocals
- Danny Federici: organ, glockenspiel
- Garry Tallent: bass
- Steven Van Zandt: guitar, backing vocals
- Max Weinberg: drums, percussion

RAMROD - V1	3:58	DO-1 / AM / UP
RAMROD - V2a	3:51	DROC1 / ATMF / RRR / RO / PYP
RAMROD - V2b	3:41	DROC2
RAMROD - V2c	0:28	DROC2 / RO
RAMROD - V2d	3:46	RO
RAMROD - V2e	3:44	RO
RAMROD - V2f	4:20	LM-5
RAMROD - V2g	4:20	LM-5
RAMROD - V2h	4:23	LM-5
RAMROD - V2i	2.53	LM-5
RAMROD - V2j	3:57	RIVER / 1980 b-side
RAMROD - V2k	3:57	TTTB: RIVER

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.

^{Studio Sessions: Darkness On the Edge of Town}

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