“Jesse” is a lost demo from the pre-Columbia years, but its DNA would turn up later in “Sandy” and “New York City Serenade.” It’s well worth a listen and deserves an official release.
Category: Roll of the Dice
“Code of Silence” is Bruce’s only live recording to win a Grammy, but his studio version with Joe Grushecky is pretty great, too.
Bruce grappled with depression through song as early as 1968, as this unreleased entry from his notebook demonstrates.
“The Brokenhearted” is Roy Orbison meets The Drifters, and 1977 Bruce meets 2010 Bruce. The style mash-up works, the vocal graft not so much.
“One Step Up” is one of Bruce’s finest moments as singer, songwriter, and actor. It’s a brutally honest, self-aware inner dialogue of a man about to stray, and it gave rise to one of the most emotional performances I’ve ever seen live.
Bruce’s 1998 cover of “We Shall Overcome” helps keep this most potent of protest songs alive and fresh for a new generation.
Bruce wrote and performed “When You Dance” with The Bruce Springsteen Band long before Southside Johnny covered and released it, and Bruce’s early guitar-jam version is an unreleased gem that belong’s in every fan’s collection.
A couple of years ago, news leaked of an unreleased Springsteen song about Harry Potter, and it wasn’t long before the song leaked, too. This one probably should stay in the vault.
“The Line” is Bruce at his most cinematic and empathetic, a masterpiece of taut storytelling written years before immigration reform dominated the national discourse.
Bruce originally included “Cindy” on The River back when it was only one disc, but he discarded it before finalizing the two-disc version. That’s too bad, because like “Hungry Heart,” its pop trappings combined with dark lyrics make for a perfect album fit.