Tracks - Studio Sessions

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KEY | Timeline | Songs
Early | Demo | Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. | The Wild, Innocent & E Street Shuffle | Born To Run | Darkness On The Edge Of Town | The River | Nebraska | Born In The U.S.A. | Tunnel Of Love | Human Touch | Lucky Town | Greatest Hits | The Ghost Of Tom Joad | Tracks | The Rising | The Essential | Devils & Dust | We Shall Overcome | Magic | Working On A Dream | The Promise | Wrecking Ball | High Hopes | The Ties That Bind | Chapter And Verse | Western Stars

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Tracks commercially released: November 9, 1998 / 18 Tracks commercially released: April 12, 1999
Label: Columbia
Produced by Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin*
Recorded by Toby Scott assisted by Greg Goldman and Thom Panunzio*
Mixed by Ed Thacker and Bob Clearmountain asisted by Thom Panunzio, Greg Goldman and Ross Peterson*
Photography by Phil Ceccola, Joel Bernstein, James A. Davis, David Gahr, Annie Leibovitz, Fred Lombardi,
 Jim Merchese, Neal Preston, Herb Ritts and David Rose
Design by Harry Chorron and Sandra Choron

^{* see Brucebase session listings for the specific producers and engineers of the original recordings.}

Overview

Tracks (Archival Release)

Following the completion of the solo acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour in May 1997 Springsteen kept a relatively low profile and spent the summer months in New Jersey with his family. He held a studio session in November 1997 (the first of what is now known as the Seeger Sessions) and also participated in songwriting sessions with Joe Grushecky in December 1997-January 1998. According to interview comments by Toby Scott, (Springsteen’s audio archivist and recording engineer), it was in February 1998, during solo sessions being conducted at Bruce’s NJ home studio, that Springsteen approached Scott and said “let's do the boxed set”. Scott then went to work gathering the potential material from Springsteen’s massive audio library (located, along with Sony's sound archives, in the high-tech Iron Mountain facility near Buffalo, NY). Bruce’s NJ home studio (Thrill Hill East) served as the main operational center for all Tracks project activities.

Springsteen mentioned in an early 1999 interview with journalist Patrick Humphries that 200 to 300 different songs (twelve to eighteen CDs worth) formed the large pool of recordings that he initially reviewed in the spring of 1998 as potential candidates for the boxed set. Over the course of the next few months the 200-300 was narrowed down. According to Toby Scott by late June then number was down to about 128 songs (eight CDs worth). It was then narrowed down yet again during July to about one hundred songs (a six-CD set). Although these one hundred songs were prepped for the Tracks release there was a commercial decision made later in the summer to reduce the size of the release to a four-CD (sixty six-track) package. The package was delivered to Sony in mid-September in order to facilitate the mid-November 1998 release schedule.

The primary intent of Tracks (at least insofar as it’s slimmed-down six-CD and four-CD incarnations were concerned) was to cover all of Springsteen's commercially released album sessions. However due to ongoing (and at the time still-unresolved) court proceedings involving most of Springsteen’s unreleased 1972 studio recordings, it was decided not to release any of that in-dispute session material on Tracks. Consequently unreleased songs from the Greetings album sessions, or other demo sessions from that period, were not released in the package. The four "Hammond" CBS demo session songs that are found in the box were utilized because that particular studio session and those particular songs were not part of the court proceedings. Postscript: these legal matters were finally resolved, in Springsteen's favour, in 2001 – thereby freeing up these recordings for release at any time. It is likely that a "Tracks, Vol 2" (i.e., another boxed set of similar scope), will be released sometime in the future.

After the release of 18 Tracks (read below), the combined Tracks collection consisted of 65 outtakes and two new recordings. Unable to locate the master tape for "Gave It A Name", Springsteen re-recorded the song on August 24, 1998 at his home studio in Colts Neck, NJ. He did the same for "The Promise" (see below). There are also several tracks that were "supplemented" with additional instrumentation by overdubbing ("Hearts of Stone" has new horns). The full extent of "modern" recording used on Tracks is unknown.

18 Tracks

Despite stellar reviews the initial sales of the Tracks boxed set were well below expectations, probably due to this pricey retrospective not being issued in the wake of a huge selling Springsteen album (as had been the case in 1986 when Live/1975-85 followed the Born In The USA album). Partly as a consequence of the slow sales it was decided in January 1999 to release an abbreviated single CD version of Tracks titled 18 Tracks. This was intended for the more casual fan, although 18 Tracks also served the purpose as a promotional tie-in for the E Street Band "Reunion" tour that was announced at the same time. 18 Tracks contained fifteen recordings already issued on Tracks, plus three previously unreleased recordings ("The Fever", "Trouble River" and "The Promise"). "The Promise", a Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake, best known for legendary live performances from August 1976 - July 1978, was included after howls of outrage from the faithful for leaving it off Tracks. Springsteen, still rejecting all studio takes recorded between June 1977 - January 1978, responded by re-recording it on February 9-12, 1999 at Boxwood Studios, at his home in Rumson, New Jersey.

Sales of 18 Tracks were also disappointing, although the Reunion tour that followed was a tremendous commercial success.

Released

Tracks

#	Song Title	Running Time	Release
1.1.	MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS 3	4:28	GREETINGS / TRACKS
1.2.	IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY 3	2:55	GREETINGS / TRACKS
1.3.	GROWIN' UP 1 3	2:41	GREETINGS / TRACKS / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER
1.4.	DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? 3	2:04	GREETINGS / TRACKS
1.5.	BISHOP DANCED 2	4:21	TRACKS
1.6.	SANTA ANA	4:37	TRACKS
1.7.	SEASIDE BAR SONG 1	3:34	TRACKS
1.8.	ZERO AND BLIND TERRY	5:58	TRACKS
1.9.	LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE	4:27	TRACKS
1.10.	THUNDERCRACK	8:29	TRACKS
1.11.	RENDEZVOUS 1 2	2:51	1976 promo / TRACKS / PROMISE
1.12.	GIVE THE GIRL A KISS	3:55	TRACKS
1.13.	ICEMAN	3:19	TRACKS
1.14.	BRING ON THE NIGHT	2:40	TRACKS
1.15.	SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE	3:49	TRACKS
1.16.	HEARTS OF STONE 1	4:32	TRACKS
1.17.	DON'T LOOK BACK	3:00	TRACKS

#	Song Title	Running Time	Release
2.1.	RESTLESS NIGHTS	3:47	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.2.	A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH)	3:18	TRACKS
2.3.	ROULETTE	3:55	1988 single / TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.4.	DOLLHOUSE	3:35	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.5.	WHERE THE BANDS ARE 1	3:46	TRACKS / 1999 b-side / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.6.	LOOSE ENDS 1	4:04	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.7.	LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD	4:19	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.8.	WAGES OF SIN	4:54	TRACKS
2.9.	TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME	4:31	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.10.	BE TRUE	3:42	1981 b-side / 1981 b-side / TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.11.	RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN	2:47	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.12.	I WANNA BE WITH YOU 1	3:23	TRACKS / 1999 single / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.13.	MARY LOU	3:23	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.14.	STOLEN CAR	4:31	RIVER / TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
2.15.	BORN IN THE U.S.A. 1	3:11	BITUSA / 1984 single / GREATEST / TRACKS / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER
2.16.	JOHNNY BYE-BYE	1:53	1984 b-side / TRACKS
2.17.	SHUT OUT THE LIGHT	3:52	1984 b-side / TRACKS

#	Song Title	Running Time	Release
3.1.	CYNTHIA	4:15	TRACKS
3.2.	MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN 1	4:27	TRACKS
3.3.	THIS HARD LAND	4:50	GREATEST / TRACKS
3.4.	FRANKIE	7:25	TRACKS
3.5.	TV MOVIE	2:46	TRACKS
3.6.	STAND ON IT	3:07	1985 b-side / TRACKS
3.7.	LION'S DEN 1	2:19	TRACKS
3.8.	CAR WASH	2:08	TRACKS
3.9.	ROCKAWAY THE DAYS	4:44	TRACKS
3.10.	BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES ('83)	5:08	TRACKS
3.11.	MAN AT THE TOP	3:24	TRACKS
3.12.	PINK CADILLAC 1	3:37	1984 b-side / TRACKS
3.13.	TWO FOR THE ROAD	2:00	1987 b-side / TRACKS
3.14.	JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART 1	3:28	1985 b-side / TRACKS
3.15.	WHEN YOU NEED ME	2:58	TRACKS
3.16.	THE WISH	5:19	TRACKS
3.17.	THE HONEYMOONERS	2:08	TRACKS
3.18.	LUCKY MAN	3:18	1987 b-side / TRACKS

#	Song Title	Running Time	Release
4.1.	LEAVIN' TRAIN	4:07	TRACKS
4.2.	SEVEN ANGELS	3:28	TRACKS
4.3.	GAVE IT A NAME	2:51	TRACKS
4.4.	SAD EYES 1	3:50	TRACKS / 1999 single
4.5.	MY LOVER MAN	4:00	TRACKS
4.6.	OVER THE RISE	2:40	TRACKS
4.7.	WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT	3:08	TRACKS
4.8.	LOOSE CHANGE	4:22	TRACKS
4.9.	TROUBLE IN PARADISE	4:43	TRACKS
4.10.	HAPPY	4:54	TRACKS
4.11.	PART MAN, PART MONKEY 1	4:31	1992 b-side / TRACKS
4.12.	GOIN' CALI	3:04	TRACKS
4.13.	BACK IN YOUR ARMS	4:43	TRACKS
4.14.	BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE 1	4:55	TRACKS

^{Total Running Time: 4:13:23}

^{1: Issued on both Tracks and 18 Tracks.
2: Live in Concert.
3: Demo-version.}

18 Tracks

#	Song Title	Running Time	Release
1.	GROWIN' UP 1 4		GREETINGS / TRACKS / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER
2.	SEASIDE BAR SONG 1		TRACKS
3.	RENDEZVOUS 1 3		1976 b-side / TRACKS / PROMISE
4.	HEARTS OF STONE 1		TRACKS
5.	WHERE THE BANDS ARE 1		TRACKS / 1999 b-side / RIVER: OUTTAKES
6.	LOOSE ENDS 1		TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES
7.	I WANNA BE WITH YOU 1		TRACKS / 1999 single / RIVER: OUTTAKES
8.	BORN IN THE U.S.A. 1		BITUSA / 1984 single / GREATEST / ESSENTIAL / CHAPTER
9.	MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN 1		TRACKS
10.	LION'S DEN 1		TRACKS
11.	PINK CADILLAC 1		1984 b-side / TRACKS
12.	JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART 1		1984 b-side / TRACKS
13.	SAD EYES 1		TRACKS / 1999 single /
14.	PART MAN, PART MONKEY 1		1992 b-side / TRACKS
15.	TROUBLE RIVER 2		TRACKS
16.	BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE 1		TRACKS
17.	THE FEVER 2		1976 single / TRACKS
18.	THE PROMISE 2		TRACKS / PROMISE / 2012 single

^{Total Running Time: 1:12:00}

^{1: Issued on both Tracks and 18 Tracks.
2: Issued only on 18 Tracks (not on Tracks).
3: Live in Concert.
4: Demo-version.}

^{Visit our release-pages for additional information.}

Additional Recordings Tracks-Reunion period

Tracks-Reunion (1996 - 2000)

Springsteen issued the Ghost Of Tom Joad album in November 1995. Little did anyone suspect at the time that it would be six years and seven months (July 2002) before the next Springsteen studio album of recently written and recorded compositions would be released. Because of the tremendous amount of time that elapsed, the studio session period for what became The Rising is an enigma. Nearly all the recordings on the album emanate from one brief session period in early 2002, yet there are over five years' worth of earlier studio sessions of which only a few recordings have yet emerged – even though much was recorded.

Immediately following the release of the Ghost Of Tom Joad album Springsteen undertook an extensive solo tour that lasted for 17 months - until late May 1997. Bruce has mentioned that he wrote numerous songs while on this tour, some of which he actually premiered live during the tour. During breaks in this tour, Bruce recorded new material - from June to August 1996 and then from March to April 1997. Both sessions were held at Thrill Hill East (Bruce’s New Jersey home studio). Both were solo sessions.

Following the completion of the solo acoustic The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour in May 1997 Springsteen kept a relatively low profile and spent the summer months in New Jersey with his family. He held a studio session in November 1997 (the first of what is now known as the Seeger Sessions) and also participated in songwriting sessions with Joe Grushecky in December 1997-January 1998. According to interview comments by Toby Scott, (Springsteen’s audio archivist and recording engineer), it was in February 1998, during solo sessions being conducted at Bruce’s NJ home studio, that Springsteen approached Scott and said “let's do the boxed set”. Scott then went to work gathering the potential material from Springsteen’s massive audio library (located, along with Sony's sound archives, in the high-tech Iron Mountain facility near Buffalo, NY). Bruce’s NJ home studio (Thrill Hill East) served as the main operational center for all Tracks project activities.

In November 1997, several months following the completion of the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour, Springsteen undertook studio further sessions at his NJ home studio. About seven non-original compositions were recorded with a group of musicians Bruce had not previously recorded with. These have now become known as "The Seeger Sessions - Phase 1". Since the above-mentioned session produced recordings that Bruce subsequently decided to release on a stand-alone album, then please refer to [[The Seeger Sessions - Studio Sessions|The Seeger Sessions]] section for details on these recordings. Soon after (in December 1997 – January 1998) Springsteen undertook a song-writing collaboration session with Joe Grushecky at Bruce’s home studio. Song titles are known from this period but recording session details, if any, are unknown. According to comments made by engineer Toby Scott, it was in the early spring of 1998 (shortly before Bruce’s father passed away) that Springsteen told Scott the time was right to proceed with the long-anticipated box set of archived, unreleased studio takes. Although the Tracks project dominated activities during the remainder of 1998 Springsteen also recorded numerous new songs at his home studio during the February 1998 – February 1999 period, although little has been released.

Springsteen re-assembled the E Street Band for the Reunion (Tracks) tour. This tour lasted for 16 months, from March 1999 thru June 2000. Although no studio sessions took place during this touring period, there was an expectation that studio work with the E Street Band would follow this tour and a resulting new E Street Band album would emerge in late 1999 or early 2000 – however we now know that no such E Street Band sessions ever took place. In spite of the lack of E Street Band involvement in the studio Springsteen did, in fact, conduct scattered solo sessions at his Thrill Hill East home studio during the September 2000 - January 2001 period. Numerous songs were recorded – but details remain very sketchy. It is suspected that the base recording of only one of the fifteen songs issued on The Rising album emanates from these sessions.

Released

THE PROMISE	4:38	18TRACKS
GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE	2:55	2002 'Kindred Spirits' Johnny Cash tribute album
LIFT ME UP	5:16	1999 Limbo Movie Soundtrack / ESSENTIAL: BONUS
GAVE IT A NAME	2:47	TRACKS

Unreleased

LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS		uncirculating
UNDER A BIG SKY		uncirculating
THE WALL		uncirculating
CODE OF SILENCE		uncirculating
ANOTHER THIN LINE		uncirculating
BENEATH THE FLOODLINE		uncirculating
PILGRIM IN THE TEMPLE OF LOVE		uncirculating
THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY OTHER FOR ME BUT YOU		uncirculating
IN FREEHOLD		uncirculating
LONG TIME COMIN'		uncirculating
THE HITTER		uncirculating
SELL IT AND THEY WILL COME		uncirculating

Details

Version History

PILGRIM IN THE TEMPLE OF LOVE

uncirculating

Note: Written by Bruce in March - April 1996 while on the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour and premiered live on April 16, 1996. Also known as "Santa Gets A Blowjob".

THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY OTHER FOR ME BUT YOU

uncirculating

Note: Also known as "Never Any Other For Me But You". Written by Bruce in mid-1996 while on the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour and premiered live on September 19, 1996.

IN FREEHOLD

uncirculating

Note: Bruce wrote "In Michigan" backstage in Kalamazoo, MI while on the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour and premiered it live the same day, September 24, 1996. The concept was to write a song which included the name of the state of the location he was playing. He then expanded on the premise of the song and premiered the almost completely rewritten "In Freehold" on November 8, 1996 in Freehold, naturally. Also known as "Freehold". It is unclear whether this song was recorded during studio sessions.

LONG TIME COMIN' - V1		uncirculating
LONG TIME COMIN' - V2	4:17	DEVILS / ESSENTIAL: 2015 / CHAPTER

Note: Written by Bruce in the summer or early autumn of 1996 while on the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour and premiered live on October 16, 1996. This recording is a hybrid of two sessions quite some years apart. The basic track (Bruce, Danny Federici, Marty Rifkin, Soozie Tyrell and Patti Scialfa) emanates from 1997 or 1998, Thrill Hill West, Beverly Hills. CA. Recorded by Toby Scott and produced by Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin. The drums (Steve Jordan) and bass guitar (Brendan O’Brien)were added to the mix in 2004, at Masterphonics, Nashville, Tennessee, and Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia, which is the likely reason why this released version is credited as a “Springsteen-Plotkin-O’Brien” production.

THE HITTER - V1		uncirculating
THE HITTER - V2	5:53	DEVILS

Note: Written by Bruce in the autumn of 1996 while on the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour and premiered live on November 13, 1996. Recorded during studio sessions in 1998 (this version does not circulate). Re-recorded in 2004 and released on the Devils & Dust album. The core recording (which may date from 1997-98) is Springsteen solo, on all instruments (vocals, guitar, keyboards and percussion). The strings (Nashville String Machine) and horns (Brice Andrus, Donald Strand, Susan Welty and Thomas Witte) were recorded and added in 2004.

SELL IT AND THEY WILL COME

uncirculating

Note: Written by Bruce during December 1995 and early January 1996 while on the Ghost Of Tom Joad tour and premiered live on January 10, 1996.

BENEATH THE FLOODLINE

uncirculating

Note: Performed during a soundcheck at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, on September 17, 1984, during the Born In The USA Tour. It was later recorded at several solo sessions, between November 1997 and January 1998, before the E Street Band were reconstructed, and it was quietly sidelined, along with the album he was then working on. Possibly composed after the Born In The USA studio sessions ended, it is also missing from Tunnel Of Love sessions, according to a search of Sony logs.

UNDER A BIG SKY

uncirculating

Note: "Under A Big Sky" was recorded in April 1998.

GAVE IT A NAME - V1		uncirculating
GAVE IT A NAME - V2	2:47	TRACKS

Note: V1 was recorded between December 1990 and late January 1991 at either the Record Plant, Soundworks West or A&M Studios in Los Angeles. Planned for inclusion on the Tracks boxset, but Bruce was unable to locate the master tape, so he re-recorded the song V2 on August 24, 1998 at his home studio in Colts Neck, NJ, and it's that recording which can be found on Tracks. Springsteen told Melinda Newman in an interview with Billboard published in November 1998, "What happened is I cut the original at the time I cut these other songs [Bruce is referring to songs like "Over The Rise", "When The Lights Go Out", "Loose Change" etc, which were all recorded around the December 1990-January 1991 period], but we couldn't find the master tape of it, and I really liked the song. So Roy Bittan came out, and we re-cut it in August".

THE PROMISE - V1	5:32	DO-2 / UP / SOTE / LUTHER
THE PROMISE - V2	5:27	LM-2 / DDO / DO-3 / AM / UP / SC
THE PROMISE - V3	7:11	DDITV / AM / UP / MT1
THE PROMISE - V4	7:24	PROMISE: DELUXE
THE PROMISE (strings-full harmony) - V5		private
THE PROMISE (solo) - V6		uncirculating
THE PROMISE - V7		uncirculating
THE PROMISE - V8		uncirculating
THE PROMISE - V9	4:41	18TRACKS
THE PROMISE - V10	5:49	PROMISE

Note: First debuted live on August 3, 1976 at the Monmouth Performing Arts Center in Red Bank, New Jersey, featuring Bruce solo on the piano, and deeply personal lyrics. Later live versions would continue to feature Bruce on piano, with Roy or Danny accompanying him on glockenspiel. The song was played live during the 1976-1977 Lawsuit Tour, and the first studio demo was recorded at Atlantic Studios on June 1, 1977. V1 was one of the takes recorded during the sessions on June 30, July 1, 7, 8 and 13, 1977. After a break that included a trip with Steve to Utah and Nevada, Bruce came back to the studio with slightly revised lyrics, and recorded V2 on August 24, and then added dubs and mixing on August 30, 1977, which was the last day of operations at Atlantic Studios. V3 was recorded on September 28, 1977 at the Record Plant, and is considered the definitive version by collectors and long-time fans. It's done with the full E Street Band, and was first released unofficially on 'Deep Down In the Vaults'. However, Bruce found it lacking, and in late September-early October, after a Rolling Stone reporter suggested the song was actually about the lawsuit with Mike Appel, Springsteen re-wrote the first two lines of verse 3, with "Well, my daddy taught me how to walk quiet and how to make my peace with the past, I learned real good to tighten up inside and I don’t say nothing unless I’m asked" replacing "I won big once and I hit the coast, oh but somehow I paid the big cost". Landau agreed solidifying the narrative, and that "The Promise" deserved to be on the January 16 sequence for the then-untitled Album #4 ("Badlands" or "American Madness" were the two front-runners). The new sequence had "Badlands" as the opener, and "The Promise" as the album closer. According to Clinton Heylin, at no point did it seem that Springsteen ever considered calling the album The Promise.

On January 12, 1978, V4 was shot live in-the-studio by Barry Rebo, and one of the takes was released on the Thrill-Hill Blu-Ray/DVD2 in the 2010 box set, The Promise:The Darkness On the Edge Of Town Story. Springsteen worked on mixing and dubbing after this, and added strings (according to Landau, a 'string' version was cut as V5). Finally, on January 24, 1978, without the E Street Band, Springsteen sat down at the piano and recorded V6 by himself, just as he did when locked out of the recording studio when the song was first played live. A Ruffs tape (see image above) provided to Springsteen by his engineer, Jimmy Iovine and mixed on February 17, included the September 28, 1977 recording featuring the "old verse" (V3), followed by the January 12 session with the "new verse" (V4) and the strings and "full harmony" version (V5) which was cut in mid-January. There is no doubt that Springsteen cared deeply about "The Promise", as a total of ten sessions were held from January 17 to March 7 (a seven week period). Saying he still "felt too close to it", at a certain point in March 1978, it was decided that a different song would be considered for its slot on Album #4 and "The Promise" was removed from the April track sequence for the album. In 2010, Springsteen noted that "It was a song about defeat, and it was self-referential, which made me uncomfortable. I didn't want it to overtake the album, which in the end, was not my personal story. I wanted 'Darkness' to be completely independent of that. So I left it off. But I remember saying to myself, 'This is something I can sing later'. The distance helps it now."

During a Darkness Tour rehearsal in Asbury Park on May 19, 1978, a full band version (including the "Daddy taught me how to walk quiet" lyric) was rehearsed, and full band version was performed on the tour's opening night in Buffalo. The next night, Bruce reverted to the solo piano version, which was played at 22 of the first 33 shows on the tour, and dropped after the July 15, 1978 show in Houston, Texas.

When Tracks was released in 1998, both "The Fever" and "The Promise" were absent from the 66-song tracklist. Both were later included on 18 Tracks, in part due to fan demand. Instead of releasing the existing V3 or V5 versions, Springsteen re-recorded "The Promise" from scratch (V9) on February 9 and 12, 1999 at Boxwood Studios, Rumson, New Jersey, in a solo piano version that many felt paled in comparison to the 1976-78 versions. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Springsteen stated, "Basically, I went back and I listened to it and we never really got a good recording of it in my opinion. It’s been a favorite song of a lot of people … It sort of was the sequel to "Thunder Road" in some fashion, it referred back to those characters. But I went back and we sort of had a very plodding, heavy-handed version of it. I couldn't quite live with it, so maybe another time."

V3 was used as the base track for V10, on The Promise outtake album in 2010, with overdubbed strings, guitars, glockenspiel, and double tracked vocals. Two lines of verse three were deleted ("I followed that dream through the southwestern tracks, the dead ends and the two-bit bars / When the promise was broken I was far away from home, sleeping in the backseat of a borrowed car"), reducing the total running time. A modern string arrangement by Ken Ascher was also added. The full-band version was performed by the E Street Band at a promotional video shoot in 2010, and again on April 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. In a curious parallel to 1978, after performing the full-band version exactly once on the 2012 tour, Springsteen has reverted to solo-piano versions for all performances since.

GIVE MY LOVE TO ROSE

4:17

2002 'Kindred Spirits' Johnny Cash tribute album

Note: Written by Johnny Cash. Recorded at Thrill Hill East (Bruce's NJ home studio) in February 12, 1999 and produced by Springsteen (alone). Bruce solo, on vocals and guitar. The performance was also video recorded and first broadcast commercially on April 18, 1999 as part of the Johnny Cash Tribute special on the USA's TNT network. The recording was not officially released until September 2002 on the Cash Kindred Spirits tribute album. The video of the performance has yet to be officially issued, although it circulates among collectors via copies of the original TV broadcast.

LIFT ME UP

5:16

OST: LIMBO / ESSENTIAL: BONUS

Note: Recorded at Thrill Hill East (Bruce's NJ home studio) in March 1999. Produced by Springsteen (alone). Bruce handles vocals and all instruments. Written by Bruce specifically for the John Sayles movie "Limbo" and first released on the movie soundtrack album in June 1999.

THE WALL - V1		uncirculating
THE WALL - V2		HOPES

Note: Written December 1997-January 1998. The title and idea came from Joe Grushecky and written by Springsteen after he and Patti Scialfa visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Bruce premiered the song live on February 19, 2003 at Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA, and prefaced the performance by mentioning that he'd visited the Vietnam Memorial in Washington in December 1997 and that several days later Grushecky (in advance of their songwriting sessions) sent Bruce a newspaper clipping about the Vietnam Memorial. Grushecky subsequently wrote a different, but similarly themed, song called "On The Wall" that appeared on his 2002 Fingerprints album. Recorded in the late 90s (perhaps during sessions for Tracks) with the E Street Band, including Danny Federici. Played twice during 2005's Devils & Dust Tour. Produced by Ron Aniello and Springsteen. Musician credits: Springsteen (vocals, guitar, drums), Roy Bittan (piano), Danny Federici (organ), Nils Lofgren (guitar), Patti Scialfa (backing vocals), Garry Tallent (bass), Max Weinberg (percussion), Ron Aniello (synths, accordion) and Curt Ramm (cornet). V2 issued on 2014's High Hopes.

LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS - V1		uncirculating
LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS - V2		uncirculating
LAND OF HOPE AND DREAMS - V3	6:58	WRECKING

Note: Written by Bruce sometime in 1998 or early 1999. The song was premiered live with the E Street Band on March 18, 1999 for the Reunion Tour. A later live version with the E Street Band was officially released on the Live In New York City package. Cut in 2011 and issued on the Wrecking Ball album. V3 features Springsteen, Aniello (some combination of guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion and/or loops), Charlie Giordano (piano, B-3 organ), Curt Ramm (trumpet, cornet), Clark Gayton (trombone), Stan Harrison (clarinet, alto sax, tenor sax), Ed Manion (tenor & baritone sax), Dan Levine (alto horn, euphonium), Art Baron (euphonium, tuba, sousaphone, penny whistle), Clarence Clemons (saxophone solo), Soozie Tyrell (violin & backing vocal), backing vocals from Patti Scialfa, Lisa Lowell and Michelle Moore, and the Victorious Gospel Choir. Steve Van Zandt is uncredited, but clearly audible at times.

CODE OF SILENCE

uncirculating

Note: Co-written by Bruce and Joe Grushecky during December 1997-January 1998. Springsteen premiered the song live on June 12, 2000 and released a live version (recorded June 29, 2000) on The Essential Bruce Springsteen in 2003. A Grushecky studio version (with Bruce on support vocals) was released on his album A Good Life in July 2006.

ANOTHER THIN LINE

uncirculating

Note: Written sometime between late 1997 and early 2000. There remains some confusion if "Another Thin Line" is a writing collaboration with Joe Grushecky or if it was composed entirely by Springsteen. Springsteen premiered the song live on June 22, 2000. He then prefaced another performance of the song on June 29 by commenting "here's something I wrote with Joe Grushecky". However, a publishing registration, as well as the official US Copyright filing (July 21, 2000) lists the song as a Springsteen-only composition. Bruce has never officially released a recorded version, but Joe Grushecky released it on his East Carson Street album in 2009.

Tracks Version History

MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS - V1		uncirculating
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS - V2	1:15	HDT
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS - V3	4:18	TRACKS / US3 / HDT
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS - V4a	5:19	uncirculating
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS - V4b	5:19	GREETINGS

Note: V1 was recorded at John Hammond's office , CBS Records, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY on May 2, 1972. V2 and V3 were both recorded at Columbia Studio E for his Columbia audition tape on May 3, 1972. V2 was Bruce's first attempt, followed by V3, which was a complete take and has been officially issued on Tracks. Both V4a and V4b are the same basic recording from June 26-27, 1972 at 914 Sound Studios, with a harmonica overdub added later on V4b, and released on Greetings.

IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY take 1 - V1	3:05	uncirculating
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY take 2 - V2	7:08	uncirculating
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY - V3	4:18	uncirculating
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY - V4	2:50	US3 / HDT / TRACKS / URT2 / EDR
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY - V5	2:40	US4 / EDR
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY - V6a		uncirculating
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY - V6b	3:08	DDITV / TFTV / SA914
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY - V6c	3:09	GREETINGS

Note: V1 and V2 were recorded at Pocketful of Tunes, 39 West 55th Street, New York, NY on February 14, 1972, at Bruce's audition for Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos. Bruce started off with a new song, "It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City", which was performed a second time at the request of Appel, who was dazzled by the lyrics. V3 was performed at John Hammond's office, CBS Records, 51 West 52nd Street, New York, NY on May 2, 1972. V4 recorded at Studio E Columbia Records building, 6th floor, 49 East 52nd Street, New York City on May 3, 1972 and officially issued on Tracks. V5 likely recorded at Pocketful Of Tunes Studios, New York, NY in May-June, 1972. V6a was recorded on June 26, 1972, and V6b mixed the following day, June 27. The only difference is that Bruce’s vocal on V6b is faded out several seconds earlier than in V6a, which reveals that there were a few “street rapping” words spoken by Bruce that were cut from the officially released version. V6c is the final album track after overdubbing and mixing on October 26.

ELOISE (GROWIN' UP - V1)	1:05	BTF / UNE / PS / EY / EDR
GROWIN' UP - V2		uncirculating
GROWIN' UP take 1 - V3a		uncirculating
GROWIN' UP take 2 - V3b	2:35	TRACKS / US3 / HDT / CHAPTER / EDR
GROWIN' UP - V4		uncirculating
GROWIN' UP - V5	3:18	PS / EY
GROWIN' UP - V6	3:05	GREETINGS / ESSENTIAL: 2015

Note: V1 is 'Eloise', a work-in-progress take with soon to be discarded lyrics, recorded at Mediasound Studios in April 1972. V2 was recorded in John Hammond's office on May 2, 1972, and V3 was cut the next day at Columbia Studio E for his Columbia audition tape, and V3b was officially released 26 years later on Tracks. V4 was an acoustic take, recorded without the band at the first Greetings session on June 7, 1972, and does not circulate. V5 was cut on June 27, 1972, and V6, the final take from that session, was chosen for release on Greetings.

DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? - V1	1:55	TRACKS / US3 / HDT
DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? - V2		uncirculating
DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? - V3a	2:05	PS / EY
DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET? - V3b	2:04	GREETINGS

Note: V1 was recorded at Columbia Studio E for his Columbia audition tape on May 3, 1972 and officially released on Tracks. V2 was recorded on June 26, 1972 at the GFAP sessions. V3a was recorded the following day, and is allegedly a different mix but the difference, if there is one, is not perceptible. Running time variation is only at fade out. Recorded at 914 Sound Studios V3b was final overdubs and mixing of the album version on July 12, 1972.
Please check the Brucebase live account from August 10, 1972 for information on film work done at Max's Kansas City in New York. Video of "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?" was first shown to the public at "An Evening with Thom Zimny", an event held at Monmouth University on September 23, 2014.

BISHOP DANCED		studio version uncirculating
BISHOP DANCED	4:21	TRACKS

Note: "Bishop Danced" had a short life span, from December 5, 1972 to March 2, 1973. When it was chosen for Tracks, a live recording from January 31, 1973 was used. Bruce explained before the song, "Uh, this next song is a kind of nonsense song. I'll give you a quick rundown … It's about a bishop and his wife and this violin player in West Virginia. It's about how their daughter lost her mother to mathematics out on a business trip in Detroit." Which explains why some forgotten vinyl bootlegger titled it, "Mama Knows Arythmatic Knows How To Take A Fall".

SANTA ANA - V1		uncirculating
SANTA ANA - V2		uncirculating
SANTA ANA - V3	4:50	UNE / PS / EY / US5 / SA914 / FOTF
SANTA ANA - V4	4:33	TRACKS

Note: 'Santa Ana' was also known as 'Hey Santa Ana', 'My Contessa', and 'The Guns of Kid Cole', thanks to creative or possibly erratic bootleggers. Written in late 1972 or early 1973, and performed live during 1973. Both V1 and V2 are early recordings from June 22 and 26, 1973, and remain uncirculated. V3 was recorded on June 28, 1973, and for many years was considered a complete, though unofficial, version. However, V4 released on Tracks, is an embellished mix, with overdubs added on July 1, 1973, including piano (David Sancious), a layer of acoustic guitar (Bruce), calypso percussion (Richard Blackwell) and Suki Lahav (vocals). The flute heard in V3 (courtesy of Clarence Clemons), has been entirely removed from V4. Mixing was done by Louis Lahav (1973) and Thom Panunzio (1997). Look for the lines "French cream won’t soften those boots, baby, French kisses will not break your heart"; since this track was never released, Bruce later put them to good use in "She’s the One".

SEASIDE BAR SONG - V1		uncirculating
SEASIDE BAR SONG - V2		uncirculating
SEASIDE BAR SONG - V3a	3:37	UNE / PS / EY / US5 / FOTF
SEASIDE BAR SONG - V3b	3:29	TRACKS

Note: Written in late 1972 or early 1973. Performed live by Bruce during the April-June, 1973 period. V1 and V2 are early takes. V3a and V3b are the final recordings completed on July 24, 1973, mixed slightly differently. Recorded at 914 Sound on June 22, 26 and 28, as well as July 1 and 24, 1973. Frequently logged as "Johnny & The Hurricanes Song".

PHANTOMS aka WILD ZERO AND BLIND TERRY - V1 backing track	6:04	BIS / ROOI / ATMF
PHANTOMS - V2 backing track#2	5:44	US5 / ROOI / SA914
PHANTOMS - V3	5:37	uncirculating
ZERO AND BLIND TERRY - V4	5:53	SA914 / EY / BTF / PS / FOTF
PHANTOMS - V5	5:37	DDITV / MT1 / ROOI / SA914
ZERO AND BLIND TERRY - V6	5:54	TRACKS

Note: "Phantoms", also known by the titles, "Over The Hills Of St George" and "Over The Hills Of St Croix", was written during early 1973, and apparently performed live several times during May and June, of note the recorded performance on June 13 at Binghampton, NY. Sony logs during The Wild, The Innocent sessions show "Phantoms" was worked on June 22 and 26, V1, the backing track of both final studio tracks of "Phantoms" and "Zero And Blind Terry", also dubbed "Wild Zero and Blind Terry" out in bootleg world later on. V2, an alternate and unreleased instrumental take, was recorded on one, or both of these dates. Up until June 28, these takes were referred to as "Phantoms"; at that session, vocal tracks and instrumentation were added to V1 for both "Phantoms" V3, and "Zero and Blind Terry" V4, completing each. But on July 1, 1973, Bruce added additional dubs to Phantoms V3, making V5 the final take. The date of the circulating version is either June 28 or July 1. "Zero and Blind Terry" was first played live on July 18, 1973, at Max's Kansas City, New York, NY. Sony studio logs only mention "Zero" on June 28 and August 7, 1973. V1, the unreleased backing track sometimes called "Wild Zero" by bootleggers, but NEVER called "Phantoms", except in the Official Sony logs we rely on. Along with V2, a shorter, alternate backing track that was not used, it is reasonable to assume one or both were recorded June 22 and June 26, 1973, any number of times, under the name "Phantoms" only. The first take of "Zero and Blind Terry" did not occur until June 28, the rock on which these statements are made. Then the studio logs list one or more takes of both of our titles on June 28, 1973, which we designate as the never heard V3 (Phantoms), and the standard version of "Zero" V4. It was pressed to acetate, used as the publishing demo, but not included on album #2. It has circulated on various boots for many years, much loved by collectors and hardcore fans. According to the Tracks session data, V6, the version on the 1998 collection, comes from the June 28 session. The logs show the June 28 version was referenced on November 5, 1997, but we could not identify the source and dates of the overdubs applied to the version on Tracks. Sancious’s piano was certainly not recorded on June 28, nor were the backing vocals by Suki Lahav. The June 28 basic track was sent out as a publishing demo, in an early mix from June 28 or earlier. An overdubbed flute that had been removed by June 28 was still there. Most, and possibly all of the overdubs described here were done by and included in the August 7 session, mixed and stored away with the invisible title of V6, never circulating until being released on Tracks. Suki Lahav is also credited in the Tracks booklet. Statements referring to "Phantoms" as an early or work-in-progress version of "Zero" are incorrect. These are two different songs, with no overlapping lyrics.

LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE - V1	4:32	BIS / WAR / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / VAFH
LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE - V2		uncirculating
LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE - V3	4:27	TRACKS / BTRCS
LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE - V4		uncirculating

Note: 'Linda Let Me Be the One' V1 was recorded either May 8 or 19, 1975, has a more tentative vocal and is shorter than the later takes. V2 and V3 were recorded at The Record Plant on June 29, 1975 (not June 28, as found in the Tracks liner notes) and feature a much stronger vocal, a different intro and a different sax part. Springsteen recorded two different versions, a "hard slow version" and a "ballad version." Further work was undertaken (either mixing or overdubs) on July 8. As of July 2, 1975, it was sequenced for Side 2, track 1 of Born To Run, but bumped from that slot in favor of "Born To Run" (song), and bumped from the album entirely by "Meeting Across the River"

THUNDERCRACK - V1		uncirculating
THUNDERCRACK - V2		uncirculating
THUNDERCRACK - V3		uncirculating
THUNDERCRACK - V4	8:23	TRACKS

Note: Written in mid-1972. This was performed live regularly, usually as the big show closer, from October 1972 right up until Vini Lopez’ departure from the band in February 1974. "It ended three or four different times -you didn't know where it was going to go. It was just a big, epic show-ender that was meant to leave the audience gasping a little bit for their breath - "Hey, who was that guy? That was pretty good…", Bruce said at a 1999 interview for Mojo magazine. The base track V1 recorded on June 22, 1973, with additional takes or overdubs on August 7 and 9, were not completed to Springsteen's satisfaction. V4 for Tracks added overdubs, including background vocals by Vini Lopez cut in 1997, to approximate the sound of live performances. "I found a version which was actually pretty good, called up Vini Lopez and I said, "Vini, I have some singing for you to do" and Vini - he's a caddy master at a golf course - he just comes by and I said, "Remember this song?" He came in and sang all his parts completely unprompted, like he remembered it exactly from 25 years ago", he added at the Mojo interview.

RENDEZVOUS - V1	2:47	DDO / DO-3 / LES / MT1 / AM
RENDEZVOUS - V2		uncirculating
RENDEZVOUS - V3	2:36	PROMISE

Note: The same night Springsteen introduced "Something In the Night" at the Monmouth County Arts Center, Red Bank, NJ, he also played "Rendezvous" for the first time. A live recording from November 4, 1976, at the Palladium, New York, which opens with Bruce calling out "New York! Go ahead, Max!", was unofficially released by the artist "The Jersey Devil" on Bruce Records, as the b-side of "The Fever". When the Darkness sessions began on June 1, it was one of the ten songs recorded that evening, and additional takes were logged on June 2, 3, 8 and 17, 1977, all at Atlantic Studios. One of these was V1, an otherwise good take, but the audio is marred by a vocal drop-out during the first verse. "Rendezvous" was not played again during the sessions, and not included on the album. In a 1978 interview, Springsteen said the song was kept off because it didn’t fit thematically. Bruce personally demonstrated it to Greg Kihn in October 1978, who soon after recorded a cover (released in April 1979). A live-version recorded December 31, 1980, at Nassau Coliseum, was used for Tracks, which may indicate Bruce wasn't satisfied with the available studio versions. V3, officially released on The Promise, has lead vocals recorded July 18, 2010 at Stone Hill Studio, Colts Neck, New Jersey.

GIVE THE GIRL A KISS

3:47

TRACKS

Note: Recorded at The Record Plant on November 10, 1977. The Horns Of Love, the horn section from the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour (Ed Manion on baritone sax, Mark "The Love Man" Pender on trumpet, Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg on trombone, and Mike Spengler on trumpet, with newcomer and Max Weinberg 7 member Jerry Vivino, stepping in for Mario Cruz on tenor sax) overdubbed the brass parts around 1998 prior to the release of the song on Tracks.

ICEMAN - V1a	3:20	DDO / DO-1 / LES / AM
ICEMAN - V1b	3:15	TRACKS

Note: 'Iceman', also known as 'The New Ballad', recorded at The Record Plant on October 27, 1977. It was soon forgotten in the mass of songs created during the Darkness sessions, though it became popular bootleg cut. In a 1998 interview, Bruce recalled, "it was just something that I didn’t get at the time that I did it.” The second line of Iceman "I wanna go out tonight, I wanna find out what I got" was transplanted to verse 2 of 'Badlands' in December. V1b is almost identical to V1a, with the exception of a drop-out at 0:56, studio noises and the count-in, which are not present on the official 1998 release on 'Tracks'.

BRING ON THE NIGHT - V1	2:29	ATEOD / UP / LM-12 / MT2
BRING ON THE NIGHT - V2	3:15	LM-9
BRING ON THE NIGHT - V3	4:10	LM-9
BRING ON THE NIGHT - V4	0:31	LM-9
BRING ON THE NIGHT - V5	1:20	LM-9
BRING ON THE NIGHT - V6	1:54	LM-11
BRING ON THE NIGHT - V7	2:35	TRACKS

Note: V1 was recorded at Atlantic Studios during June 1977, recently composed, without lyrics for verses. Bruce put it aside, then resumed work after the tour concluded in early 1979. V2-V5 were all band rehearsals at Telegraph Hill, the barn on his property in Holmdel, NJ. V6 was a rehearsal recorded on May 14, 1979 at Telegraph Hill with the E Street Band. V7 was recorded at Power Station on June 13, 1979, and though it was included on a very early track sequence for the fifth album, it failed to make the cut, and was not considered for The River in 1980. It was eventually included in the 1998 Tracks compilation.

SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE - V1		uncirculating
JR. WALKER GROOVE - A LOVE SO FINE - V2		uncirculating
A LOVE SO FINE - V3	3:47	BIS / WAR / ET / BWNH / BTRS / BTRCS / ETRJ
SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE - V4	3:47	TRACKS / BTRCS
A LOVE SO FINE - V5	3:47	uncirculating
ACTION IN THE STREETS	3:47	uncirculating
PARADISE BY THE "C"	3:10	RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: "Jr. Walker Groove" V1 was the working title of "So Young And In Love", "A Love So Fine", and later "Action In the Streets". Junior Walker was a saxophonist, whose group Junior Walker & the All Stars played for the Motown label in the 1960s, with many hits like "Shotgun" and "What Does It Take". In early 1974, Springsteen regularly incorporated "Shotgun" into performances of "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight). V4 (in surprisingly good quality) was released on Tracks as "So Young and In Love", with confusing and likely inaccurate notes dating it to 1/6/74. The Record Plant is listed as the recording venue, which is also unlikely; it was more probably 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY. Other reports say "So Young And In Love" was recorded in late May 1974. The biggest indicator is the drummer and keyboard player; if they are Weinberg and Bittan, the date must be after they joined the band in August 1974. The cut on Tracks might be recorded on October 16, 1974, though neither "So Young and In Love" nor "A Love So Fine" is listed on the unreliable logs of that era. There was, however, a session on that day, which produced a two-inch master reel that has "A Love So Fine" (perhaps mis-titled) and "Born To Run" paired, suggesting this might be the master for an aborted single. An instrumental backing track of "A Love So Fine" has been in circulation since the late seventies, apparently the same backing track as used for "So Young And In Love" on Tracks. No studio vocal of ‘A Love So Fine’ version circulates. A version of the song was reborn during the 1977 Lawsuit Tour as "Action In the Streets", with entirely new lyrics; no studio recording is known. Yet another rewrite appeared in May 1978, the saxophone-led "Paradise By The C". A recording of this instrumental version was officially released on The Ties That Bind, The River: Outtakes in 2015, but according to Clinton Heylin, "Paradise By The C" was never recorded in the studio. Instead, a 24-track live tape (perhaps from the soundcheck) from July 8, 1978 at Veteran's Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona was apparently used.

HEARTS OF STONE - V1	5:32	DDO / DO-2 / LES / AM
HEARTS OF STONE - V2	4:29	TRACKS

Note: Originally titled "For Hearts Of Stone" before Darkness sessions began. No evidence exists of a recording session until October 14, when a demo was cut for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, along with "Talk To Me", and handed to Steve Van Zandt on a cassette tape. Steve was producing the Jukes' third album, and the two songs were Bruce's contributions to the effort. The band recorded this take live in the studio, with the sax of Clarence Clemons the only horn present. Southside Johnny used the E Street Band base recording for the title track of the Jukes' 1978 album, adding his vocal and the Miami Horns to create one of their best known songs. In 1998, Bruce had a horn section (Cruz-Manion-Pender-Rosenberg-Spengler) record the sections he overdubbed on V2 for Tracks.

DON'T LOOK BACK - V1	3:22	LM-2 / UP / AM
DON'T LOOK BACK - V2	3:26	DO-3 / DDO / UP / DDOC
DON'T LOOK BACK - V3	3:04	ODM / HOD / DO-3 / UP / AM
DON'T LOOK BACK - V4a	2:58	AM / DDO / DDOC
DON'T LOOK BACK - V4b	3:00	PROMISE: VAULT / DLB
DON'T LOOK BACK - V4c	3:00	TRACKS

Note: "Don't Look Back" was composed early in 1977, during the time Bruce was barred from the recording studio, and was played live twelve times from March 10, 1977 at Toledo, Ohio, to the end of the Lawsuit Tour on March 25. The case was settled, and the E Street Band entered Atlantic Studios, New York, on June 1, 1977. That night they recorded at least ten songs; 'Rendezvous', 'Because the Night', 'I Wanna Be With You' and according to biographer Dave Marsh, "the screaming rocker, Don't Look Back". Thom Panunzio, assistant engineer, said the session was recorded and transferred to a cassette they called "the Star Wars demo tape". "That was an album, in my opinion, that was great from beginning to end", Panunzio later said. In a 2002 interview with Mark Binelli of Rolling Stone, Springsteen said, "We had great arrangements…the band sounded really good. We recorded about ten or twelve songs in one night, and I realized they weren’t any good. It was terribly disappointing…they were centerless, they were coreless, so I went back to the drawing board…"

Sony logs show takes were recorded on June 1, 6-8, 17 and 24, 1977. It is thought V1 and V2, which are instrumental backing tracks, were recorded on June 6-8, while V3 may be the "screaming rocker" from June 1; all were definitely recorded during June 1977. V4 was recorded at Atlantic Studios on July 2, 1977, and mixed (with possible overdubs) on February 28 and March 2, 1978 at the Record Plant. V4a is a widely bootlegged version with a prominent defect in the second verse, V4b sounds like the same take, complete with Springsteen's count-in, and V4c is the officially released version with the count-in removed. "Don't Look Back" was included on album sequences June 1977 to April 1978, but removed on May 5, 1978 to ensure the album was not too long. The claim that it was replaced by "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is doubtful, since both were on the April 18 sequence.

RESTLESS NIGHTS - V1	2:37	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V2	3:41	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V3	1:36	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V4	4:07	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V5	3:37	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V6	4:32	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V7	4:29	LM-12
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V8	5:41	LM-13
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V9	2:13	LM-13
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V10	3:30	LM-13
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V11	3:45	LM-13
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V12	4:17	LM-13
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V13	3:47	LM-13
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V14a	3:52	DROC1 / RN / ATMF
RESTLESS NIGHTS - V14b	3:41	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: V1 thru V7 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on January 10, 1980, and V8 thru V13 are from the following evening, January 11. V14 was recorded at Power Station on January 14, 1980, but was not completed until April 12. Final dubbing and mixing was done on May 2, 1980, mainly to reduce the track length. Included on an April 1980 shortlist for the double-album, but was beaten out by "Ramrod" and "I'm A Rocker."

A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH) - V1	3:40	private
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH) - V2		uncirculating
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH) - V3	3:12	TRACKS

Note: V1 is a Colts Neck band rehearsal from April 1982. Very similar to the final take, slightly slower with some lyrical variation. V2 and V3 recorded at The Power Station on May 5-6, 1982.

ROULETTE - V1	1:30	LM-4 / ATMF / PYP / MT2
ROULETTE - V2	2:26	DROC1 / RRR / RO
ROULETTE - V3	3:39	LM-4 / LMEC1 / PYP / SA / DBTR
ROULETTE - V4a	3:37	DROC2 / SMM / BTR
ROULETTE - V4b	3:29	DBR
ROULETTE - V4c	3:46	DROC1 / RO
ROULETTE - V4d	3:47	RO
ROULETTE - V4e	3:45	RO / RN
ROULETTE - V4f	3:39	ATMF
ROULETTE - V4g	3:34	ATMF
ROULETTE - V4h	3:34	BACK / 1988 Single
ROULETTE - V4i	3:47	TRACKS
ROULETTE - V4j	3:48	RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: V1 is an early acoustic demo from the first days of April 1979, after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident on March 28 that inspired the song. Sessions at Power Station on April 3 and 4 with engineer Bob Clearmountain produced multiple takes, which he worked on mixing as soon they were completed. Additional tracks, including new vocals, were recorded and overdubbed on April 11-12, 1980 by Neil Dorfsman. Chuck Plotkin and Toby Scott remixed numerous alternate versions, none of which made The River album. V2 is incomplete, with double-tracked lead vocals and a slower tempo. The lyrics show some variations to later versions, and the take was aborted, fading out during the guitar solo. V3 and V4 are different takes, the first song to be completed at the River sessions. V3 vocal is not finished, while V4 contains some interesting alternate words and changes, some more powerful than the officially available version. There are at least eight different mix variations in circulation, and more exist in private collections. The Tracks mix features more snare drum but less guitar than the mix found on the 1988 b-side to "One Step Up". Bruce states in his autobiography that "Roulette" was recorded shortly after the MUSE benefits of September 21 and 22, 1979, but all evidence indicates he is mistaken. In a 1998 interview with Mojo magazine, Springsteen said that "Roulette" "…would have been one of the best things on the record".

DOLLHOUSE - V1	2:20	LMEC1
DOLLHOUSE - V2	0:55	LMEC1
DOLLHOUSE - V3	3:29	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: aka "Living In A Dollhouse", V1-2 are acoustic demos recorded around January-June 1979 at Springsteen's house. V3 recorded at Power Station on August 20 and 21, 1979 and issued on Tracks.

WHERE THE BANDS ARE - V1a	3:37	DROC1 / DBTR / SYMKB / SYMKW
WHERE THE BANDS ARE - V1b	3:42	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: Two slightly different mixes. Recorded at Power Station studios on October 9, 1979.

LOOSE ENDS - V1 take 1	4:01	DROC1 / DBTR / RRR / SC / EC / CAST / AM
LOOSE ENDS - V2a take 2	4:00	DROC1 / ATMF / PYP / TTTBJ / LEK / RN / TTTBJ
LOOSE ENDS - V2b take 2	3:44	SMM
LOOSE ENDS - V2c take 2	3:57	TRACKS
LOOSE END - V2d take 2	4:02	RIVER: SINGLE

Note: "Loose Ends" was recorded at Power Station studios on July 18, 1979. V1 is take 1, also described by engineer Neil Dorfsman as "mix #1, original vocal and original sax", followed by a double four-count by the Boss. This has a rougher but clear, single-tracked lead vocal, with some slight differences in the phrasing and very minor changes to the lyrics. The circulating recording has no overdubs; the vocals by Bruce and Steve Van Zandt include six "Looooose Ends" refrains, double the amount on V2. Double-tracked vocals can be found on V2, the second and final take. Bob Clearmountain mixed v2a in September 1979, for the unreleased single album. The V2 mixes only differ subtly, the latter numbers referring to re-mixes for anniversary or compilation boxes. V2c is Toby Scott's mix for The River (unreleased), later remixed in 1998 by Thom Panunzio for Tracks, and V2d was Clearmountain's 2015 remix of his original v2a, released as The River: Single Album, the latter which omits the count-in, and is re-titled "Loose End". There are only three "Loooose Ends", but the guitars do the fourth, and there is an instrumental fade. The guitars are higher in Clearmountain's 1979 mix, in comparison to the Scott-Panunzio mix on Tracks,which is more keyboard focused. It also has five "Loooose Ends", and drum rolls after the last three. V2b is only 3:45, starts out just like V2a, but features a tape dropout right after Clarence's solo, and tambourine comes in just after the recovery. Lyrics from "Loose Ends" can also be found in "Little White Lies", and "Baby I'm So Cold", an outtake from Born In The USA.

LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD - V1	3:52	LM-12
LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD - V2	4:26	LM-12
LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD - V3	4:16	LM-12
LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD - V4	4:14	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: V1 thru V3 are rehearsal workouts at Telegraph Hill on November 15, 1979. V4 recorded at Power Station on December 7, 1979. Aspects of this song would later appear in "Open All Night" and "State Trooper" from 1982's Nebraska.

WAGES OF SIN - V1	2:00	LM-10
WAGES OF SIN - V2	0:20	LM-10
WAGES OF SIN - V3	3:05	LM-10
WAGES OF SIN - V4	5:10	LM-10
WAGES OF SIN - V5	4:49	TRACKS

Note: V1-V4 an interesting group of takes recorded at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, NJ January-April 1982. V5 is most like the final version on Tracks, recorded at The Power Station on May 10, 1982. Premiered live May 8, 2013 in Turku, Finland. "Wages Of Sin" #3 on 'Lost Masters Volume 10' is actually "Bells Of San Salvador" V4.

TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME - V1	5:32	LM-9
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME - V2	1:50	LM-9
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME - V3	0:54	LM-9
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME - V4a	4:25	DROC2 / ATMF
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME - V4b	4:24	DDITV
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME - V5	4:25	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: V1 appears to be primarily harmonies with bluffed lyrics. V2 includes some clearer lyrics, although it's obvious the song is in the very early stages of development in the last two verses. V4 and V5 backing tracks appear to have been recorded December 5, 1979 and Springsteen's vocal recorded at Power Station on April 10, 1980. Included in an archival concept list put together by a Sony engineer in 1993, prior to Tracks release.

TO BE TRUE - V1a	3:39	LM-6 / PYP
TO BE TRUE - V1b	3:49	DROC1
TO BE TRUE - V1c	3:50	DROC1 / RRR
TO BE TRUE - V1d take 2	3:40	DROC1 / TTTBJ / ATMF / LES / LEK
BE TRUE - V2	3:40	1981 b-side / TRP / BACK / DBTR
BE TRUE - V3	3:36	TRACKS
BE TRUE - V4	3:49	RIVER: SINGLE

Note: Evolved from "Mary Lou" and early versions of "Little White Lies" that used "Be True" vocals over unique backing. The only takes for this track all occurred on July 18, 1979 at Power Station, and a mixing or overdub session took place on April 22, 1980, before it was included on a April 1980 shortlist for the double-album. Six different mixes are known: V1a runs fast with minimal vocal effects, V1c has a double-tracked vocal on the second verse, bridge, break, and has no sax except tail, V1d has double tracked vocals, background vocals and a different sax solo, V2 is the 1981 b-side to "Fade Away", and the version on 'Down By the River' 3:23, sounds exactly like V2 when slowed down by 6%. V3 is the mix released on Tracks, and version 4 is V1d released in 2015 on The Ties That Bind: The River Single Album.

RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN - V1a	2:47	DROC1 / RRR / RN / ATMF
RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN - V1b	2:48	private cdr
RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN - V2	2:54	LM-5
RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN - V3	2:43	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: V3 recorded July 16, 1979. V1 and V2 also recorded around this time. Similarly arranged versions, with some slight lyric differences between each. Another session at Power Station on April 10, 1980. Likely a mixing or overdub session. Selected for (and later removed from) August 1979 and April 1980 album sequences. Differences between V1a and V1b are imperceptible, aside from a slight change to the count-in.

I WANNA BE WITH YOU - V1	3:04	DDO / DO-1 / AM / UP / LES / GT
I WANNA BE WITH YOU - V2	3:12	uncirculated
I WANNA BE WITH YOU - V3	3:12	uncirculated
I WANNA BE WITH YOU - V4	3:12	LM-6 / ATMF
I WANNA BE WITH YOU - V5	3:15	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: First cut during the Darkness sessions, with V1 recorded at Atlantic Studios on the evening of June 1, 1977. V2 was recorded on July 1, 1977 (also at Atlantic), and V3 was a complete take on September 12, at Record Plant. Held over for The River sessions, and both V4 and V5 were recorded on May 31, 1979 at Power Station, New York. There was another session on June 21, and mixing/dubbing on September 24, 1979, but the final May 31 take was the one used for Tracks.

MARY LOU - V1	0:42	LM-8
MARY LOU - V2	1:18	LM-8
MARY LOU - V3	2:13	LM-8
MARY LOU - V4	2:45	LM-8
MARY LOU - V5	2:00	LM-11
MARY LOU - V6	0:34	LM-11
MARY LOU - V7	2:13	LM-11
MARY LOU - V8	3:14	LM-11
MARY LOU - V9	3:13	LM-11
MARY LOU - V10	3:10	LM-11
MARY LOU - V11	3:04	LM-4 / DROC2
MARY LOU - V12	3:10	DROC1 / ATMF / DBTR / SC
MARY LOU - V13	3:19	TRACKS / RIVER: OUTTAKES

Note: "Mary Lou" didn't make the cut for the double River album, but played an important role in the development of several songs, and was eventually released on two official collections. V1-V4 are rehearsal takes, recorded in early 1979 at Telegraph Hill, working on music and lyrics. V5 thru V10 are full band rehearsals recorded at Telegraph Hill on May 14-16, 1979. V11 is another Telegraph Hill rehearsal. The September 16, 1979 date in the 'Lost Masters IV' liner notes is incorrect. Work resumed at the Power Station for three days starting with May 30, 1979, resulting in V12 and V13. Studio logs show additional takes or mixing on July 13, 1979. On June 1, 1979, "Little White Lies" was cut using the lyrics of "Mary Lou", which was only a temporary "loan", recorded on June 13 with mostly it's own lyrics. However, on July 18, Springsteen cut "Be True", again using "Mary Lou's" lyrics, this time permanently.

STOLEN CAR - V1 take 1	4:34	LM-6 / ATMF
STOLEN CAR - V2 take 2	4:08	LM-6
SON YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE - V3	4:14	DBTR / SYMKB / SYMKW
STOLEN CAR (Vs.1) - V4 take 3	4:18	TTTBR / TTTBJ / DBTR / TRACKS / DROC2 / RIVER: SINGLE
STOLEN CAR - V5	0:56	LM-7
STOLEN CAR - V6	3:21	LMEC2
STOLEN CAR - V7	2:10	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V8	3:39	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V9	2:40	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V10	2:55	LM-13
STOLEN CAR - V11	7:42	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V12	6:14	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V13	7:31	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V14	7:58	LM-15
STOLEN CAR - V15	3:50	RIVER

Note: "Stolen Car" is actually the tale of two songs, the first "Stolen Car" was written, recorded and sequenced for release on the aborted single album The Ties That Bind in 1979, and the re-written and re-recorded version found on The River in 1980. It was originally composed in early 1979, and recorded at Power Station on June 20-21, 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, simply because it was the first take that started using that line. Take 3 (v4) was selected for the single album, with final dubbing and mixing on September 24, 1979. It is also the version officially released on Tracks in 1998, and on The River Single Album, included with the TTTB Collection in 2015. v3 is the fourth and last distinct take of "Stolen Car Vs.1", the designation given to the 1979 edition. It was this take of "Stolen Car" 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, "Loose Ends", "Where The Bands Are", "Don't Do It To Me" (aka "Little White Lies"), and the title track. The remainder were prime Darkness outtakes, including, "Preacher's Daughter", "Iceman" and "Rendezvous". It was one of the best selling Springsteen bootlegs ever.

Despite the song being completed at this point Bruce, seemingly unsatisfied, decided months later to radically alter the musical arrangement. The 2015 release of The River: Single Album was the first time the two arrangements were differentiated, with the original arrangement given the title "Stolen Car (Vs.1)". 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", recorded in January 1980. V7 thru V14 were recorded on January 16, 1980 at Telegraph Hill, and feature revised arrangements from that of the version recorded and completed six months earlier. The end result of all this was V15, which was recorded at Power Station on January 21 and February 20, with further mixing or overdubs undertaken on April 1 and 9, plus May 9, 1980.

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.

COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V1	2:32	FFOD / HNWB
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V2		uncirculating
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V3a	1:45	LM-16 trk 10 / UH / GS
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V3b	1:45	LM-18 trk 13
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V3c	1:39	LM-18 trk 10
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3d	1:51	1985 b-side / BACK
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3e	1:49	TRACKS
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V4 - with the Crickets	2:55	LM-16 trk 11 / MT2 / ESR
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V5	2:58	LM-17 trk 12 / GS
BYE BYE JOHNNY - V6	3:41	LM-17 trk 13 / GS

Note: While he was resting between legs of the River Tour in March 1981, Bruce glanced at his to-do list, which said "recycle orphaned lyrics from "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)", which had lost it's backing track to "Factory" in 1977, when Bruce changed lyrics and song direction. So he whipped together a demo V1, with new music that he recorded at home in April 1981, recycling the title, too. This totally different version of "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" can be found on Nebraska bootlegs, 'Fistfull Of Dollars' and 'How Nebraska Was Born' under the incorrect name, "Bye Bye Johnny". A dark, foreboding arrangement used the discarded lyrics, including the part about Elvis dying, and became a Nebraska-style song. Just before he was sentenced to three years for being the real-life inspiration for "Child Bride" in 1962, Chuck Berry wrote "Bye Bye Johnny", a sequel to "Johnny B. Goode", where a mother sent her musician son off to Hollywood to be a star. "She drew out all her money from the Southern Trust, and put her little boy aboard the Greyhound Bus" wasn't a big hit for Chuck, but Bruce decided to use those lines in 1981, for a new song that used most of the lyrics from "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)", calling it "Johnny Bye-Bye" V2. He kept the lines about Elvis dying in 1977, added stuff about Memphis, and had a bouncy hillbilly blues thing going. On May 13, 1981, at Manchester, UK's Apollo Theatre, Johnny Bye-Bye became the first song since 'The Ties That Bind' in 1978 to be played live before being recorded. Springsteen sang it thirty-two times on the River tour. He did not record it as part of the January 1982 Nebraska demos at Colt's Neck; the legendary Nebraska version of "Johnny Bye Bye" does not exist. The version on the tape he sent Landau was almost certainly a live July 1981 recording. When the Nebraska tape was backed up in June 1982 in its entirety, alternate takes and all, there was still no "Johnny Bye Bye".
The first studio take of "Bye Bye Johnny" was recorded on April 27, 1982, at the Power Station, New York, during the 'Electric Nebraska' sessions. This audio does not circulate, but we'll call it V2. What would become the official versions were recorded on January 4, 1983 at Bruce's Hollywood Hills converted studio, Thrill Hill West, Los Angeles, CA, and five different mixes circulate. V3d, released February 6, 1985, as the B-side to "I'm On Fire", features a different drum overdub to that found on the mix chosen for Tracks, V3e. V3b and V3c have slight but noticeable variations in their mixes. V4 and V5 were recorded on March 9, 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Los Angeles, CA, and are different takes of a slower acoustic arrangement with a gentle synthesizer backing, slight lyrical differences and overdubbed with chirping crickets at the start and end. By far the definitive performance is V6, from March 24, 1983 at Thrill Hill West, which includes a poignant extra verse at the end, not found on the other versions. "Johnny Bye-Bye" was included on the July 1983 sequence for Born In The U.S.A., but was later deleted. After the lawyers met, Bruce and Chuck became composing partners, the song now registered as Springsteen-Berry.

SHUT OUT THE LIGHT - V1a	4:33	LM-16 / UH
SHUT OUT THE LIGHT - V1b	3:25	LM-18
SHUT OUT THE LIGHT - V1c	3:56	1984 b-side / BACK
SHUT OUT THE LIGHT - V1d	3:51	TRACKS
SHUT OUT THE LIGHT - V2		uncirculating

Note: Same core recording V1 from January 19, 1983 but four different mixes. V1a is considered by many to be the definitive version of the song – it contains two additional lyric verses that were cut from the three other mixes. V1c contains a violin part courtesy of Soozie Tyrell that she overdubbed, probably in May 1983 (her first session work for Bruce). V1d brings the violin more to the fore in the mix. Considered for the album before it was released in 1984 as the b-side to "Born In The USA". V2 Recorded May 23 and 25, 1983. Likely sessions to add Soozie Tyrell's violin to January's Thrill Hill West recording.

CYNTHIA - V1	3:24	LM-18 / GS
CYNTHIA - V2a	4:01	SO / MAT / UH
CYNTHIA - V2b	4:10	TRACKS
CYNTHIA - V3		uncirculating

Note: V1 was recorded April 20-21, 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Bruce's Hollywood Hills home, in rockabilly-style on a set of homesick demos. V2 was Bruce re-recording this with The E Street Band on June 15, 1983, not April 20 as the Tracks notes claim, at The Hit Factory, New York. Three takes (two complete), both circulating in a much more rocking arrangement. "Cynthia" resurrected as V3 on May 23, 1995; studio logs show this was recorded the same day as "The Ghost Of Tom Joad", at Thrill Hill West with a four-man backing band of Danny Federici (keyboards), Garry Tallent (bass), Marty Rifkin (pedal steel, dobro) and Gary Mallaber (drums). The E Street Band took her on the road in 2003.

MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN - V1a	3:12	private cdr
MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN - V1b	4:20	LM-19 / THLRR / UH / GS / THLBP
MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN - V1c	4:32	MI / UH / GS
MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN - V1d	4:20	TRACKS
MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN - V2		uncirculating
MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN - V3		uncirculating

Note: Recorded at the Power Station on May 5 (V1), 6 (V2), and 7 (V3), 1982. The studio venue listed in Tracks is incorrect. All the mixes are very similar, but V1b has Springsteen adding a count-in, vocalizations over the first thirty seconds of the song and a complete ending. V1a cuts early. V1c and d fade out, and the V1d mix used for Tracks has slightly different vocals at the end of the song, maybe a 1998 voice. Bruce Springsteen said in 2001 of the song: "I don't know why it got left off. It was one of those things we pulled out in the first rehearsal and went, Whoa!".

THIS HARD LAND - V1	4.46	THLRR / TRACKS / UH / SQBI / MI / GS
THIS HARD LAND - V2	4.50	THLBP / THLBB / MAT / CAST
THIS HARD LAND - V3	4:43	VA
THIS HARD LAND - V4		uncirculating
THIS HARD LAND - V5		uncirculating
THIS HARD LAND - V6		uncirculating
THIS HARD LAND - V7	4:33	YBNT2 / BB
THIS HARD LAND - V8	4:40	DDITV
THIS HARD LAND - V9	4:48	GREATEST
THIS HARD LAND - V10	5:40	private

Note: V1-V4 recorded at the Power Station (not The Hit Factory, as the Tracks liner notes suggest) on May 11 and 13-14, 1982. Springsteen returned to it with two demos (V5 and V6) recorded on January 3 and 15, 1983. Re-recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City, for the Greatest Hits sessions. Frank Pagano guests on percussion instruments. V7 is a brief snippet shown in the video. V6 and V8 are two different recordings, though very similar. Neither is as good as the original 1982 Born In The USA studio session version that is available on Tracks. V9 is take #3 with mandolin and accordion and an extended coda.

FRANKIE - V1		uncirculating
FRANKIE - V2	4:46	LM-3 / DDO / DO-2 / AM / UP / LES / GT / DDOC
FRANKIE - V3	5:46	DOT TAPE
FRANKIE - V4a take 10	7:23	private cdr
FRANKIE - V4b	7:41	THLRR / MI / THLBP / UH
FRANKIE - V4c	7:39	LM-19
FRANKIE - V4d	7:22	TRACKS

Note: "Frankie" was composed by Bruce Springsteen in early 1976, just after the Born To Run Tour. Demos were also recorded at this time of Drifter's Barrio, Dawn Patrol, and several other titles. One report (Christopher Sandford in his book, Point Blank) indicates a demo of "Frankie" was recorded in January 1976, along with a completed recording of Darkness On The Edge Of Town. However the accuracy of this information is unclear, as early Darkness recordings from June 1977 indicate most of the words to that song were still unwritten. "Frankie" was near completion when it was debuted live on the Chicken Scratch Tour. The performance on April 4, 1976 in East Lansing, MI notably included the lines "In the darkness there'll be hidden worlds that shine." When Springsteen returned to the studio after the litigation with Mike Appel was resolved, V2 was recorded at Atlantic Studios on June 3, 1977. V3 is a take from the next session on July 12, 1977, also at Atlantic Studios. Apparently, "Frankie" did not fit Bruce's concept for the album, and it was set aside, not to be recorded again during the Darkness sessions. When writing "Candy's Room" a few months later, Bruce lifted some lyrics from "Frankie", specifically, the "In the darkness, there'll be hidden words that shine" line. Five years later, 'Frankie' was recorded on May 14, 1982, at The Power Station, New York, on the last day of three weeks of sessions. Take 10 was chosen, and completed with several overdubs. Though it was not included on Born In The U.S.A., V4d was considered for Greatest Hits (again missing the cut) before being selected for the Tracks-compilation in 1998. One other mix, V4a, has the same saxophone overdub during the instrumental outro as V4d. V4b and V4c were alternative mixes without sax. It is not known if the Darkness-versions were considered for Tracks.

TV MOVIE - V1	2:40	private
TV MOVIE - V2a	2:34	LM-19 / UH
TV MOVIE - V2b	2:39	TRACKS

Note: V1 is a band rehearsal from Colts Neck in April 1982. Very similar to V2, the final studio recording cut on June 13, 1983 and issued on Tracks. Two different mixes known; V2a has sax. V2b has the sax deleted.

STAND ON IT - V1a	3:03	TRACKS
STAND ON IT - V1b	2:30	1985 b-side / TRP / BACK

Note: Recorded on June 16, 1983. V1a is the superior version and contains an additional verse edited from the original b-side, which was released in May 1985 with "Glory Days".

DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN - V1	0:55	FFOD / HNWB
DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN - V2	2:18	uncirculating
LION'S DEN - V3	2:18	TRACKS

Note: 'Daniel In the Lion's Den' V1 was recorded late March to early April, 1981, at Springsteen's home in Colts Neck, NJ, and consists of the chorus, repeated. V2 base track recorded at The Hit Factory on January 25, 1982, from the Gary U.S. Bonds sessions. V3 overdubs the 1998 horn section (Cruz-Manion-Pender-Rosenberg-Spengler) for Tracks. The original 1982 element was not recorded by Toby Scott but rather by Neil Dorfsman, the engineer for the Bonds LP.

SMALL TOWN GIRL - V1	2:04	TRACKS
CAR WASH - V2		uncirculating
SMALL TOWN GIRL as CAR WASH - V3	2:04	TRACKS

Note: V1 recorded on May 31, 1983 under the title "Small Town Girl". Six months after it was in the can, Springsteen returns for another go, V2 on November 30, 1983. V1 was later selected for Tracks, but they changed the name to "Car Wash" for the box set. We don't rewrite history, so V3 went on Tracks, but is the same as V1.

ROCKAWAY THE DAYS

4:40

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on January 12, 1984 The Hit Factory, New York, NY. Recording date listed on Tracks (February 3) could be a mixing date.

BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES

5:02

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on September 14, 15, 16 and October 10, 1983, with a take from the 14th chosen for Tracks.

MAN AT THE TOP - V1a	4:08	uncirculating
MAN AT THE TOP - V1b	3:16	TRACKS

Note: Recorded on January 12, 1984 at The Hit Factory, New York, NY, take 2, slow acoustic version. Springsteen premiered the song live on July 12, 1984 on the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. Thanks to the Panda for providing track length of full cut with hard stop, before it was downsized and faded out for Tracks.

PINK CADILLAC - V1		uncirculating
PINK CADILLAC - V2 take 2	5:21	LM-1 / HNWB / MT2
PINK CADILLAC - V3a	3:45	BUERM / 1984AC
PINK CADILLAC - V3b	4:21	private cdr
PINK CADILLAC - V3c	3:33	1984 Japan b-side
PINK CADILLAC - V3d	3:33	1984 b-side / TRACKS / CAST

Note: V1 and V2 recorded January 3, 1982. Two takes were recorded. V3 recorded on May 31, 1983. Officially released in May 1984 as the b-side to "Dancing In The Dark". V3b has the complete ending, V3c is a mono mix that for some reason was only issued on the Japanese single. Included on a 1984 Born In The USA artwork prototype, in place of both "No Surrender" and "I'm Goin' Down".

TWO FOR THE ROAD

1:57

TRACKS / 1987 b-side / BACK

Note: Recorded February 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey (Springsteen’s home studio), with Bruce on all instruments.

EVERYDAY AND EVERY NIGHT - V1	4:05	LM-8
JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART - V2		uncirculating
JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART - V3	4:31	UH / GS / MI / 1984AC
JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART - V4	3:24	1985 single / TRACKS / BACK

Note: V1 is Bruce composing a new song in March 1979 at his Telegraph Hill Studio; "Everyday and Every Night" would eventually get new lyrics in 1983, and is renamed "Janey Don't You Lose Heart". V2 and V3 are both recorded on June 16, 1983 at The Hit Factory, New York, and V4 is released September 7, 1985, as the b-side of "I'm Goin' Down". V3 has a much longer fade out and features Steve Van Zandt on background vocals and guitar. V4 is the same recording, except Nils Lofgren records new vocal and guitar parts on July 14, 1985, to overdub and replace the tracks recorded by former E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt.

IF YOU NEED ME - V1		uncirculating
WHEN YOU NEED ME - V2	2:53	TRACKS

Note: Originally titled "If You Need Me". Recorded on January 20, 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey (Springsteen’s home studio), with Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) and violin (Soozie Tyrell) were added to the core recording in 1998 for Tracks.

THE WISH - V1		uncirculating
THE WISH - V2	5:09	TRACKS

Note: Recorded February 22, 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey (Springsteen’s home studio), with Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) were added to the core recording in 1998 for Tracks.

THE HONEYMOONERS

2:08

TRACKS

Note: Recorded February 22, 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey (Springsteen’s home studio), with Bruce on all instruments.

LUCKY MAN

3:24

TRACKS / 1987 b-side / BACK

Note: Recorded April 4, 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey, with Bruce alone, on all instruments. Included on early album track listings, replaced by "Tunnel Of Love".

LEAVIN' TRAIN

4:05

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on February 27, 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and his three-man backing band on this recording is the same as on "Viva Las Vegas" - Bob Glaub (bass), Ian McLagan (keyboards) and Jeff Porcaro (drums).

SEVEN ANGELS

3:28

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on June 29, 1990 at Oceanway Studios, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar, bass and vocals and his two-man backing band on this recording is Roy Bittan (keyboards) and Shawn Pelton (drums).

GAVE IT A NAME - V1		uncirculating
GAVE IT A NAME - V2	2:47	TRACKS

Note: V1 was recorded between December 1990 and late January 1991 at either the Record Plant, Soundworks West or A&M Studios in Los Angeles. Planned for inclusion on the Tracks boxset, but Bruce was unable to locate the master tape, so he re-recorded the song V2 on August 24, 1998 at his home studio in Colts Neck, NJ, and it's that recording which can be found on Tracks. Springsteen told Melinda Newman in an interview with Billboard published in November 1998, "What happened is I cut the original at the time I cut these other songs [Bruce is referring to songs like "Over The Rise", "When The Lights Go Out", "Loose Change" etc, which were all recorded around the December 1990-January 1991 period], but we couldn't find the master tape of it, and I really liked the song. So Roy Bittan came out, and we re-cut it in August".

SAD EYES

3:47

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on January 25, 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and his four-man backing band on this recording is Randy Jackson (bass), David Sancious (keyboards), Michael Fisher (percussion) and Jeff Porcaro (drums).

MY LOVER MAN

3:56

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on December 4, 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar, bass, keyboards and vocals and his one-man backing band on this recording is Jeff Porcaro (drums).

OVER THE RISE

2:38

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on December 7, 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles vocals and all instruments except for Roy Bittan (keyboards).

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

3:05

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on December 6, 1990 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar, bass and vocals and his 2-man backing band on this recording is Roy Bittan (keyboards) and Jeff Porcaro (drums).

LOOSE CHANGE

4:19

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on January 31, 1991 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles vocals and all instruments except for Roy Bittan (keyboards).

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

5:22

TRACKS

Note: Co-written by Springsteen (lyrics) and Roy Bittan (music). Recorded December 1, 1989 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and his three-man backing band on this recording is Randy Jackson (bass), Roy Bittan (keyboards) and Jeff Porcaro (drums).

HAPPY

4:51

TRACKS

Note: The final song completed as part of the Lucky Town sessions. Recorded January 18, 1992 at A&M Studios, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles all guitars and lead vocals and his 2-man backing band is Roy Bittan (keyboards) and Shawn Pelton (drums). Bittan is credit as a co-producer of this recording. Apparently Bruce wrote this following the December 30, 1991 birth of his daughter in Los Angeles.

PART MAN, PART MONKEY – V1		uncirculating
PART MAN, PART MONKEY – V2a	4:26	HD
PART MAN, PART MONKEY – V2b	4:31	TRACKS / 18TRACKS / 1992 b-side / BACK

Note: Written in 1986 and first recorded during the 1987 Tunnel Of Love sessions, then performed live regularly during the 1988 Tunnel Of Love tour. Bruce re-recorded the song during the Human Touch sessions, and that version was released as a 1992 b-side, and then later on Tracks. This studio version dates from January 1990 at Soundworks West, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles guitar, bass and vocals and his two-man backing band on this recording is David Sancious (keyboards) and Omar Hakim (drums). V2a and V2b are extremely similar and may in fact be identical mixes.

GOIN' CALI

2:59

TRACKS

Note: Recorded on January 29, 1991 at A&M Studios, Los Angeles. Springsteen handles vocals and all instruments.

BACK IN YOUR ARMS - V1	0:34	YBNT2 / BB
BACK IN YOUR ARMS - V2	3:16	YBNT2 / BB
BACK IN YOUR ARMS - V3a	4:38	DDITV / GT
BACK IN YOUR ARMS - V3b	4:33	TRACKS
BACK IN YOUR ARMS - V4	4:57	private
BACK IN YOUR ARMS - V5	4:47	private

Note: Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City. V1 is a brief snippet shown in the video. V2 is an incomplete alternate take. V3b (recorded on January 12) is the officially issued recording. V3a is the same basic recording as V3b but with the keyboard deleted and a different, more passionate vocal by Springsteen. Many consider V3a to be the superior version. V4 is an early take (#1) with some bluffed lyrics and an overdubbed introduction with some nice organ work. V5 is take #6.

BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE

4:51

TRACKS

Note: No direct relation to the 1983 Springsteen song also found on Tracks, except for the similar title. Recorded on May 22, 1995 at Thrill Hill Recording, Beverly Hills, California. Springsteen handles guitar and vocals and his 5-man backing band on this recording is Danny Federici (keyboards), Garry Tallent (bass), Marty Rifkin (pedal steel, dobro), Gary Mallaber (drums) and Soozie Tyrell (violin).

THE FEVER

7:41

18TRACKS / FEVER / FS / RES / GT / MT1

Note: Written in late 1971, as evidenced by a dated lyric sheet titled "(I Got The) Fever For The Girl", on display at the Hard Rock Cafe, Sydney, Australia. It is believed the earliest known live performance was during a March 1973 residency at Oliver’s in Boston, though rumors of 1972 performances exist. It was played live several more times into May. The studio version was recorded (in one take) on May 16, 1973 at 914 Sound Studios, though rumors have persisted for years that it dates from WGOE Studios, Richmond, VA on May 31. The recording features the Springsteen-Federici-Tallent-Clemons-Lopez lineup (pre-Sancious) and doesn’t include any overdubs. Mike Appel requested the studio take for publishing purposes, and Laurel Canyon Publishing company registered it as "Fever For The Girl". 'The Fever' was all but forgotten after it was recorded, dropped from the live set in mid-1973, and not included in any track sequences for album #2. After the album was released in November, it received little promotion by Columbia Records, and Springsteen himself was in danger of also being forgotten.

In late 1973, Appel and partner Jim Cretecos included it on an acetate of unreleased masters sent to UK Publisher Intersong Music. At the same time, cassettes of 7:41 track of "The Fever" were prepared, and sent to radio stations known to be supportive of young Springsteen's music, a rather short list. However, the song became an underground hit in places like Houston, Phoenix and Boston. In Philadelphia, according to a listener, “the song exploded!” With vigorous backing by influential Philly DJ and Bruce fan, Ed Sciaky, the song was played on WMMR as part of their regular rotation. Meanwhile, the publishing acetate fell into the hands of bootleggers, and soon "Fever" and "Resurrected" were being sold under the counter at record stores.

"The Fever" became a legendary 70s progressive FM-radio hit, but nowhere as big as in Houston, Texas, thanks to the March 1974 Liberty Hall shows, and several radio broadcasts. After a successful interview by KLOL-FM's Ed Beauchamp on March 8, Springsteen was invited back the next day with the E Street Band, for a lengthy afternoon radio performance that included highlights from both his albums, plus a rendition of "The Fever". That night at Liberty Hall, a fan yelled "The Fever" and Bruce responded with "it's a weird thing 'The Fever'… that song 'Fever' we did as a demo tape about a year ago… and Mike here… sent it down to just this radio station, you know…. and it's a song we never even did but uh like we did it on the radio today, but I promise if we'll come back, we'll work it up for you." At the late show the next day, Springsteen introduced the song by saying: "We're gonna try something now, this is a song we haven't done in about a year but we found out that they sent a demo down here … we're gonna give it a try for you, hope we'll remember … it's a song we did about a year ago, no, we did it when we were recording the second album … they sent the tape down here and I guess KLOF has been playing it you know… who?… is that wrong? Sorry, folks but whoever, the radio station." David Sancious later said he had been under the impression it was an old Sam Cooke classic.

After the band left Texas, "The Fever" was not played again live until they returned on July 14, 1978 to San Antonio. Springsteen had "gifted" the song to his friend Southside Johnny in December 1975 for his debut album, so he no longer considered it for his setlists. But his hardcore fans had other ideas, persuading him to play it on the Darkness tour in many cities because, according to Bruce, "people would jump onstage and grab me by the head and scream, ‘Bruce! Fever!" It was played at Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston the next evening, and twenty-two more times to the end of the Darkness tour. Though he joined Southside Johnny for duets many times, it was not released or played by Springsteen for the next 20 years. In 1998, a huge uproar ensued when it was omitted from "Tracks", forcing it's official release on 18 Tracks the following year. The fans have made "The Fever" one of Springsteen's greatest hits. It has also become Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes' GREATEST hit, performed over 1,000 times since 1976.

In early 1977, a bootleg 7" demo (the studio take from 1973) of "The Fever" was released on "Bruce Records", coupled with "Rendezvous", recorded live on November 4, 1976, at the Palladium, New York, which opens with Bruce calling out "New York! Go ahead, Max!". In 1979, The Pointer Sisters recorded the song under the title "(She Got) The Fever", for their album Priority. The song was part of the movie soundtrack to the 2007 film Lucky You.

THE PROMISE - V1	5:32	DO-2 / UP / SOTE / LUTHER
THE PROMISE - V2	5:27	LM-2 / DDO / DO-3 / AM / UP / SC
THE PROMISE - V3	7:11	DDITV / AM / UP / MT1
THE PROMISE - V4	7:24	PROMISE: DELUXE
THE PROMISE (strings-full harmony) - V5		private
THE PROMISE (solo) - V6		uncirculating
THE PROMISE - V7		uncirculating
THE PROMISE - V8		uncirculating
THE PROMISE - V9	4:41	18TRACKS
THE PROMISE - V10	5:49	PROMISE

Note: First debuted live on August 3, 1976 at the Monmouth Performing Arts Center in Red Bank, New Jersey, featuring Bruce solo on the piano, and deeply personal lyrics. Later live versions would continue to feature Bruce on piano, with Roy or Danny accompanying him on glockenspiel. The song was played live during the 1976-1977 Lawsuit Tour, and the first studio demo was recorded at Atlantic Studios on June 1, 1977. V1 was one of the takes recorded during the sessions on June 30, July 1, 7, 8 and 13, 1977. After a break that included a trip with Steve to Utah and Nevada, Bruce came back to the studio with slightly revised lyrics, and recorded V2 on August 24, and then added dubs and mixing on August 30, 1977, which was the last day of operations at Atlantic Studios. V3 was recorded on September 28, 1977 at the Record Plant, and is considered the definitive version by collectors and long-time fans. It's done with the full E Street Band, and was first released unofficially on 'Deep Down In the Vaults'. However, Bruce found it lacking, and in late September-early October, after a Rolling Stone reporter suggested the song was actually about the lawsuit with Mike Appel, Springsteen re-wrote the first two lines of verse 3, with "Well, my daddy taught me how to walk quiet and how to make my peace with the past, I learned real good to tighten up inside and I don’t say nothing unless I’m asked" replacing "I won big once and I hit the coast, oh but somehow I paid the big cost". Landau agreed solidifying the narrative, and that "The Promise" deserved to be on the January 16 sequence for the then-untitled Album #4 ("Badlands" or "American Madness" were the two front-runners). The new sequence had "Badlands" as the opener, and "The Promise" as the album closer. According to Clinton Heylin, at no point did it seem that Springsteen ever considered calling the album The Promise.

On January 12, 1978, V4 was shot live in-the-studio by Barry Rebo, and one of the takes was released on the Thrill-Hill Blu-Ray/DVD2 in the 2010 box set, The Promise:The Darkness On the Edge Of Town Story. Springsteen worked on mixing and dubbing after this, and added strings (according to Landau, a 'string' version was cut as V5). Finally, on January 24, 1978, without the E Street Band, Springsteen sat down at the piano and recorded V6 by himself, just as he did when locked out of the recording studio when the song was first played live. A Ruffs tape (see image above) provided to Springsteen by his engineer, Jimmy Iovine and mixed on February 17, included the September 28, 1977 recording featuring the "old verse" (V3), followed by the January 12 session with the "new verse" (V4) and the strings and "full harmony" version (V5) which was cut in mid-January. There is no doubt that Springsteen cared deeply about "The Promise", as a total of ten sessions were held from January 17 to March 7 (a seven week period). Saying he still "felt too close to it", at a certain point in March 1978, it was decided that a different song would be considered for its slot on Album #4 and "The Promise" was removed from the April track sequence for the album. In 2010, Springsteen noted that "It was a song about defeat, and it was self-referential, which made me uncomfortable. I didn't want it to overtake the album, which in the end, was not my personal story. I wanted 'Darkness' to be completely independent of that. So I left it off. But I remember saying to myself, 'This is something I can sing later'. The distance helps it now."

During a Darkness Tour rehearsal in Asbury Park on May 19, 1978, a full band version (including the "Daddy taught me how to walk quiet" lyric) was rehearsed, and full band version was performed on the tour's opening night in Buffalo. The next night, Bruce reverted to the solo piano version, which was played at 22 of the first 33 shows on the tour, and dropped after the July 15, 1978 show in Houston, Texas.

When Tracks was released in 1998, both "The Fever" and "The Promise" were absent from the 66-song tracklist. Both were later included on 18 Tracks, in part due to fan demand. Instead of releasing the existing V3 or V5 versions, Springsteen re-recorded "The Promise" from scratch (V9) on February 9 and 12, 1999 at Boxwood Studios, Rumson, New Jersey, in a solo piano version that many felt paled in comparison to the 1976-78 versions. In an interview with Charlie Rose, Springsteen stated, "Basically, I went back and I listened to it and we never really got a good recording of it in my opinion. It’s been a favorite song of a lot of people … It sort of was the sequel to "Thunder Road" in some fashion, it referred back to those characters. But I went back and we sort of had a very plodding, heavy-handed version of it. I couldn't quite live with it, so maybe another time."

V3 was used as the base track for V10, on The Promise outtake album in 2010, with overdubbed strings, guitars, glockenspiel, and double tracked vocals. Two lines of verse three were deleted ("I followed that dream through the southwestern tracks, the dead ends and the two-bit bars / When the promise was broken I was far away from home, sleeping in the backseat of a borrowed car"), reducing the total running time. A modern string arrangement by Ken Ascher was also added. The full-band version was performed by the E Street Band at a promotional video shoot in 2010, and again on April 1, 2012 in Washington, DC. In a curious parallel to 1978, after performing the full-band version exactly once on the 2012 tour, Springsteen has reverted to solo-piano versions for all performances since.

Corrected Dates/Locations

This list corrects the date and location errors found in the Tracks and 18Tracks booklet.

Corrections

Song Title	Recording Date	Location	Session Era
MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS	May 03, 1972	CBS Studios, NY	DEMO
IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY	May 03, 1972	CBS Studios, NY	DEMO
GROWIN' UP	May 03, 1972	CBS Studios, NY	DEMO
DOES THIS BUS STOP AT 82ND STREET?	May 03, 1972	CBS Studios, NY	DEMO
BISHOP DANCED	January 31, 1973	Max’s Kansas City, NY	WIESS
THE FEVER	May 16, 1973	914 Sound, NY	WIESS
SANTA ANA	July 1, 1973	914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt	WIESS
SEASIDE BAR SONG	July 24, 1973	914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt	WIESS
THUNDERCRACK	August 9, 1973 + 1997	914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt	WIESS
ZERO AND BLIND TERRY	August 7, 1973	914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt	WIESS
SO YOUNG AND IN LOVE	June 01, 1974	914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt	BORN TO RUN
LINDA LET ME BE THE ONE	June 29, 1975	Record Plant, NY	BORN TO RUN
RENDEZVOUS	December 31, 1980	Nassau Coliseum, NY	DARKNESS
DON'T LOOK BACK	July 02, 1977	Record Plant, NY	DARKNESS
HEARTS OF STONE	October 14, 1977 + 1997	Record Plant, NY	DARKNESS
ICEMAN	October 27, 1977	Record Plant, NY	DARKNESS
GIVE THE GIRL A KISS	October 11, 1977	Record Plant, NY	DARKNESS
ROULETTE	April 12, 1980	Power Station, NY	RIVER
MARY LOU	July 13, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
I WANNA BE WITH YOU	May 31, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
BRING ON THE NIGHT	June 13, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
RICKY WANTS A MAN OF HER OWN	April 10, 1980	Power Station, NY	RIVER
LOOSE ENDS	July 18, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
BE TRUE	July 18, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
STOLEN CAR	September 24, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
DOLLHOUSE	August 21, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
WHERE THE BANDS ARE	October 9, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD	December 03, 1979	Power Station, NY	RIVER
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME	April 10, 1980	Power Station, NY	RIVER
RESTLESS NIGHTS	May 2, 1980	Power Station, NY	RIVER
BORN IN THE U.S.A.	January 03, 1982	Thrill Hill East, NJ	NEBRASKA
LION'S DEN	January 25, 1982	Power Station, NY	BITUSA
MY LOVE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN	May 7, 1982	Power Station, NY	BITUSA
A GOOD MAN IS HARD TO FIND (PITTSBURGH)	May 6, 1982	Power Station, NY	BITUSA
WAGES OF SIN	May 10, 1982	Power Station, NY	BITUSA
THIS HARD LAND	May 11, 1982	Power Station, NY	BITUSA
FRANKIE	May 14, 1982	Power Station, NY	BITUSA
JOHNNY BYE-BYE	January 4, 1983	Thrill Hill West, CA	BITUSA
SHUT OUT THE LIGHT	January 19, 1983	Thrill Hill West, CA	BITUSA
CYNTHIA	June 15, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
PINK CADILLAC	May 31, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
CAR WASH	May 31, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
TV MOVIE	June 13, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
STAND ON IT	June 16, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
JANEY, DON'T YOU LOSE HEART	June 16, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES ('83)	September 14, 1983	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
MAN AT THE TOP	January 12, 1984	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
ROCKAWAY THE DAYS	January 12, 1984	Hit Factory, NY	BITUSA
WHEN YOU NEED ME	January 20, 1987	Thrill Hill East, NJ	TUNNEL
TWO FOR THE ROAD	February 00, 1987	Thrill Hill East, NJ	TUNNEL
THE HONEYMOONERS	February 22, 1987	Thrill Hill East, NJ	TUNNEL
THE WISH	February 22, 1987	Thrill Hill East, NJ	TUNNEL
LUCKY MAN	April 04, 1987	Thrill Hill East, NJ	TUNNEL
TROUBLE IN PARADISE	December 01, 1989	Soundworks West, CA	HUMAN
PART MAN, PART MONKEY	January 00, 1990	Soundworks West, CA	HUMAN
SAD EYES	January 25, 1990	Soundworks West, CA	HUMAN
LEAVIN' TRAIN	February 27, 1990	Oceanway Studios, CA	HUMAN
TROUBLE RIVER	April 06, 1990	Soundworks West, CA	HUMAN
SEVEN ANGELS	June 29, 1990	Oceanway Studios, CA	HUMAN
MY LOVER MAN	December 04, 1990	Soundworks West, CA	HUMAN
WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT	December 06, 1990	Record Plant West, CA	HUMAN
OVER THE RISE	December 07, 1990	Soundworks West, CA	HUMAN
GOIN' CALI	January 29, 1991	A&M Studios, CA	HUMAN
LOOSE CHANGE	January 31, 1991	Record Plant West, CA	HUMAN
HAPPY	January 18, 1992	A&M Studios, CA	LUCKY
BACK IN YOUR ARMS	January 12, 1995	Hit Factory, NY	GREATEST
BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGE	May 22, 1995	Thrill Hill West, CA	GREATEST
GAVE IT A NAME	August 24, 1998	Thrill Hill East, NJ	TRACKS
THE PROMISE	February 12, 1999	Thrill Hill East, NJ	18 TRACKS

Modern Elements

Brucebase Modern Elements Identification System

Even though we attempt to inject some humor into the situation, for some, modern overdubs are no laughing matter.

For now, this is our system, and remember, all evaluations are subject to change. Though we reserve the last word on all matters on our website, this is no easy task, and this is an issue that concerns many of us. Whether you send an email or go ranting on one of the message boards, we are listening carefully. If you find an obscure interview by Garry W. Tallent with some details about i.e. modern glockenspiels, please send us a copy or a link, or the best description you can. If you send us information that we can't verify, it will be discarded. Also, if you disagree with any detail expressed here, please try to describe it as best you can, write until there is nothing left in your head (on the subject).

This phenomenon only concerns archived material released years later, usually on compilations like The Promise, The Ties That Bind (The River Collection), Tracks, The Essential, Greatest Hits, etc. The most overt example is a previously released track (official or unofficial) that has plainly been altered, sometimes without any details or liner notes. Sometimes there are valid reasons, but it is still good to discuss it, and have a place for anybody with a question to go for information. Then there is previously unreleased material with obvious modern elements or embellishments, that may also lack documentation. Remember, overdubbing is a normal part of creating music, and sometimes it is just of interest. When an artist releases archived material, advertising "unreleased tracks" from "so-and-so", and we find that any portion of the material is not from "so-and-so", and there are no liner notes or media discussions, then some people get upset and disappointed.

There are reasons why Bruce does not release all his outtakes the way the purists within us would like it, mostly related to the high personal standards he puts on himself. He appreciates his fans and followers very much, but he doesn't want incomplete and rehearsal materials released, because he only wants us to have his best, a professional, polished product, not him humming or la-la ing. He finds it embarrassing and upsetting that what he thought was private, is being listened to by thousands or millions. Unfortunately, his 1979 voice and his 2015 voice are different, and replacing or overdubbing one with the other can be very noticeable, and sound out-of-place. Always remember that if he didn't modify some of these tracks, he would not release them, and then we might not get to hear them at all, so count your blessings.

Lastly, though this information has been researched and reviewed for accuracy, there may remain elements of subjectivity or opinion. Please don't hesitate to inform us, so we can make this as factual as possible.

Tracks - Modern Elements

#	Song Title	Modern Element(s)	Recording Date / Location
1.	THUNDERCRACK 4	modern background vocals by Vini Lopez 1997	August 9, 1973 V4 + 1997
2.	SANTA ANA 4	modern background vocals-Vini Lopez 1997	July 1, 1973 + 1997
3.	HEARTS OF STONE 4	modern 1997 horns - Mario Cruz tenor sax, Ed Manion baritone sax, Richie Rosenberg trombone, Mike Spengler trumpet, Mark Pender trumpet	October 14, 1977 + 1997
4.	LION'S DEN 4	modern 1997 horns - Cruz-Manion-Rosenberg-Spengler-Pender	January 25, 1982 + 1997
5.	THE WISH 4	Gary Mallaber, drums	February 22, 1987 + 1997
6.	WHEN YOU NEED ME 4	Gary Mallaber, drums, Soozie Tyrell, violin	January 20, 1987 + 1997
7.	THE PROMISE5	re-recorded	February 12, 1999
8.	GAVE IT A NAME 5	re-recorded	August 24, 1998

Note:
"Thundercrack" was performed live regularly, usually as the big show closer, from October 1972 right up until Vini Lopez’ departure from the band in February 1974. The base recording V1 from June 22, 1973, with additional takes or overdubs on August 7 and 9, were not completed to Springsteen's satisfaction. In 1997, overdubs were added for Tracks V4, including background vocals by Vini Mad Dog, to approximate the sound of live performances.

"Santa Ana" was also known as "Hey Santa Ana", "My Contessa", and "The Guns of Kid Cole", thanks to creative or possibly erratic bootleggers. V3 was recorded on June 28, 1973, and for many years was considered a complete, though unofficial, version. However, V4 released on Tracks, is an embellished mix, with overdubs added on July 1, 1973, including piano (David Sancious), a layer of acoustic guitar (Bruce), calypso percussion (Richard Blackwell) and Suki Lahav (vocals). The flute heard in V3 (courtesy of Clarence), has been entirely removed from V4. Mixing was done by Louis Lahav (1973) and Thom Panunzio (1997), who also worked on Thundercrack.

The Sony logs don't show the "Hearts Of Stone" story, which began before the Darkness sessions, as evidenced by a May 1977 list of "New Songs" that included "For Hearts Of Stone", in-between "I Wanna Be With You" and "Franky". Unlike most of the songs in the list, no evidence exists of a recording session until October 14, when a demo was cut for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, and along with another of "Talk To Me", handed to Steve Van Zandt on a cassette tape tape. Steve was producing the Jukes' third album, and the two songs were Bruce's contributions to the effort. The demo is the only surviving recording of Hearts of Stone from 1977, despite at least six months since conception, and evidence in the words and music of October 14 that "Hearts of Stone" was quite a ways along in development. Everybody knew what notes to play, and Bruce didn't have to "muff" any lyrics, because they were mostly completed. The band recorded this take live in the studio, with the sax of Clarence Clemmons the only horn present. In 1998, Bruce had the Tracks Horns (Cruz-Manion-Pender-Rosenberg-Spengler) record the sections he overdubbed to the 1977 track in V2. There is also something wrong with the vocals at the very end of the song. At 4:10, it is not clear who is singing, but it is clear who is playing horns that didn't exist in 1977. If you are good at audio editing, try patching the end with the 1977 demo. The demo was so good that Southside Johnny used the E Street Band base recording for the title track of the Jukes' 1978 album, adding Southside's vocal and the Miami Horns to create one of their best known tracks. Then Springsteen used the same base track and other elements in his 1998 re-recording of "Hearts of Stone".

"Lion's Den" base track recorded at The Hit Factory on January 25, 1982, from the Gary U.S. Bonds sessions. The 1998 horn section of Cruz-Manion-Pender-Rosenberg-Spengler was recorded and overdubbed for Tracks. The original 1982 element was not recorded by Toby Scott but rather by Neil Dorfsman, the engineer for the Bonds LP.

"The Wish" was recorded February 22, 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey (Springsteen’s home studio), with Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) were added to the core recording in 1998 for Tracks.

"When You Need Me" was originally titled "If You Need Me". Recorded on January 20, 1987 at Thrill Hill Recording, Rumson, New Jersey (Springsteen’s home studio), with Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) and violin (Soozie Tyrell) were added to the core recording in 1998 for Tracks.

There was a huge fan uproar, when "The Fever" and "The Promise" were both left off of 'Tracks' in 1998. Instead of releasing V3 or V5, he re-recorded "The Promise" from scratch on February 9 and 12, 1999 at Boxwood Studios, located at his home in Rumson, New Jersey. It was released on April 12, 1999 on '18 Tracks', to the dismay of many long-time fans. He made his case to Charlie Rose, "Basically, I went back and I listened to it and we never really got a good recording of it in my opinion".

"Gave It A Name" was recorded between December 1990 and late January 1991 at either the Record Plant, Soundworks West or A&M Studios in Los Angeles. Planned for inclusion on the Tracks boxset, but Bruce was unable to locate the master tape, so he re-recorded the song on August 24, 1998 at his home studio in Colts Neck, NJ, and it's that recording which can be found on Tracks. Springsteen told Melinda Newman in an interview with Billboard published in November 1998, "What happened is I cut the original at the time I cut these other songs [Bruce is referring to songs like "Over The Rise", "When The Lights Go Out", "Loose Change" etc, which were all recorded around the December 1990-January 1991 period], but we couldn't find the master tape of it, and I really liked the song. So Roy Bittan came out, and we re-cut it in August".

^{1 Sounds untouched, we pray that we didn't miss anything.
2 Possibly clean vintage, but not sure; we have awoken in the night in a cold sweat at least once
3 Possibly clean vintage, the artist or the liner notes say it is, but not sure; we have awoken in the night in a cold sweat at least once
4 A Category 4 Overdub is severely tinkered with, but not unredeemable. Examples are Racing In the Streets '78, where David Lindley's violin was added, or Come On (Let's Go Tonight), where modern violin again was added. Modern vocals never qualify for this rating.
5 A Category 5 Overdub means the track has been modified beyond recognition or has been partly or completely recorded in the present, which is not an outtake at all, it is a new recording.
6 Not An Outtake.}

Concept List 1993

At some point in 1993, presumably following the conclusion of the 1992-93 World Tour, a 25-song archival concept list was created of "lost songs put together by a Sony engineer". It is possible that this was an early Tracks concept, even if this was not the intention at first, according to Clinton Heylin. Twelve of the 25 songs have been subsequently released, either on Tracks itself or other projects, twelve are known outtakes and one is a live cut. Please see the relevant album recording session page for more information on each track.

Concept List 1993)

Song Title	Sessions	Released?
A LOVE SO FINE	BORN TO RUN	No
SHA LA LA 2	None	No
NEW SPANISH (aka SPANISH EYES)	DARKNESS	PROMISE
HEARTS OF STONE	DARKNESS	TRACKS
GIVE THE GIRL A KISS	DARKNESS	TRACKS
TRIANGLE SONG	DARKNESS	No
DOLLHOUSE	RIVER	TRACKS
NIGHT FIRE	RIVER	RIVER:OUTTAKES
THE MAN WHO GOT AWAY	RIVER	RIVER:OUTTAKES
DO YOU WANT ME TO SAY ALRIGHT	RIVER	No
I WILL BE THE ONE	RIVER	No
ARNIE	RIVER	No
THAT'S OKAY	RIVER	No
FROM SMALL THINGS (BIG THINGS ONE DAY COME)	RIVER	RIVER:OUTTAKES
TAKE 'EM AS THEY COME	RIVER	TRACKS
BRING ON THE NIGHT	RIVER	TRACKS
UNDER THE GUN	RIVER	No
WHERE THE BANDS ARE	RIVER	TRACKS
LOOSE ENDS	RIVER	TRACKS
LIVING ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD	RIVER	TRACKS
ANGELYNE 1	RIVER	No
JOHNNY GO DOWN	BITUSA	No
KING'S HIGHWAY	BITUSA	No
THE GLORY OF LOVE	BITUSA	No
IDA ROSE (NO ONE KNOWS)	BITUSA	No

1: "Angelyne" was recorded with the E Street Band in February 1980 before being donated in early 1982 to Gary U.S. Bonds.
2: Live, December 12, 1975, circulating on bootlegs.//^^

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