4 Fantastic Songs Unearthed on Bruce Springsteen’s First Collection of ‘Tracks’

Bruce Springsteen is opening up his vaults more than ever before these days. Earlier this year, he delivered another version of Tracks filled with complete, unreleased albums. The long-awaited electric version of Nebraska is up next.

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We still have a soft spot in our hearts for the first Tracks compilation, released back in 1998. Since there were four compact discs at the heart of the original release, we thought we’d pick one absolute gem from each to highlight here.

“Zero And Blind Terry”

Springsteen showed vast improvement from his debut with The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, his second album of 1973. The music swung a bit more confidently, and the storytelling evoked all the wonder and heartbreak of being young. He must have felt he had too many story songs already on the record. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have benched “Zero And Blind Terry”, which was recorded during the sessions for the record. The song features a young couple caught amidst warring gangs, not unlike the scenario for his classic “Jungleland”. This time around, there’s even a bit of a supernatural element to add to the mix. Springsteen sings it all with the grizzled slur of an old-timer looking back on more romantic times.

“Loose Ends”

Of all the songs on Tracks, this one sounds most like it could have been a hit single. And it might have been, had Springsteen not made the last-minute choice to change the plans for his fifth album. He originally had settled on a single disc called The Ties That Bind, which included “Loose Ends”. When he expanded to The River, a double album, he shelved the track. That’s always stood out as one of the most curious decisions of his career. This song features the E Street Band at their most muscular, right down to Clarence Clemons’ impassioned sax solo. And it also includes one of the most memorable choruses in Springsteen’s career, even if the mention of a noose within it skews a bit dark.

“The Wish”

You could make a pretty impressive playlist out of songs that Springsteen wrote about the strained relationship he endured with his father. As one example, there’s “Walk Like A Man”, which he featured on his 1987 album Tunnel Of Love. One other song from those same sessions might have thrown a spotlight on his much smoother relationship with his mother. “The Wish” is Springsteen’s heartfelt tribute to Adele Ann Springsteen. He looks back on how she encouraged her son’s interest in music when he was younger. After admiring her quiet resilience and fortitude through the years, Springsteen switches to the present day and asks his Mom to dance in celebration of how far they’ve come.

“Happy”

Springsteen released two albums’ worth of new material on the same day in 1992. There was Human Touch, which found him recording with a mostly new backing band. Lucky Town, meanwhile, featured Springsteen doing a lot of the work himself. He recorded “Happy” for possible inclusion on that DIY record. And though Lucky Town stands as a solid set, it certainly could have benefited from the inclusion of this beauty. Like many of the songs from that era, it touches on his union with wife Patti Scialfa. While “Happy” certainly points to the grace that he found within that relationship, it also hints at the darker times before he reached that point. As a result, it feels like an autobiography rendered in a relatable fashion.

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