Springsteen: Rethinking The "18 Tracks" Concept

I was privileged to be in Hyde Park to hear this:



Best Wishes,
David

 

It doesn't mean that a full band version doesn't exist -- it just doesn't circulate.

 

Thanks- I think that might be the case, too.

 

well,
1) this shouldn't be done (and hopefully won't be, though Jon Landau has the WORST artistic and product ideas of any manager...EVER)
2) there are better live versions of The Promise (like 10/30/76) and The Fever (either Winterland version) than the studio ones on there.
In fact,
the version of The Promise on there is widely regarded by fanatics as TERRIBLE.

The whole thing was a rush job, where a promo CD that had 15 songs on it had 3 added to it - two songs fans were complaining were not on Tracks (which was once an 8 CD set, then became a 6, then a 4 - as if this was for "casual" fans and would sell more -
again, Landau's inability to tell who would buy and who wouldn't)
so it had the two songs - with Bruce redoing The Promise hastily and declaring it perfect, even though it's nothing compared to older live, solo versions
and then the demo of The Fever
and one Human Touch outtake (30 Days Out still remaining unreleased).

It's a terrible idea, this CD, it could have been a CD-5, and...ha, they released "Sad Eyes" as the single!
wow,
what geniuses.

It was a way to make fans pay for a full CD to get only three songs.
How generous of them, to the loyal fans.
Oh and that doesn't make them marketing geniuses - it makes Jon Landau a real jerk. And it doesn't speak highly for one of my all-time favorite artists either.

 

It's stuff like this that makes me laugh whenever people complain that the old music industry died. Years of crap product like 18 Tracks is the reason why Napster (and then the two decades that have followed) happened.

 

What does any of that have to do with what I said?

 

Back in '82, that was my favorite song on "On The Line"... that to me would be more satisfying than any electric Nebraska cut.

 

I think most Springsteen enthusiasts share your frustration with the "Tracks" box set. A lot of incredible, key songs were left off the final sequencing (some still unreleased to this day). Even with the set being pared down to four discs, IIRC, a number of the discs clocked in at 70 minutes or slightly thereunder which still left room for additional songs within the four disc format. It is unclear who decided the set should be pared down from six discs to four. My understanding is that Sony lobbied for the four disc format for retail considerations, so I don't know if the blame can be solely directed at Landau. Furthermore, I think Springsteen was significantly involved with the final sequencing and content choices, so some of the blame for key omissions has to be directed at him (a viable argument can be made that he has consistently been a poor administrator of choosing his own work). Subsequent releases of "The Promise" and "The Ties That Bind" sets (as well as the bonus disc on "Essential") remedied some of "Tracks'" missing content (although the heavy-handed overdubbing on the former two sets, particularly on a number of "The Promise" recordings added a new dimension of issues plaguing his archival releases), but there are still a lot of songs that really should see an official release. Even if the long-rumored "Born In The USA" and "Nebraska" box sets produce a number of additional choice outtakes, there are still various vault items from the "Born To Run," "Darkness," and "Rivers" periods that need to be addressed. While a number of songs remain unreleased and while nearly every archival release has not been without issues, there was a time when it seemed unlikely that over 100 archival songs would ever be released from the Springsteen archives, so the fact that he finally opened the vaults and continues to slowly release material from his archives should be commended on some level.

 

Fun idea! I'm probably too big of a fan of Springsteen's studio outtakes to whittle it down to a single disc compilation unless the focus was exclusive to a particular time period such as the '70s or the '80s.

The release of Tracks was such a momentous occasion for me that I took the day off from work to purchase it as soon as Circuit City opened so I could spend the day listening to it in its entirety. It was almost revelatory to hear pristine quality versions of some of my favorite bootlegged outtakes like Iceman, My Love Will Not Let You Down, Take 'em as they Come, and Frankie. Yes, there were some curious/frustrating omissions (The Fever, The Promise, If I Were the Priest, the acoustic Thunder Road, Preacher's Daughter, Held Up without a Gun, None But the Brave, Protection, Losin' Kind, Fire, 30 Days Out) but, by and large, it was a godsend.

As noted earlier in this thread, subsequent archival releases rectified some of those omissions but Springsteen's recent penchant for supplanting vintage vocals with newly recorded vocals and other anachronistic embellishments has somewhat soured my excitement for subsequent vault-purging exercises such as the inevitable Born in the USA box set. For that reason, I'd be reluctant to include tracks like Meet Me in the City, Gotta Get That Feeling, or Because the Night in my compilation. To be fair, Tracks had a little bit of its own meddling (horns added to Hearts of Stone, dubious vocal tracks on Thundercrack, a new mix of every track on the collection, Gave It a Name is an all-new recording) but, for the most part, the embellishments were rare and comparatively minor.

 

The think that bugged me most was putting a track (or was it two) on 18 tracks that wasn't on the boxed set.

 

It was very annoying. Clearly just a way to increase sales numbers by coercing hardcore fans into repurchasing 15 songs from the box set they had recently acquired for three additional songs. The concept of creating a single disc compilation of choice selections from an expansive box set of archival songs made sense, but adding new/unreleased songs to the compilation was a slap in the face to Springsteen's core audience.

 

Okay, I've taken a stab at it. Foobar2000 tells me this 18-track compilation totals 77 minutes and 29 seconds so it will fit on a single CD.

01. The Fever
I had some ambivalence about including this track on my compilation due to its excessive length (7:39). Also, I'm almost embarrassed to admit it but I've never quite liked this song nearly as much as the rest of my fellow Springsteen outtake fanatics. That said, given this track's enduring popularity throughout the '70s as well as the outcry from Springsteen fans when this song was *not* included on the Tracks box set, I think it's worth including it here.

02. So Young and in Love
This is hardly the most essential outtake from the Born to Run sessions (that distinction has to go to the acoustic version of Thunder Road) but there is no track on the Born to Run album that is nearly as much "fun" as So Young and in Love. Springsteen recorded a number of barroom rave-ups like this one over the years (A Love So Fine, Give the Girl a Kiss, I'm Going Back, Paradise by the 'C') but this one may very well be the best of the bunch. Plus, I wanted to include something from the Born to Run sessions and my only other choice from the officially released outtakes is the stupendously insipid Linda Let Me Be the One. Mike Appel was absolutely right about that one.

03. Don't Look Back
If the liner notes are to be believed, this is the only cut on the Tracks box set *not* to have been remixed in 1998. As I understand it, Don't Look Back was the last song excluded from the Darkness on the Edge of Town album and, I believe, it may appear on some early acetates. It's certainly not one of the most important or compelling tracks in the canon but it's always been one of my favorites. Plus, I wanted to include a few things from the Darkness sessions that did not receive the heavy-handed modern overdub treatment that marred the overwhelming majority of the songs ultimately released from those sessions.

04. Iceman
As a teenager, I found a copy of Son You May Kiss the Bride on vinyl sitting next to the rest of the Springsteen LPs. That was the best $15 I ever spent. The LP is a bootleg containing an album's worth of fascinating outtakes from the Darkness and River album sessions. The release of the Tracks box set was still the better part of a decade away at that point so finding this bootleg LP was hugely momentous. Iceman was (and is) my favorite track on that album and it's one of the very best outtakes from the Darkness sessions. And, unlike most of The Promise (the 2-disc set of outtakes released in 2010), this song very much sounds like it is apiece with the Darkness on the Edge of Town album.

05. The Promise
This is one of Springsteen's most essential outtakes and its omission from the Tracks box set was mind boggling. While this original recording is infinitely superior to the 1999 solo piano re-recording for 18 Tracks, it is still not perfect, as it is missing a key verse and it includes strings that were added decades after the original recording.

06. Roulette
This is the first song recorded for The River and, almost since the day it was recorded, it maintained nearly mythical status amongst the aficionados. It's one of Springsteen's most paranoid lyrics and it's a firecracker of a track.

07. Where the Bands Are
Throughout the sessions for Darkness on the Edge of Town and, especially, The River, Springsteen recorded nearly an album's worth of "power pop." This may be the best one of the bunch. It's a personal favorite anyway, as it's another great track from the Son You May Kiss the Bride bootleg LP I discovered as a teenager.

08. Be True
Like Roulette, this is a classic non-album B-side that finally got its due during the Tunnel of Love Express Tour when it was a regular fixture early in the first set. It's hard to conceive how such finely crafted pop material can be tossed aside (particularly a *double* album) but I suppose that's a testament to Springsteen's prolific songwriting during this era.

09. Take 'em As They Come
The outtakes from The River are often so good (and so plentiful) that it's not hard to imagine a killer single LP being released during, perhaps, the European leg of The River tour with songs like this one as the centerpiece. Van Zandt shines on this one too.

10. Loose End
Had Springsteen not gotten cold feet in the late fall of '79, this track would have been the album closer to his latest release. Instead, it was relegated to the vault for nearly two decades. This is one of the very best outtakes from The River sessions, particularly the mix that appears on The Ties That Bind lost album (as opposed to the mix used on Tracks).

11. Born in the USA
This is one of Springsteen's best and most important songs. The solo version that was recorded for what ultimately became Nebraska is an illuminating snapshot into the genesis of a great song. And the song's message may be less obscured in this more streamlined presentation. It's not a patch on the studio cut but it's a worthy inclusion nonetheless.

12. Shut out the Light
When Born in the USA was released as a single, this was the B-side. It's the best song to come out of Springsteen's Los Angeles '83 garage demos and it's arguably Springsteen's finest Vietnam-themed track. My preference is actually for the bootlegged version that appears on The Lost Masters, as that version retains a couple of extra verses that were excised for the released version.

13. My Love Will Not Let You Down
This driving rocker was recorded early during the Born in the USA studio sessions and is one of the best cuts not to make the album. Springsteen must have eventually thought so himself, as this became one of the more frequently performed outtakes on the original reunion tour and it has made regular concert appearances in subsequent years.

14. Murder Incorporated
This is another of the great Born in the USA outtakes to somehow not make the album. In an alternate universe, Springsteen could have released a rock solid album of unused tracks from the Born in the USA sessions while on the stadium leg of the '85 tour with tracks like this one and, especially, the next one providing the album's core.

15. This Hard Land
Like The Promise, This Hard Land is one of Springsteen's most essential outtakes. It's as good as anything he ever wrote and it's omission from Born in the USA is almost indefensible. Then again, Born in the USA is easily Springsteen's most popular and accessible album so who am I to question him?

16. The Wish
This track was recorded during the Tunnel of Love sessions. It's easily one of Springsteen's most autobiographical tracks, which is possibly the reason it wasn't released on an album until the Tracks box set.

17. When the Lights Go Out
When Springsteen briefly emerged from hibernation in the fall of '90 with a pair of solo acoustic concerts benefiting a now-defunct public watchdog organization, this was one of the previously unheard tracks to be debuted. I love the paranoid lyrics and it's fascinating to hear Springsteen composing material for an album on bass guitar. There's half an album's worth of bass-driven tracks on disc 4 of Tracks but only one such song made it to the Human Touch album: 57 Channels. The less I say about that song, the better.

18. Brothers Under the Bridge
For purposes of this compilation, there's part of me that wanted to draw a line in the sand with the Born in the USA sessions. But that would have forced me to exclude this magnificent Ghost of Tom Joad outtake, which is easily my favorite post-Born in the USA outtake (with The Wall being a close second). My Best Was Never Good Enough certainly has its defenders but I'm not one of them. In my mind, The Ghost of Tom Joad is a stronger album without that track and with this one in its place.

 

Hands down

 

Great idea for whom?

For us, we have them all.


Who benefits?

 

Don't forget to botch one of those tracks with an overdubbed musical malopropism . . .

 

Don't Look Back
The Promise (1977 alt. unreleased version) --> the only yet unreleased track on this selection
Iceman
Bring On The Night (perfect transition between Darkness and River era)
Mary Lou
I Wanna Be Where The Band Are
Loose Ends
Be True (TTTB mix) -> to be compared with Mary Lou
Wages Of Sin
Frankie ('82)
My Love Will Not Let You Down
None But The Brave
Janey Don't You Lose Heart
Lucky Man
Leavin' Train
Seven Angels
City Of Night
Castaway (aka The Ballad)

I couldn't help going back to the Darkness era for the final two tracks

 

I posted that almost a year ago, and at the moment I sincerely have no answers to either of your questions.

 

"An interesting concept that was not as well executed as it could have been" sounds like most Springsteen archival releases, apart from the live shows.