In the music business today, not too many musicians can say that they’ve released over a dozen albums, toured the world as many times, and are preparing to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bruce Springsteen can.
On November 10, 1998, Columbia Records released Tracks, a four-CD box set containing 65 songs, 56 of which have been previously unavailable. This set is a landmark in Springsteen’s career. For the first time, much bootlegged, and highly demanded, material is being released to the public.
Legendary producer John Hammond, who also found Bob Dylan, discovered Springsteen in 1973. Springsteen then went on to establish himself as one of the greatest and most prolific songwriters of the 20th century. Tracks is devoted to some of those songs that never made it onto Springsteen albums.
As Bruce Springsteen said, “What we were doing in there was making a lot of music, a lot more music than I could use at any one time. As a result, my albums became a series of choices–what to include, what to leave out?”
Tracks opens with demo versions of songs released on Springsteen’s first album, Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ. John Hammond, in Columbia Studios, produced these. Disc one contains many of the songs recorded in the 1970s by Springsteen that were not included on his first four albums.
The bulk of the material comes from The River and Born in the USA sessions (1979-1984). During this time, Springsteen’s influences could be felt in his music. With the release of Nebraska, folk music was Springsteen’s primary focus.
Many of the songs recorded during this time period were greatly influenced by early Bob Dylan and America’s greatest balladeer Woody Guthrie. An alternate, acoustic version of Born in the USA is included, as well as many more of the hundreds of acoustic demos recorded by Springsteen between 1981 and 1983.
From there Tracks goes on to cover some Springsteen demos of the 1990s. After dissolving the E Street Band, Springsteen began to record songs in preparation for his next venture. Although Springsteen did release two albums in 1992, Human Touch and Lucky Town, most of these songs have remained unreleased.
In 1995, Springsteen reunited the E Street Band and headed into the studio. The result was a greatest hits collection and more unreleased material. Tracks contains one song recorded during these sessions.
The most recent Springsteen recordings are outtakes from his last studio album The Ghost of Tom Joad. Mostly acoustic, and once again influenced by the great Woody Guthrie, Tracks contains a studio outtake from these sessions.
