I have often been accused that some of my favourite Bruce Springsteen songs are from the original "Tracks" CD set. "These are outtakes" they told me, "they're not from a 'proper' album". "How can they be your favourite songs?". Well there is a reason for that. When Springsteen consigned some of his songs to the vault it wasn't because they weren't good enough. It was just that they didn't fit into the particular album he was preparing at the time. More of these songs resurfaced on the deluxe box set editions of older albums that were re-released ("The Promise - The Darkness On The Edge Of Town Story" and "The Ties That Bind - The River Collection") however in the case of "Tracks II" we're talking about whole albums that went missing.
You will probably wonder why I'm reviewing this now almost a year after it has been released. Well, it was a very expensive box set. Very expensive. There's certainly no comparison with the original "Tracks" nor with the larger "Darkness" and "River" box sets. (We're still waiting for the "Born In The U.S.A." one by the way. Just sayin'). I couldn't buy it when it came out. I had to go to Milano to see Bruce live remember?
I did get a taste of what was in there when I managed to get the "Lost And Found - Selections From The Lost Albums" 2CD set. And I very much liked what I heard. Finally I managed to get the whole set in December, using my credit card to pay in installments. Which means I'm still paying for it. And during the Christmas holidays I found the time to sit down and listen to it. And one of the reasons I'm writing this review is that I didn't expect to like it so much. I would listen to two albums every day and it was like "Wow! A new Bruce Springsteen album!". And then "Wow! Another new Bruce Springsteen album!". Bliss!
So, let's start at the beginning: "LA Garage Sessions '83". This is classic 80's Bruce and several of the songs are clearly in demo form. There are several songs we were already familiar with, some from b-sides ("Johnny Bye Bye", "Shut Out The Light"), some from concerts and bootlegs ("Follow That Dream") and there's even an alternate version of "My Hometown" thrown in for good measure.
Next up is "Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions". That was the one I was mostly looking forward to. There was always talk about that "lost electronic album" from the 90's where Bruce plays synthesizers and uses drum loops. Now I have been accused (by the same people, mind you) that "I listen to that electronic stuff a lot". It's true. I like synth-pop and during the 90's I was into dance music. So I was intrigued that Bruce had the same influences and filled a whole album with them. As he mentioned on the book that is inside the box set he bought CD's full of drum tracks (maybe some that I own as well from Simon Harris's "Beats Breaks And Scratches" series? Who knows?). In the same book he goes on to say that they used these drum loops but later replaced them and played them themselves. They did keep a couple though and one of them is in the version of "Secret Garden" that's featured here. And as an added bonus, "Waiting On The End Of The World" is another song on this album, a track that previously I could only find on a YouTube video featuring an image of a Rolling Stone issue with Bruce on the cover.
The next album in the set is "Faithless", a soundtrack to a film that was never made. That was the one I expected to like the least. I thought that it wouldn't work without having seen the film. But, there is no film, is there?. That fact alone makes this conversation irrelevant. As expected, there are a few instrumentals, but the title track is my favourite.
"Somewhere North Of Nashville", the next album is a country album that Bruce was working on simultaneously with "Ghost Of Tom Joad". I was surprised to find here alternate versions of my two favourite b-sides "Stand On It" and "Janey Don't You Lose Heart".
"Inyo" on the other hand, is Bruce's "Mexican" album if you can call it that. The songs tell stories that take place around te Mexican border which immediately bring "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" to mind.
The penultimate album "Twilight Hours" is the companion to "Western Stars" with more Burt Bacharach and less Glen Campbell this time Now this is one album I really didn't expect to like. I wouldn't want to listen to Bruce playing the "crooner", I thought. But, surprise, surprise, it's one of my favourite albums on the set. Maybe I'm getting old... Anyway, "Sunday Love" is simply brilliant and "I'll Stand By You" which was originally written for the first Harry Potter movie but was later featured in the "Blinded By The Light" film is also included here.
Finally "Perfect World" wasn't a "lost album" per se, but something that was put together by Bruce collecting tracks from the vault with several of them being quite recent. This could have easily been an E Street band album and "You Lifted Me Up" is one of my favourite songs of the whole box set.
All in all, "Tracks II - The Lost Albums" made my Christmas holiday much brighter and I still wonder why Bruce wouldn't released these albums one by one every couple of years. It would have been cheaper for the fans. Aah, but I can't complain... I finally BOUGHT IT! (And Bruce promises there are more tracks in the vault)
On Monday, October 20 2025 the Greek Official Premiere of the "Springsteen - Deliver Me From Nowhere" took place at Danaos Cinema in Athens. Members of "No Surrender", the Greek Springsteen Community were invited. The trouble was I was working until 9pm that evening and I could not be at the cinema in time for the movie. However, the premiere was more than just a showing of the movie. After the movie Greek artists would be playing Springsteen songs, mainly from "Nebraska". As expected, I arrived just after the movie had ended, but before the music had started.
Despite not seeing the movie, it was a fun night and I saw friends that I hadn't seen in years while our MC was entertaining us with stories from the tours we had attended.
I would see the movie 12 days later, on Saturday, November 1 at Village Cinemas Mall. It was a good thing that I did not delay this any further, since that was the last week it was shown in cinemas. Meanwhile, I was reading reviews and articles from the States on the internet which claimed the film was a flop. Well, no surprise, there. You can't make a movie about "Nebraska", Bruce's most "difficult" album and expect it to be a blockbuster! Who's going to be interested in it apart from us, the hardcore fans? If, instead of "Nebraska", the film was telling the story of the making of "Born In The USA" and its subsequent tour, it would be a box office smash equal perhaps to "Bohemian Rhapsody"!
I liked the movie even though the scriptwriter took some liberties with what really happened. That is to be expected, though from Hollywood movies as we have already seen in "Bohemian Rhapsody". All in all it was an enjoyable Saturday night, despite the fact that I'm not a fan of multiplex cinemas.
When, last year, the tickets of this year's tour went on sale, I didn't have any money. But even if I had, it would be very difficult to get a ticket, because this tour basically was a series of rescheduled shows that were cancelled last year when Bruce got sick and had problems with his voice. Which meant that most tickets were already sold and only the tickets of those who had requested their money back would be available. However, i have never since 2008 not attended at least one show each time Bruce was touring Europe. I thought to myself "maybe later I will try to find a second-hand ticket for Milano". Why Milano? Probably because it was the closest - and easiest - destination and I had done this several times in the past.
And so it happened, that during the Christmas holidays I saw a post on a Facebook group of someone selling a ticket fro Milano. After making several enquiries about it (I was mainly concerned about the name printed on the ticket and whether the Italians were going to check ID's), I grabbed it. It was quite a rare specimen because it was a proper printed ticket. Not a computer printout, a proper old-fashioned ticket. A couple of months later I booked my hotel and during the Easter holidays I booked my flight.
When the day finally came, I got on the plane, got to Milano and then went straight to the stadium because my hotel room wasn't ready yet. My usual hotel in the city had been renovated during the pandemic and had now raised its prices to unaffordable levels, but thankfully I found a new affordable one which is also close to the train station. I met an Italian friend outside the stadium and I was able to get my customary tour t-shirt in peace before the crowds arrived. Then I finally made my way to the hotel where after a quick shower (there was a heatwave in Milano during that period) and buying some supplies from the supermarket I headed back to San Siro full of anxiety and doubts on whether the ticket would be recognized when scanned because it was from last year or that I would not be allowed entry because of the wrong ID. Of course nothing of the sort happened and within minutes I was in San Siro for the first time in almost nine years!
Once I was in, I headed for my seat. Thus situation was different this time. Although I wasn't in the arena, I didn't have to climb all the way to the 3rd tier. My seat was at ground level on the first row, just beside the arena. One of the best seats in the house you could say. All around me were people of different nationalities. In fact, beside me there was a Scottish mother and daughter. And while we were waiting there was another thing to worry about: Would Steve make it to the concert? He had undergone surgery a few days before while on tour in Spain and had not performed in the last couple of concerts, the second one at San Sebastian and the one at Gelsenlkirchner. He had said that he hoped to make it for the second one in Milano. However, this was the first Milano concert...
So when Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band appeared on stage starting with "No Surrender" we were both surprised and relieved that Steve was with them. They then continued with "My Love Will Not Let You Down". Naturally, I have loved that song ever since I first heard it on "Tracks", but now it always brings to my mind the version performed by Meryl Streep (yes, you've read that right, Meryl Streep) and her backing band which included Rick Springfield (who many people back in the day confused with Bruce) in the film "Ricki And The Flash". They followed that with "Land Of Hope And Dreams" which you would of course expect them to play since it's the song that lends its name to this year's European leg of the tour, but it has a special significance for me and San Siro, because it was this song that opened the 2013 concert in that stadium and the next one that I attended which was the first 2016 one once again in San Siro!
As they went on I realized how different - and happier - this year's setlists were compared to the ones from 2024 and 2023. Bruce hasn't forgotten his "Letter To You" album, but each year he focuses on different tracks from it. In 2023 and 2024 he was performing the title track and "Ghosts", but also, in acoustic versions, "Last Man Standing" and "I'll See You In My Dreams" which along with "Backstreets" and the story that he was telling us before this song gave the whole setlist a sad feel, remembering friends who had gone. I went along with it because I had then also experienced a loss in my family. Last year he also added "If I Was The Priest", my favourite from that album. Yes, I know that it was one of his old songs that he had reworked for "Letter To You" but that doesn't change the fact that it is a masterpiece and I was glad that I got to hear it both in Cardiff and Belfast. This year however Bruce has decided to celebrate life. So both "Last Man Standing" and "I'll See You In My Dreams" were gone, but he chose two different tracks from "Letter To You". One was a special acoustic version of "House Of A Thousand Guitars" (another favourite, but I prefer the full band version) and the other one was "Rainmaker" which fit into another theme that he was exploring this year: protest (mainly having to do with the situation in the States).
Which is why he also plays "Death To My Hometown", "Youngstown", "Murder Incorporated" and closes each concert with "Chimes Of Freedom" which is another song that I was first eager to hear when I realized that it was a regular this year, and then glad that I finally got to experience it. Along with "Death To My Hometown" he also played the title track from "Wrecking Ball" which goes to show that he still holds that album in high regard. Now, there are several people who say that all Bruce albums after "The Rising" aren't that good, but I strongly disagree. "Magic" was a great album, and "Wrecking Ball" was of course, not just a great album but also very relevant to the time when it was released and I argued about that 10 years after it had come out. Of course most people agree that "Working On A Dream" and "High Hopes" are not that exceptional because they were written and recorded while on tour, but I have a special connection with the former because i had attended four concerts from that tour in which "Outlaw Pete" and the title track were regulars. As if to prove my point about "Magic" (I attended my first Bruce concert on that tour) he also brought back "Long Walk Home". Most of the regular tracks were also performed especially during the encore (from which "Glory Days" was strangely missing) in addition to a full band version of "Thunder Road".
As I left the stadium and headed to the San Siro underground station (with the by now familiar counters showing how many people can enter each time) I had a smile on my face and a satisfaction that even with those difficulties, I managed to attend at least one Bruce concert this year. As I was saying to a friend of mine during the Hooters concert a few days before, Bruce is my therapist. And a week later, from the comfort of my own home I had the chance to somehow relive the experience when a friend of mine who had attended the second Milano concert (which was a lot similar but had a few differences) played the whole setlist on his radio show...
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