{"id":23737,"date":"2021-01-10T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-10T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/?p=23737"},"modified":"2021-12-21T11:28:40","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T19:28:40","slug":"roll-of-the-dice-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estreetshuffle.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/10\/roll-of-the-dice-missing\/","title":{"rendered":"Roll of the Dice: Missing"},"content":{"rendered":"

“I got together a lot of samples and loops and started to put this album together. It was fun; I enjoyed doing it, but I needed two or three more songs, and for some reason, I never got around to writing them. So I put it away. Eventually, I\u2019m going to find a way to get this music out to people. —\u00a0Bruce Springsteen,\u00a0Time Magazine,\u00a0<\/em>November 16, 1998<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bruce Springsteen loves a good curveball.<\/p>\n

He’s been throwing them as far back as\u00a0<\/em>Nebraska<\/em> in 1982 and as recently as\u00a0Western Stars<\/em> in 2018.<\/p>\n

But for all the unexpected albums he’s surprised and challenged us with over the years, perhaps the biggest curveball was his 1994 solo album–the one he has yet to release.<\/p>\n

Riding a triumphant comeback wave with his Oscar-winning hit “Streets of Philadelphia” (following a pair of albums and tours with mixed reviews and sales), Bruce decided to mine the vein he unearthed for “Streets of Philadelphia<\/a>” and see where it led him.<\/p>\n

In his temporary home studio in Los Angeles (the Springsteens were actually living in Bruce’s regular home studio following a major earthquake in January ’94), Bruce collected a catalog of recorded drum loops, pulled out a synthesizer, and over the course of a year crafted almost an album’s worth of songs.<\/p>\n

First alluding to it during his promotional tour for\u00a0Tracks<\/em>, the album became known among fans as “the hip hop album,” although from what I’ve read and heard I suspect it might be more accurate to call it “the EDM album.” Either descriptor would have been enough to raise fans’ eyebrows.<\/p>\n

Only one song from those sessions ever saw the light of day, however–and only because one of Bruce’s friends asked for a favor.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the year, Sean Penn invited Bruce to preview Penn’s upcoming film, The Crossing Guard.<\/em> Bruce liked it, and when he mentioned to Sean that he was actively working on new music, Penn let it be known that he would very much like to include one of Bruce’s new songs if Bruce had anything he felt would be appropriate for the film.<\/p>\n

Three days later, Sean Penn was in possession of a brand new Bruce Springsteen song, and when\u00a0The Crossing Guard\u00a0<\/em>debuted in theaters in late 1995, “Missing” played over the opening credits. (It plays in full over the end credits as well.)<\/p>\n