Not bootlegs, B-sides or omitted songs from past albums (as in the 1998 Tracks outtakes release), this veritable mountain of unreleased gems – a whopping seven albums spanning 1983–2018 with 82 unreleased songs and over five hours in a treasure trove of discovery for devoted and new fans. Springsteen has always been prolific, but this collection matches the depth of Dylan and Young. Anthemic rock bangers to intimate ballads, country, blues, acoustic folk and and crooner, even phases where synth pop, gospel and almost trip-hop can be found are all here, and among the highlights Spanish poetry translated, joined mariachi ban on the track Inyo (Disc 5) telling stories the tale of the California water wars, with citations from the book The Mexican Corrido: A Feminist Analysis. On Disc 3, there’s the beautifully tender song Faithless, from a score composed for a mid-2000s “spiritual western” film that never got made, this particular track, alongside also few instrumentals, not unlike one of the gentler acoustic Tom Waits-style numbers with pedal steel.
But above all on this huge landscape of songs, there are numerous high-quality numbers that in many ways outshine the albums he actually released, especially those in the 21st century. From Disc 1 to Disc 7 an can be evolution heard. In the first there’s that classic 80s Springsteen mainstream crooner, but particularly for Discs 3 to 7 there are some particularly gorgeous and poignant songs. Listening to this vast collection can be lucky dip process, but mostly the result brings good fortune, such as the Dylanesque Delivery Man and classic mid-career Springssteen Under The Big Sky (Disc 4), the gypsy violin and Mexican feel of The Lost Charro, or other beautiful melancholy ballads from Disc 5 such as Ciudad Juarez (with trumpet), closing with When I Build My Beautiful House; Disc 6’s tender waltz Sunday Love, the piano number Lonely Town, or the full orchestra epic High Sierra, to Disc 7’s The Great Depression, the full-blast slow banger Rain In The River, or the poignantly sad If I Could Only Be Your Lover, it’s an extraordinary collection of discarded songs. A collection that needs time and devotion, but effort that’s definitely well spent. Out on Columbia Records.
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