If Springsteen thinks Tracks 2 should be released, then it should be released. For folks like me, who are primarily interested in the 1973-1988 time period, I think we're likely to be disappointed. I just don't expect there's much left in the vault from that period (although they'll probably sprinkle in just enough to tempt us to bite). For folks that like his later work, I expect there is probably a lot.
I personally don't have any interest in Tracks 2 and I didn't care about Tracks 1 either, however I know that a lot of people love this kind of release so if it comes out, I am happy for all those fans. I also don't understand the "if I don't want it then it shouldn't exist" thinking. Going back to the archive, if I had my way there would be almost no releases past 88 but I know that leaves out a lot of shows that many fans want to hear. I just prefer the earlier stuff and while I may complain at times about the choice of a release, it is usually only in relation to how long it has been since the last prime era show was released. So bring on Tracks 2 or whatever else Springsteen wants to put out...although I personally want the BITUSA box set with a high quality video of an stadium show. Don't need audio as i can rip it myself. That is really the only official release I am looking forward to at this point.
First you state: Then you say: So, I'm confused at what you're saying. All the same, I love the early shows as well as the later shows. I'm glad to have access to them all. I think every show has its highs and lows no matter when it was performed.
I wouldn't disagree. I think it would start with some vault scrapes from Darkness and River and the first cd would end with Tunnel of Love era.
I think the Tracks 2 ship has sailed. Prior to The Promise and the River box, there was still plenty in there from the classic era. But I think that's the template for vault-clearing now, unfortunately. There's lots from the 90's and onwards, and unlike most, I'm still very curious to hear it. I don't expect most of it to be great, but I just want the opportunity to delve in and find out, knowing there will still be a few gems worth picking out and playlisting. I think a better option going forward for post-'84 studio archive stuff would be similar to what Neil Young did with Hitchhiker (and supposedly plans to do with other unreleased LP's...although it's Neil, so who knows): just putting out unreleased albums as a standalone thing...if you want to check it out, cool, if not, just move on. I know there's a lot of unreleased stuff from the period between Lucky Town and Tom Joad: wrapping that into a standalone album would be cool (aside from some people complaining about it existing because it's not from the 70's/80's, even though nothing's forcing them to listen to it). That era doesn't need it's own box, but I think there'd still be interest in what he's got in the vault from it. Bruce is like Dylan or the Beatles: even failed experiments, decades removed, are still interesting to listen to.
if it comes out then it means that other stuff will be pushed back. i dont think bruce is going to release a 'huuge' trax 2 box and then release a new Estreet album two months later to coincide with the tour. of course the Estreet album is supposed to be songs that came to him a few months ago and not reworkings from his laptop stash.
I understand the way it was worded may be confusing. Basically I really only listen to the 70's and 80's show repeatedly so that is what I personally wish would be the focus. However I also acknowledge that is selfish and would be depriving of the larger fan base of many shows they want to hear so I am happy for them that they have those shows being released. I would never want them to not exist just that my preference is for earlier shows. I was talking in a fantasy wish fulfillment type of way, not in real world terms. Hope that clears it up. I actually have purchased every single release since Bruce started releasing live shows. Anything 75-88 stays on my media player in FLAC-HD for almost daily listening and all the others get a once or twice listen then are archived on my hard drive. Sometimes I will grab a song or 2 from a later show to add to my media player when the mood strikes but I almost never revisit the post 88 shows as a whole after my first run through listen. They just don't have the same appeal but I choose to support the series as a whole. This is really the only thing I spend money on (live recordings from Bruce and other bands). I don't have a social life and this is how I choose to spend my limited entertainment dollars each month.
Not having access to any studio bootlegs at the time (my exposure to the joys of the internet had not quite begun), Tracks was a revelation to me. I listed to it non stop (except for maybe the last disc or so) for almost a year. I still pull it out and enjoy it. Since I would suspect that the vast majority of what is known to be in the vaults at this point was recorded from the various Nebraska through BITUSA sessions, I am interesting how Tracks 2 would impact that box set. I know we don't know for sure that one is coming, but not putting one out would be such a huge miss. Would all that eras outtakes be held back or would they be divided between those that would appear on Tracks 2 and those held back for a future BITUSA box? No idea.
There are a lot of recordings that could fill a couple of discs for a BITUSA box, so if a few token songs end up on Tracks 2, conceivably there will still be plenty earmarked for a subsequent BITUSA set. Just look at Tracks — Springsteen only included a few Darkness era songs when he clearly had a quite a bit at his disposal. That said, one suspects Tracks 2 is going to be loaded with material from the past 25 years, rather than from his prime period of 1973-1988.
And when he turns 75 we’ll be wondering why the shows are only 3 and a half hours rather than 4. Of course, we’ll all be at the age when there will be 3 designated bathroom songs per show, out of medical necessity.
Most of his shows I've been at (72 at last count) have already had at least 3 bathroom breaks. The Rising tour had a 20 minute "go and do your shopping" break called Mary's Place.
MP didn’t bother me. Youngstown never did anything for me and Sunny Day became a joke subsequent to the Rising Tour, when he turned it into auditions for American Idol For Kids.
I will be interested in Tracks 2 if only because Springsteen has shown he sometimes is not the best judge of his own material. Or great songs don't fit his blueprint for a particular LP. Which ever is the case.
I would think a trax2 will mostly be stuff recorded post Lucky Town/Human Touch. ws/woad/magic/tom joad/d and d/wb etc etc outtakes.
It's just a hunch, but I think Tracks 2 might not focus so much on album outtakes as much as it does on material that wasn't written/recorded for any particular released album at all. He's known to have several projects that never saw the light of day, and something tells me we'll be seeing that here...if we ever see it.
It would also be nice to see it used as a vehicle for alternative takes/arrangements (things like Racing In The Street ‘78, Stolen Car, You Can Look (rockabilly), etc.), not just outtakes.
Maybe he'll go back to Intermissions. Why exactly did he quit doing Intermission? John Mayer does it, Eric Church does it, Zac Brown Band does it, Jackson Browne does it, Dead & Company does it. Time Bruce revived it.
True. By my count, only four Darkness outtakes made it to Tracks: Don't Look Back, Iceman, Give the Girl a Kiss and Hearts of Stone. Of course, additional Darkness-era songs appeared on Tracks (or the companion/highlights disc, 18 Tracks) in other forms: Rendezvous was featured in a live version from The River tour, Bring on the Night and I Wanna Be with You were re-recordings from The River sessions, and The Promise was an all-new solo recording, which suggests Springsteen was not comfortable with the original takes for some of those songs. When Springsteen finally got around to releasing the mother lode of Darkness outtakes on The Promise, it was clear that he had quite a few finished or nearly finished takes that could have been used on Tracks like Candy's Boy, City of Night, The Way, the alternate Racing in the Street, The Promise, and Outside Looking In but several of the tracks I just mentioned featured new musical embellishments, which further supports the possibility that Springsteen was not completely happy with those original recordings. Moreover, at least half of the songs ultimately released on The Promise featured all new lead vocal tracks (recorded decades after the fact), which, for more discriminating listeners, is jarring when compared to the vintage vocal takes featured on other tracks on the same set. And that's actually my biggest concern with digging into the classic era vault: Springsteen's propensity to record all new vocal tracks onto otherwise vintage recordings. Of course, to the extent that Tracks 2 features contemporaneously finished masters, I'm all in.
Maybe, although I'm not a big fan of it outside of jam band gigs, where it makes a little more sense. (Especially if it's a GA show...you're not getting back in that spot again if you leave, so it's just wasted time). But sometimes I feel like it takes awhile to get the momentum going again in a 2nd set, and just makes the whole night unnecessarily longer. If the two sets are thematically different, like one set is going to be a full album/conceptual performance, okay, that makes a little sense, but in general, I'd rather Bruce stick to just powering through. (I don't at all mind the long periods of standing while I'm watching the show, but standing around while nothing is happening, after queuing for a few hours...i'll pass)
I thought Bruce bailed on intermissions partly because Big Man had physical problems, and it was so tough for him simply to get on/off the stage. They eventually brought a chair onstage for Clarence to use during shows, and even when the rest of the band would leave the stage before encores, Big Man would just kinda lurk behind the drum set. Anyway, I don't know if Clarence's health was a factor, but that's the impression I got!
Hmm... I seem to recall he had intermissions during the 1992-93 tour. I'll have to look online and see!
Incorrect -- the Human Touch tour had a break in the middle. Working straight through started with the Reunion Tour.
