For decades, Bruce Springsteen has kept a treasure trove of unreleased songs hidden, sharing them only with close friends.
Now, the rock legend is about to unveil Tracks II: The Lost Albums, a collection of over 70 unreleased tracks recorded between 1983 and 2018, to be released on June 27 via Sony Music. The announcement, made Thursday, promises one of the year’s most anticipated music events.
75-year-old Springsteen, described the seven full albums as experiments in ‘new forms, new genres and new sonic modalities.’ The works, meticulously recorded and mixed, but shelved for years, were archived because ‘something I felt was missing or they didn’t feel complete at the time.’ The pandemic allowed him to revisit his vault, finishing what he calls a ‘small collection of full albums’ that dispel the rumours of a ‘lost period’ in the 1990s. ‘I was working the whole time,’ he has been reported as saying.
Springsteen’s 74 lost tracks never heard outside circle of friends
The release includes 82 tracks, 74 of which have never been played outside of his own circle of friends, offered in a nine-LP or seven-CD box set, plus digital formats. A companion set, Lost and Found: Selections from The Lost Albums, highlights 20 of the best tracks. The most notable ones include LA Garage Sessions ’83, with 18 songs from the Born in the USA era, and Streets of Philadelphia Sessions, revealing a hip-hop edge from his Oscar-winning 1993 hit. Other albums like Faithless, linked to an unfinished movie, and the Somewhere North of Nashville with a country-edge, demonstrate a departure from more expected sounds.
Reflecting on the shelved works in his memoir, he wrote, ‘That’s where she sits.’ Now, fans will finally hear the rest of the story. Tracks II: The Lost Albums will be released on June 27.
