Bruce Springsteen recently released a previously unheard song called “Adelita” as the latest advance track from his forthcoming archival box set, Tracks II: The Lost Albums. Now, a companion music video for the mariachi-inspired tune has premiered at his official YouTube channel.
Videos by American Songwriter
As previously reported, “Adelita” is a track from Inyo, one of the seven previously unheard albums featured on Tracks II. Inyo features 10 songs Springsteen wrote while living in Southern California during the 1990s. They were inspired by a series of motorcycle trips Bruce he took through the Southwest. The tunes were influenced by regional Mexican folk music, with several tracks featuring a mariachi band, including “Adelita.”
The video simply features high-res footage of the High Desert region of California. The clip captures the rocky, arid landscape and Joshua trees lit by a setting or rising sun.
The location reflects the theme of the song, which is an ode to a “soldadera,” a Mexican women who took part in the country’s fight for independence during the early 1900s. The tune shares its theme with “La Adelita,” a popular Mexican “corrido”—a type of narrative folk ballad.
More Details About “Adelita” and the Inyo Album
Musically, “Adelita” is highlighted by the soaring strings and majestic horns of a mariachi band. Springsteen is accompanied on the track by a group made up of Luis Villalobos and Alberto Villalobos on violin, Angel Ramos on lute, Humberto Manuel Flores Gutierrez and Miguel Ponce on bass, David Glukh on trumpet, and Jorge Espinosa on harp. The song also features producer Ron Aniello on guitar and accordion and Barry Danielian on trumpet.
As Springsteen explained in a press statement, much of the material on Inyo was written while he was on tour promoting his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad.
“I was enjoying that kind of writing so much,” Bruce noted. “[While on tour,] I would go home to the hotel room at night and continue to write in that style because I thought I was going to follow up The Ghost of Tom Joad with a similar record, but I didn’t. That’s where Inyo came from. It’s one of my favorites.”
Regarding the album’s inspiration, Springsteen said, “Inyo was a record I wrote in California during long drives along the California aqueduct, up through Inyo County on my way to Yosemite or Death Valley.”
The statement also explained that some songs on Inyo focus on “how border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. has affected generations and the cultural losses endured as a result.”
More About the Tracks II Box Set
As previously reported, Tracks II: The Lost Albums will be released on June 27. The seven albums featured in the package include recordings spanning from 1983 through 2018.
Besides Inyo, the box set features six other full-length albums: LA Garage Sessions ’83, Streets of Philadelphia Sessions, Faithless, Somewhere North of Nashville, Twilight Hours, and Perfect World.
Tracks II, which can be pre-ordered now, is available as a limited-edition nine-LP set, a seven-CD collection, and via digital formats.
A companion album to Tracks II, titled Lost and Found: Selections from The Lost Albums, also will be released June 27. The 20-song collection will be available on CD and as a two-LP set.
Springsteen’s 2025 Tour Plans
Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off a 2025 European tour on May 14 in Manchester, U.K. The 16-date trek is mapped out through a July 3 concert in Milan, Italy. The next show on the tour takes place Wednesday, June 4, at Anfield Stadium in Liverpool, U.K.
(Photo by Martin Philbey/Redferns)
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.