Modern Elements
Modern Elements
This section was created to describe archived tracks with modern overdubs such as vocals and strings. The chart only concerns material released on compilations like The Promise, The Ties That Bind (The River Collection), Tracks, The Essential, Greatest Hits, etc. Many songs included on these collections may not have been completed to Springsteen's satisfaction during their respective recording sessions, so require modern additions. Unfortunately, the work undertaken on these tracks is not described in liner notes, so we try to get the information for our readers.
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.
| # | Song Title | Modern Element(s) | Recording Date / Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | THUNDERCRACK | modern background vocals by Vini Lopez 1997 | August 9, 1973 V4 + 1997 |
| 2. | SANTA ANA | modern background vocals-Vini Lopez 1997 | July 1, 1973 + 1997 |
| 3. | HEARTS OF STONE | 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 | modern 1997 horns - Cruz-Manion-Rosenberg-Spengler-Pender | January 25, 1982 + 1997 |
| 5. | THE WISH | Gary Mallaber, drums | February 22, 1987 + 1997 |
| 6. | WHEN YOU NEED ME | Gary Mallaber, drums, Soozie Tyrell, violin | January 20, 1987 + 1997 |
| 7. | THE PROMISE | re-recorded | February 12, 1999 |
| 8. | GAVE IT A NAME | 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".