KEY | C, SM, BSB | Demo | GFAP | WIESS | BTR | DOTEOT | 1979 Solo | River | 1981 Solo | Nebraska | BITUSA | TOL
HT | LT | 1993 Solo | GH | GOTJ | Tracks | Rising | Essential | D&D | WSO | Magic | WOAD | Promise | WB | HH | TTTB
Tracks commercially released: November 9, 1998 / 18 Tracks commercially released: April 12, 1999
1998-99 Producers: Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin
1998-99 Technical Coordinator and Recording engineer: Toby Scott*
1998-99 Mixers: Ed Thacker, Thom Panunzio and Bob Clearmountain*
* see Brucebase session listings for the specific producers and engineers of the original recordings.
Part One - Overview
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.
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"). Sales of 18 Tracks were also disappointing, although the Reunion tour that followed was a tremendous commercial success.
Songs marked with # issued on both Tracks and 18 Tracks, ## issued only on 18 Tracks (not on Tracks).
This list corrects the date and location errors found in the Tracks booklet.
| 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 | Jan 31, 1973 | Max’s Kansas City, NY | Live in concert |
| The Fever## | May 16, 1973 | 914 Sound, NY | WIESS |
| Santa Ana | Jun 28, 1973 | 914 Sound, NY | WIESS |
| Seaside Bar Song# | Jun 28, 1973 | 914 Sound, NY | WIESS |
| Thundercrack | Jun 28, 1973 | 914 Sound, NY | WIESS |
| Zero And Blind Terry | Jun 28, 1973 | 914 Sound, NY | WIESS |
| So Young And In Love | Jun 01, 1974 | 914 Sound, NY | BTR |
| Linda Let Me Be The One | Jun 29, 1975 | Record Plant, NY | BTR |
| Don't Look Back | Jul 02, 1977 | Record Plant, NY | DARKNESS |
| Hearts Of Stone# | Oct 14, 1977 | Record Plant, NY | DARKNESS |
| Iceman | Oct 27, 1977 | Record Plant, NY | DARKNESS |
| Give The Girl A Kiss | Oct 11, 1977 | Record Plant, NY | DARKNESS |
| Roulette | Apr 03, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Mary Lou | May 30, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| I Wanna Be With You# | May 31, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Bring On The Night | Jun 13, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Ricky Wants A Man Of Her Own | Jul 16, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Loose Ends# | Jul 18, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Be True | Jul 18, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Stolen Car | Jun 20, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Dollhouse | Aug 21, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Where The Bands Are# | Oct 9, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Living On The Edge Of The World | Dec 03, 1979 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Take 'em As They Come | Apr 10, 1980 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Restless Nights | Jan 14/Apr 11, 1980 | Power Station, NY | RIVER |
| Rendezvous# | Dec 31, 1980 | Nassau Coliseum, NY | Live in concert |
| Born In The U.S.A.# | Jan 03, 1982 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | NEBRASKA |
| Lion's Den# | Jan 25, 1982 | Power Station, NY | BITUSA |
| My Love Will Not Let You Down# | May 05, 1982 | Power Station, NY | BITUSA |
| A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Pittsburgh) | May 05, 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 | Jan 4?, 1983 | Thrill Hill WEST, CA | BITUSA |
| Shut Out The Light | Jan 19, 1983 | Thrill Hill WEST, CA | BITUSA |
| Cynthia | Jun 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 | Jun 13, 1983 | Hit Factory, NY | BITUSA |
| Stand On It | Jun 16, 1983 | Hit Factory, NY | BITUSA |
| Janey, Don't You Lose Heart# | Jun 16, 1983 | Hit Factory, NY | BITUSA |
| Brothers Under The Bridges | Sep 14, 1983 | Hit Factory, NY | BITUSA |
| Man At The Top | Jan 12, 1984 | Hit Factory, NY | BITUSA |
| Rockaway The Days | Jan 12, 1984 | Hit Factory, NY | BITUSA |
| When You Need Me | Jan 20, 1987 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | TOL |
| Two For The Road | Feb 00, 1987 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | TOL |
| The Honeymooners | Feb 22, 1987 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | TOL |
| The Wish | Feb 22, 1987 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | TOL |
| Lucky Man | Apr 04, 1987 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | TOL |
| Trouble In Paradise | Dec 01, 1989 | Soundworks West, CA | HT |
| Part Man, Part Monkey# | Jan 00, 1990 | Soundworks West, CA | HT |
| Sad Eyes# | Jan 25, 1990 | Soundworks West, CA | HT |
| Leavin' Train | Feb 27, 1990 | Oceanway Studios, CA | HT |
| Trouble River## | Apr 06, 1990 | Soundworks West, CA | HT |
| Seven Angels | Jun 29, 1990 | Oceanway Studios, CA | HT |
| My Lover Man | Dec 04, 1990 | Soundworks West, CA | HT |
| When The Lights Go Out | Dec 06, 1990 | Record Plant West, CA | HT |
| Over The Rise | Dec 07, 1990 | Soundworks West, CA | HT |
| Goin' Cali | Jan 29, 1991 | A&M Studios, CA | HT |
| Loose Change | Jan 31, 1991 | Record Plant West, CA | HT |
| Happy | Jan 18, 1992 | A&M Studios, CA | LUCKY TOWN |
| Back In Your Arms | Jan 12, 1995 | Hit Factory, NY | BB-GREATEST |
| Brothers Under The Bridge# | May 22, 1995 | Thrill Hill WEST, CA | GOTJ |
| Gave It a Name | Aug 24, 1998 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | RISING |
| The Promise## | Feb 12, 1999 | Thrill Hill EAST, NJ | RISING |
Note: Given their placement in the compilation both "Arnie" and "That's Okay" may be outtakes from "The River" sessions, but their absence from the studio logs is peculiar. "Angelyne" was recorded with the E Street Band in February 1980 before being donated in early 1982 to Gary U.S. Bonds.
Part Two - Details
Please go to the specific session era from which these tracks emanate for details on each track.
Part Three - 1993 Tracks concept
At some point in 1993 (presumably following the conclusion of the 1992-93 World Tour) a 25-song archival concept "album" was produced in-house, perhaps to demonstrate the quality of Springsteen's unreleased archive. It's possible that this was an early Tracks concept. Twelve of the 25 songs have been subsequently released, either on Tracks itself or other projects, ten are known outtakes, two are a mystery, and one is a live cut. Please see the relevant album recording session page for more information on each track.
| SONG TITLE | SESSION ERA | RELEASED? |
| A Love So Fine | BTR | No |
| Sha La La (Live 1975-12-12) | N/A | N/A |
| New Spanish (Spanish Eyes) | DARKNESS | PROMISE |
| Hearts Of Stone | DARKNESS | TRACKS |
| Give The Girl A Kiss | DARKNESS | TRACKS |
| Dollhouse | RIVER | TRACKS |
| Night Fire | RIVER | TIES THAT BIND |
| The Man Who Got Away | RIVER | TIES THAT BIND |
| King's Highway | BITUSA | No |
| Triangle Song | DARKNESS | No |
| Do (You) Want Me To Say All Right | RIVER | No |
| Arnie | see notes | No |
| I Will Be The One | RIVER | No |
| From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) | RIVER | ESSENTIAL |
| Take 'em As They Come | RIVER | TRACKS |
| Johnny Go Down | BITUSA | No |
| The Glory Of Love | BITUSA | No |
| Ida Rose (No One Knows) | BITUSA | No |
| 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 | RIVER | No |
| That's Okay | see notes | No |
Note: Given their placement in the compilation both "Arnie" and "That's Okay" may be outtakes from "The River" sessions, but their absence from the studio logs is peculiar. "Angelyne" was recorded with the E Street Band in February 1980 before being donated in early 1982 to Gary U.S. Bonds.
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