Bruce Springsteen is returning to his archives for a new box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums, which includes seven unreleased LPs recorded between 1983 through 2018.
More than 80 songs are collected on the upcoming set, which will be released on June 27. Albums run from LA Garage Sessions ’83, the on-road ramp to Born in the U.S.A., to the more recent Perfect World.
“The Lost Albums were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released,” Springsteen said in a press release. “I’ve played this music to myself and often close friends for years now. I’m glad you’ll get a chance to finally hear them. I hope you enjoy them.”
You can watch a trailer for the set below.
Springsteen first teased the project in late 2022, soon after the release of his most recent album, Only the Strong Survive, which included covers of some of his favorite soul songs.
“People look at my work in the ’90s, and they go, ‘The ’90s wasn’t a great decade for Bruce. He was kind of doing this, and he wasn’t in the E Street Band,'” he noted at the time, adding that he spent some time “completely cleaning out the vault.”
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“I actually made a lot of music during that period of time. I actually made albums. For one reason or another, the timing wasn’t right or whatever, [and] I didn’t put them out.”
The first volume of Tracks, a four-disc box set, came out in 1998 and included songs that covered Springsteen’s entire career up to that point. Starting with four 1972 demos of songs that later appeared on his 1973 debut, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., and winding through unreleased cuts from Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and Born in the U.S.A. and concluding with an outtake from 1995’s The Ghost of Tom Joad, the set gathered many, but not all, of Springsteen’s leftovers.
Box sets dedicated to Darkness on the Edge of Town and 1980’s The River – from 2010 and 2015 – included dozens of outtakes from both albums’ lengthy sessions. The new Tracks II features recordings dating to 1983, soon after Springsteen released the solo Nebraska and began work on the superstar-making Born in the U.S.A.
What’s on Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Tracks II: The Lost Albums’?
The seven “lost albums” include LA Garage Sessions ’83, Streets of Philadelphia Sessions, Faithless, Somewhere North of Nashville, Inyo, Twilight Hours and Perfect World.
You can see the track listings for the albums below. It will be available as a seven-CD, nine vinyl LPs and digital sets. An abridged version of the collection, Lost And Found: Selections from The Lost Albums, will be released on the same day and feature 20 songs from the various LPs.
Several songs familiar to Springsteen fans show up throughout the albums, including the B-side “Johnny Bye Bye,” an early version of “My Hometown” and “Stand on It” and “Janey Don’t You Lose Heart,” B-sides that appeared on the first Tracks volume.
You can hear “Rain in the River,” from Perfect World, below.
Bruce Springsteen, ‘Tracks II: The Lost Albums’ Track Listing LA Garage Sessions ’831. Follow That Dream2. Don’t Back Down On Our Love3. Little Girl Like You4. Johnny Bye Bye5. Sugarland6. Seven Tears7. Fugitive’s Dream8. Black Mountain Ballad9. Jim Deer10. County Fair11. My Hometown12. One Love13. Don’t Back Down14. Richfield Whistle15. The Klansman16. Unsatisfied Heart17. Shut Out The Light18. Fugitive’s Dream (Ballad)
Streets of Philadelphia Sessions1. Blind Spot2. Maybe I Don’t Know You3. Something In The Well4. Waiting On The End Of The World5. The Little Things6. We Fell Down7. One Beautiful Morning8. Between Heaven and Earth9. Secret Garden10. The Farewell Party
Faithless1. The Desert (Instrumental)2. Where You Goin’, Where You From3. Faithless4. All God’s Children5. A Prayer By The River (Instrumental)6. God Sent You7. Goin’ To California8. The Western Sea (Instrumental)9. My Master’s Hand10. Let Me Ride11. My Master’s Hand (Theme)
Somewhere North of Nashville1. Repo Man2. Tiger Rose3. Poor Side of Town4. Delivery Man5. Under A Big Sky6. Detail Man7. Silver Mountain8. Janey Don’t You Lose Heart9. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone10. Stand On It11. Blue Highway12. Somewhere North of Nashville
Inyo1. Inyo2. Indian Town3. Adelita4. The Aztec Dance5. The Lost Charro6. Our Lady of Monroe7. El Jardinero (Upon the Death of Ramona)8. One False Move9. Ciudad Juarez10. When I Build My Beautiful House
Twilight Hours1. Sunday Love2. Late in the Evening3. Two of Us4. Lonely Town5. September Kisses6. Twilight Hours7. I’ll Stand By You8. High Sierra9. Sunliner10. Another You11. Dinner at Eight12. Follow The Sun
Perfect World1. I’m Not Sleeping2. Idiot’s Delight3. Another Thin Line4. The Great Depression5. Blind Man6. Rain In The River7. If I Could Only Be Your Lover8. Cutting Knife9. You Lifted Me Up10. Perfect World
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Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci
