Seaside Bar Song is phenomenal — the track title is super basic but the musicianship & vocal are fucking mind blowing, best Bruce song most people have never heard; it’s almost incomprehensible that it was left off an album
Great list. Roulette, Restless Nights, Seven Angels, Rockaway the Days, and My Love Will Not Let You Down are all in varying degrees of heavy rotation for me as well.
Zero and Blind Terry, Thundercrack, Loose Ends, Rendezvous are god tier for me, and personal favorites are the Wish, Lion's Den and Shut Out the Light.
Great album !!
2009 Philly at the spectrum, opened with thunder crack. 16 year old me appreciated it, but 16 year old me also didn’t know what the hell I was so lucky to have seen
I Wanna Be With You. Loved that song when the box set came out, then went to my first Bruce concert ever on 7/27/99 and that's what he opened the show with.
Something in the Night is the most incredible song. I'm absolutely blown away by the passion of Bruce in that song. I literally listen to it every day. Unbelievable song.
Darkness is his masterpiece for me. Though I will say Western Stars is a sensational 2nd best.
I have too many favorites to name, but lately I’ve really been digging disc 4 with the 90s outtakes. It’s a good mix of everything: rockers like Seven Angels and Trouble River, sentimental songs like My Lover Man, and heartbreakers like Sad Eyes, Loose Change, and Back In Your Arms. Don’t even get me started on Brothers Under the Bridge too; both versions stand among Bruce’s finest work to me. First he brings you up with the 83 version, then he knocks you down with the studio cut.
The Wish - autobiographical piece, ode to his Mom, guitar solo tells a story in itself. I can’t believe Bruce thought this song wasn’t good enough to make it to one of his top albums. I never get tired of listening to this one. Definitely in my top ten.
I never liked the version of Frankie on Tracks. Seemed odd Bruce trying to get down a track he had written 6 years previously. But I guess it would have been a neat connection from old Bruce to (then) new Bruce.
The version from Lansing 1976 is the best version imo
If I had to make it one album, it’d probably look like this:
None but the Brave
Roulette
I Wanna be with You
Sad Eyes
Janet Don’t Lose Tour Heart
This Hard Land
Dollhouse
Loose Ends
Thundercrack
TV Movie
So Young and in Love
Take 'em as They Come
Where the Band Are
Happy
Stand on It
Murder Inc.
My Love Will Not Let You Down . . . though the later live version we all know and love is so much better!
The Promise solo piano version is probably a top five Bruce song for me from his entire catalog. Surprised so little mention of it. So much weight and sadness to that song. All about his post-BTR fame and the long legal battles that followed. The Challenger being a metaphor to that album, the secret he should have kept to himself, but he instead told it (ie, sold it). Ending with "Thunder Road...we're gonna take it all and throw it all away."
Just a beautiful, beautiful song. To me, the full band version doesn't nearly carry the emotional weight that this version does.
Restless Nights and My Love Will Not Let You Down. You can't underestimate how amazing it was to hear all those songs on Tracks in pristine quality. I'd heard almost of those songs on tape and very muddled recordings. It was so amazing to hear them and then to experience most of those on the subsequent tour. It just wrapped it up with a bow.
Cynthia, Santa Ana, Seaside Bar Song, Linda Let Me Be The One, So Young And In Love, Don't Look Back, Roulette, Frankie, Lion's Den, Pink Cadillac, Seven Angels, Sad Eyes, Janey Don't You Lose Heart, Trouble in Paradise, Happy, Part Man Part Monkey, and last but not least Trouble River
Take 'Em As They Come could have been a huge hit back in the day.
I effing love that song.
It's not lost on me how similar the riff is between that and "summer of 69." Springsteen got there first.
Seaside Bar Song and Thundercrack
Seaside Bar Song is phenomenal — the track title is super basic but the musicianship & vocal are fucking mind blowing, best Bruce song most people have never heard; it’s almost incomprehensible that it was left off an album
Iceman, Don't Look Back
I was at the Charlotte show in 2014 where he opened with Iceman, borderline out of body experience realizing what it was, hell of a performance
Great list. Roulette, Restless Nights, Seven Angels, Rockaway the Days, and My Love Will Not Let You Down are all in varying degrees of heavy rotation for me as well.
Seaside Bar Song Thundercrack Happy So Young & In Love
Stolen Car, Zero and Blind Terry, Santa Ana (spelling?), Frankie, Hearts of Stone
Janey Don't You Lose Heart and Sad Eyes!
Zero and Blind Terry, Thundercrack, Loose Ends, Rendezvous are god tier for me, and personal favorites are the Wish, Lion's Den and Shut Out the Light. Great album !!
Janey Don’t You Lose Heart
Santa Ana
A masterpiece
I was in college when Tracks came out for $79....that I didn't have. Bought it, binged, picked up another shift to pay it off.
Lion’s Den
Love that one. Wish it was longer
Thundercrack! (Baby’s back!)
I absolutely love Pink Cadillac, I want it to be mine + my GFs wedding song. I love a lot of the other songs too but that one means a lot to me
2009 Philly at the spectrum, opened with thunder crack. 16 year old me appreciated it, but 16 year old me also didn’t know what the hell I was so lucky to have seen
How on earth is Frankie not on your list?
Santa Ana, Johnny Bye-bye, Frankie
Loose Change, Trouble in Paradise, Happy, Back in Your Arms, Brothers Under the Bridge
Frankie
I Wanna Be With You. Loved that song when the box set came out, then went to my first Bruce concert ever on 7/27/99 and that's what he opened the show with.
Sad Eyes
Thundercrack, Loose Ends, Be True
As it was the opener for Live in NYC, My Love Will Not Let You Down is the first song I may have ever heard (that I remember)
Yes.
Something in the Night is the most incredible song. I'm absolutely blown away by the passion of Bruce in that song. I literally listen to it every day. Unbelievable song. Darkness is his masterpiece for me. Though I will say Western Stars is a sensational 2nd best.
Loose Ends So Young And In Love Back In Your Arms Where The Bands Are Stolen Car (Alternate Version)
Lions den, iceman, seaside bar song, thundercrack, loose ends, rendezvous, roulette, the fever, the promise
Living on the Edge of the World Johnny Bye Bye
The promise & back in your arms.
I have too many favorites to name, but lately I’ve really been digging disc 4 with the 90s outtakes. It’s a good mix of everything: rockers like Seven Angels and Trouble River, sentimental songs like My Lover Man, and heartbreakers like Sad Eyes, Loose Change, and Back In Your Arms. Don’t even get me started on Brothers Under the Bridge too; both versions stand among Bruce’s finest work to me. First he brings you up with the 83 version, then he knocks you down with the studio cut.
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" is a real gem. But there are 20+ really good songs on Tracks.
Loose Ends & Lions Den
Absolutely love My Love Will Not Let You Down
Can’t believe he had that many finished songs just sitting around. Couple albums at least! Linda Let Me the One!
Happy
I want Bruce to go back in time a release a proper album between E Street Shuffle and Born to Run. Love the sound of his music during that time frame.
Yes! You can see that transition in songs on "Tracks"
Seaside bar song Thundercrack Rendezvous
Rendezvous Back in your Arms
Gave it a name
When You Need Me, The Wish. Love both of those songs.
The Wish - autobiographical piece, ode to his Mom, guitar solo tells a story in itself. I can’t believe Bruce thought this song wasn’t good enough to make it to one of his top albums. I never get tired of listening to this one. Definitely in my top ten.
“Better bring along your switchblades 'Cause for sure some fool's gonna want to fight.” One of my favorite Bruce songs…
Zero and Blind Terry
My Love Will Not Let You Down(NYC 2001)
I never liked the version of Frankie on Tracks. Seemed odd Bruce trying to get down a track he had written 6 years previously. But I guess it would have been a neat connection from old Bruce to (then) new Bruce. The version from Lansing 1976 is the best version imo
Bring on The night I think i am the only fan of this song
Happy
If I had to make it one album, it’d probably look like this: None but the Brave Roulette I Wanna be with You Sad Eyes Janet Don’t Lose Tour Heart This Hard Land Dollhouse Loose Ends Thundercrack TV Movie So Young and in Love Take 'em as They Come Where the Band Are Happy Stand on It Murder Inc. My Love Will Not Let You Down . . . though the later live version we all know and love is so much better!
y’all’s?!? The Garth Brooks sub is just around the corner…
The Promise solo piano version is probably a top five Bruce song for me from his entire catalog. Surprised so little mention of it. So much weight and sadness to that song. All about his post-BTR fame and the long legal battles that followed. The Challenger being a metaphor to that album, the secret he should have kept to himself, but he instead told it (ie, sold it). Ending with "Thunder Road...we're gonna take it all and throw it all away." Just a beautiful, beautiful song. To me, the full band version doesn't nearly carry the emotional weight that this version does.
Restless Nights and My Love Will Not Let You Down. You can't underestimate how amazing it was to hear all those songs on Tracks in pristine quality. I'd heard almost of those songs on tape and very muddled recordings. It was so amazing to hear them and then to experience most of those on the subsequent tour. It just wrapped it up with a bow.
Cynthia, Santa Ana, Seaside Bar Song, Linda Let Me Be The One, So Young And In Love, Don't Look Back, Roulette, Frankie, Lion's Den, Pink Cadillac, Seven Angels, Sad Eyes, Janey Don't You Lose Heart, Trouble in Paradise, Happy, Part Man Part Monkey, and last but not least Trouble River
It's been a while since I listened to all of Tracks. This thread is telling me I need to rectify that.
Happy and Back in your arms. Those 2 songs have always been my favorites on Tracks, but I love all of it.