Tracks (Bruce Springsteen album)

Tracks is a four-disc box set by Bruce Springsteen, released in 1998 containing 66 songs. This box set mostly consists of never-before-released songs recorded during the sessions for his many albums, but also includes a number of single B-sides, as well as demos and alternate versions of already-released material.

Tracks
Box set by Bruce Springsteen
Released	November 10, 1998
Recorded	1972-1998
Genre	Rock
Length	254:58
Label	Columbia
Producer	Various
Bruce Springsteen chronology
Blood Brothers (1996) Tracks (1998) 18 Tracks (1999)
Singles from Tracks
"I Wanna Be with You" Released: May 8, 1999[1] "Sad Eyes" Released: June 8, 1999[2]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Tom Hull	B+ ()[3]

History

The project began in early 1998, when Springsteen and his chief recording engineer, Toby Scott, began going through his massive collection of unreleased songs. Springsteen had been known as a very prolific songwriter (Darkness on the Edge of Town, The River, and Born in the U.S.A. each had more than 50 songs written for them), and by 1998 the number of unreleased songs was up to more than 350— 3/4 of all his recorded material.

Although the idea of simply releasing the rough demos of the songs was kicked around, Springsteen eventually decided to mix them properly. Springsteen, Scott, and three sets of engineers spent most of 1998 going through his massive song library, mixing songs and picking out the best of the unreleased material. Sometimes, a song would need extra parts added on, such as in the case of "Thundercrack", a song dating back to 1973. Springsteen called in then-former bandmates Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons, along with original drummer Vini Lopez to fill in the missing pieces.[4]

By July, 100 songs (six CDs worth) had been selected as the songs for the box set, and it was being prepared for commercial release. However, Springsteen eventually decided to cut the number to 66, leaving a total of four CDs. The project was completed in mid-September 1998, and was released two months later.

Even though the original intention was to cover material from all aspects of Springsteen's career, acoustic demos from 1972 (such as "Arabian Nights", "Jazz Musician", "Ballad of the Self-Loading Pistol", and "Visitation at Fort Horn") were not available for release, due to ongoing court proceedings surrounding the songs (concerning the attempted release of these songs by a different, European based label in 1993).[5][6] Songs from the "Electric Nebraska" sessions, as well as songs from an unreleased 1994 album, were also missing.

The songs came from varying backgrounds:

• "Roulette", "Be True", "Pink Cadillac", "Johnny Bye Bye", "Shut Out the Light", "Stand on It", "Janey Don't You Lose Heart", "Lucky Man", "Two for the Road", and "Part Man, Part Monkey" were all B-sides to singles. However, the take of "Stand on It" included on Tracks is a previously unknown alternate version that features an extra verse and a fully finished ending (as opposed to the fade-out on the original B-side).
• "Bishop Danced", "Santa Ana", "Seaside Bar Song", "Zero and Blind Terry", "Thundercrack", "Rendezvous", "So Young and in Love", "Man at the Top", "The Wish", "When the Lights Go Out", and "Brothers Under the Bridge" were all known from previous live performances.
• "Hearts of Stone" was previously recorded by Southside Johnny.
• A rerecorded "This Hard Land" was released on Greatest Hits, although the original recording did not appear until Tracks.
• "Linda Let Me Be the One", "Iceman", "Bring On the Night", "Don't Look Back", "Restless Nights", "Where the Bands Are", "Loose Ends", "Living on the Edge of the World", "Take 'Em as They Come", "Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own", "I Wanna Be with You", "Mary Lou", "Cynthia", "My Love Will Not Let You Down", "Frankie", "T.V. Movie", and "Back in Your Arms" had previously been unofficially released on bootlegs, sometimes under different titles.
• "A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)" and "Lion's Den" were documented to exist, but had not been officially released.
• "Give the Girl a Kiss", "Dollhouse", "Wages of Sin", "Car Wash", "Rockaway the Days", "Brothers Under the Bridges ('83)", "When You Need Me", "The Honeymooners", "Leavin' Train", "Seven Angels", "Gave It a Name", "Sad Eyes", "My Lover Man", "Over the Rise", "Loose Change", "Trouble in Paradise", "Goin' Cali", and "Happy" were all unknown songs before Tracks.

The box set was a minor success, peaking at #27 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It has been certified platinum in the U.S. and gold in Canada.

Since its release, 44 of the songs on the set have been played live at least once, with "My Love Will Not Let You Down" receiving the most attention at over 100 plays.[7]

The box set was later condensed into a single-disc album called 18 Tracks, with 3 songs ("Trouble River", "The Fever", and "The Promise") not on the 4-CD box set.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bruce Springsteen, except where noted.

Disc one

No.	Title	Recording date and location	Length
1.	"Mary Queen of Arkansas" (Demo Version)	May 3, 1972 Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY	4:27
2.	"It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City" (Demo Version)	May 3, 1972 Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY	2:52
3.	"Growin' Up" (Demo Version)	May 3, 1972 Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY	2:38
4.	"Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" (Demo Version)	May 3, 1972 Columbia Records, 49 East 52nd Street, Studio E, New York, NY	1:58
5.	"Bishop Danced"	January 31, 1973 Recorded live at Max's Kansas City, NY	4:18
6.	"Santa Ana"	July 1, 1973 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake	4:35
7.	"Seaside Bar Song"	July 24, 1973 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake	3:33
8.	"Zero and Blind Terry"	August 7, 1973 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake	5:56
9.	"Linda Let Me Be the One"	June 29, 1975 Born to Run outtake	4:24
10.	"Thundercrack"	August 9, 1973 + 1997 The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle outtake	8:25
11.	"Rendezvous" (writers: Springsteen, Doug Cameron)	December 31, 1980 Recorded live at Nassau Coliseum, NY	2:48
12.	"Give the Girl a Kiss"	October 11, 1977 Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake	3:51
13.	"Iceman"	October 27, 1977 Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake	3:17
14.	"Bring On the Night"	June 13, 1979 The River outtake	2:36
15.	"So Young and in Love"	June 1, 1974 Born to Run outtake	3:47
16.	"Hearts of Stone"	October 14, 1977 + 1997 horns Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake	4:29
17.	"Don't Look Back"	July 2, 1977 Darkness on the Edge of Town outtake	3:00

[8]

Disc two

No.	Title	Recording date and location	Length
1.	"Restless Nights"	May 2, 1980 The River outtake	3:44
2.	"A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)"	May 6, 1982 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	3:15
3.	"Roulette"	April 12, 1980 The River outtake	3:51
4.	"Dollhouse"	August 21, 1979 The River outtake	3:31
5.	"Where the Bands Are"	October 9, 1979 The River outtake	3:43
6.	"Loose Ends"	July 18, 1979 The River outtake	4:00
7.	"Living on the Edge of the World"	December 3, 1979 The River outtake	4:17
8.	"Wages of Sin"	May 10, 1982 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	4:51
9.	"Take 'Em as They Come"	April 10, 1980 The River outtake	4:28
10.	"Be True"	July 18, 1979 The River outtake	3:39
11.	"Ricky Wants a Man of Her Own"	April 10, 1980 The River outtake	2:44
12.	"I Wanna Be with You"	May 31, 1979 The River outtake	3:21
13.	"Mary Lou"	July 13, 1979 The River outtake	3:21
14.	"Stolen Car" (alternate version)	September 24, 1979 The River outtake	4:26
15.	"Born in the U.S.A." (Demo Version)	January 3, 1982 Nebraska outtake	3:08
16.	"Johnny Bye-Bye" (writers: Chuck Berry, Springsteen)	January 4, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	1:49
17.	"Shut Out the Light"	January 19, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	3:51

Disc three

No.	Title	Recording date and location	Length
1.	"Cynthia"	June 15, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	4:13
2.	"My Love Will Not Let You Down"	May 5, 1982 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	4:28
3.	"This Hard Land"	May 11, 1982 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	4:46
4.	"Frankie"	May 14, 1982 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	7:22
5.	"TV Movie"	June 13, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	2:48
6.	"Stand on It" (alternative version)	June 16, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	3:05
7.	"Lion's Den"	January 25, 1982 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	2:18
8.	"Car Wash"	May 31, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	2:06
9.	"Rockaway the Days"	January 12, 1984 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	4:40
10.	"Brothers Under the Bridges '83"	September 14, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	5:06
11.	"Man at the Top"	January 12, 1984 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	3:19
12.	"Pink Cadillac"	May 31, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	3:33
13.	"Two for the Road"	February 1, 1987 Tunnel of Love outtake	1:57
14.	"Janey, Don't You Lose Heart"	June 16, 1983 Born in the U.S.A. outtake	3:24
15.	"When You Need Me"	January 20, 1987 Tunnel of Love outtake	2:54
16.	"The Wish"	February 22, 1987 Tunnel of Love outtake	5:14
17.	"The Honeymooners"	February 22, 1987 Tunnel of Love outtake	2:04
18.	"Lucky Man"	April 4, 1987 Tunnel of Love outtake	3:31

Disc four

No.	Title	Recording date and location	Length
1.	"Leavin' Train"	February 27, 1990 Human Touch outtake	4:05
2.	"Seven Angels"	June 29, 1990 Human Touch outtake	3:26
3.	"Gave It a Name"	August 24, 1998 Human Touch outtake, re-recorded for "Tracks"	2:47
4.	"Sad Eyes"	January 25, 1990 Human Touch outtake	3:47
5.	"My Lover Man"	December 4, 1990 Human Touch outtake	3:56
6.	"Over the Rise"	December 7, 1990 Human Touch outtake	2:38
7.	"When the Lights Go Out"	December 6, 1990 Human Touch outtake	3:05
8.	"Loose Change"	January 31, 1991 Human Touch outtake	4:18
9.	"Trouble in Paradise" (writers: Roy Bittan, Springsteen)	December 1, 1989 Human Touch outtake	4:37
10.	"Happy"	January 18, 1992 Lucky Town outtake	4:51
11.	"Part Man, Part Monkey"	January 1990 Human Touch outtake	4:28
12.	"Goin' Cali"	January 29, 1991 Human Touch outtake	2:59
13.	"Back in Your Arms"	January 12, 1995	4:35
14.	"Brothers Under the Bridge '95"	May 22, 1995 The Ghost of Tom Joad outtake	4:55[9]

Personnel

Disc 1 Bruce Springsteen – guitar, lead vocals, piano Steve Van Zandt – guitar, background vocals (tracks 11-17) Garry Tallent – bass guitar, background vocals Roy Bittan – piano (tracks 9, 11-17) David Sancious – piano (tracks 6-8,10) Max Weinberg – drums (tracks 9, 11-17) Vini Lopez – drums, background vocals (tracks 6-8, 10-1997) Danny Federici – organ, accordion Clarence Clemons – saxophone, tambourine, vocals Mario Cruz – tenor saxophone on "Hearts of Stone" 1997 Ed Manion – baritone saxophone on "Hearts of Stone" 1997 Richie Rosenberg – trombone on "Hearts of Stone" 1997 Mike Spengler – trumpet on "Hearts of Stone" 1997 Mark Pender – trumpet on "Hearts of Stone" 1997 Disc 2 Bruce Springsteen – guitar, lead vocals Steve Van Zandt – guitar, background vocals Garry Tallent – bass guitar Roy Bittan – piano Max Weinberg – drums Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel Clarence Clemons – saxophone, tambourine Soozie Tyrell – violin on "Shut Out the Light"

Disc 3 Bruce Springsteen – guitar, lead vocals, bass guitar (tracks 13, 15-18), keyboards (tracks 13, 15-18) Steve Van Zandt – guitar, background vocals Nils Lofgren – guitar, background vocals on "Janey, Don't You Lose Heart" Garry Tallent – bass guitar (tracks 1-12, 14) Roy Bittan – piano (tracks 1-12, 14) Max Weinberg – drums (tracks 1-12, 14) Gary Mallaber – drums (tracks 13, 15-18) Danny Federici – organ, glockenspiel Clarence Clemons – saxophone, tambourine Mario Cruz – tenor saxophone on "Lion's Den" 1997 Ed Manion – baritone saxophone on "Lion's Den" 1997 Richie Rosenberg – trombone on "Lion's Den" 1997 Mike Spengler – trumpet on "Lion's Den" 1997 Mark Pender – trumpet on "Lion's Den" 1997 Disc 4 Bruce Springsteen – guitar, lead vocals, bass guitar, keyboards, percussion Randy Jackson – bass guitar ("Leavin' Train", "Seven Angels", "Sad Eyes", "Trouble in Paradise") Garry Tallent – bass guitar ("Back in Your Arms", "Brothers Under the Bridge") Roy Bittan – piano ("Seven Angels", "Trouble in Paradise", "Back in Your Arms") Jeff Porcaro – drums ("Leavin' Train", "Sad Eyes", "My Lover Man", "When the Lights Go Out", "Trouble in Paradise") Omar Hakim – drums on "Part Man, Part Monkey" Shawn Pelton – drums ("Seven Angels", "Happy") Max Weinberg – drums on "Back in Your Arms" Gary Mallaber – drums on "Brothers Under the Bridge" Michael Fisher – percussion on "Sad Eyes" David Sancious – keyboards ("Sad Eyes", "Part Man, Part Monkey") Danny Federici – organ ("Back in Your Arms", "Brothers Under the Bridge") Ian McLagan – organ on "Leavin' Train" Clarence Clemons – saxophone on "Back in Your Arms"

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[10]	Gold	25,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Bruce Springsteen - I Wanna Be With You (CD, Single) at Discogs". Retrieved August 12, 2019.
2. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004UU3I
3. Hull, Tom (October 29, 2016). "Streamnotes (October 2016)". Tom Hull - on the Web. Retrieved July 2, 2020.
4. Carlin, Peter Ames (2012). "Bruce". Touchstone.
5. "Tracks - Studio Sessions Edit 25…". Brucebase. 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
6. Gaar, Gillian G. (2016). Boss : Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band : the illustrated history. Minneapolis, MN: Voyageur Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780760349724.
7. "My Love Will Not Let You Down | Bruce Springsteen Live | Greasy Lake". www.greasylake.org. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
8. Heylin, Clinton (2012). E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. London, UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd. pp. 71–83. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
9. Heylin, Clinton (2012). E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. London, UK: Constable & Robinson Ltd. pp. 71–83. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
10. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1998". Ultratop. Hung Medien.