"Pretenders 1979–1999" by PRETENDERS - Covering Eight Albums from Their Debut "Pretenders" (January 1980) to "Viva El Amor!" (May 1999) – All Eight Are Deluxe Special Edition Digipaks with Remastered Albums, B-sides, Previously Unreleased Tracks, Live Versions and Promo Videos plus BBV TV Appearances (February 2015 UK Demon Music Group/Edsel/Rhino 22-Disc Limited Edition Box Set with 14CDs (189 Audio) and 8DVDS (68 Visuals with No Regional Restrictions) in a Hard Card Slipcase Presentation Box) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Hymn To Her..."

 

I have always loved Chrissie Hynde and her fantastic Pretenders band – they rocked then and they still do now. I was lucky enough therefore to have a few squid at the February 2015 time and get this bad-boy onto my shelves with a frankly naughty look of glee. Huge amounts of Tattooed Love Boys, Room Full of Mirrors and Last Of The Independents to wade through – here is the detail dirt...

 

UK released 16 February 2015 "Pretenders 1979–1999" by PRETENDERS on Demon/Edsel/Rhino PRETBOX01 (Barcode 5014797892620) is a 22-Disc Limited Edition Hard Card Slipcase Presentation Box Set featuring 8 Digipaks with 14 Remastered CDs of Albums, Rare B-sides, Live Tracks, Previously Unreleased Songs (189 Audio Tracks) - Accompanied by 68 Promo Videos and BBC TV Appearances across 8 Non-Region Coded DVDS. It plays out as follows:

 

1. "Pretenders: 2CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released January 1980 in the UK on Real Records RAL 3 and in the USA on Sire Records SRK 6083

CD1 "Pretenders Album & B-sides" (67:46 minutes, 18-Tracks)

CD2 "Demos & LIVE" (48:26 minutes, 13 Tracks)

DVD Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances (9 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

2. "Pretenders II: 2CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released August 1981 in the UK on Real Records SRK 3572 and in the USA on Sire Records SRK 3572

CD1 "Pretenders II Album" (46:24 minutes, 12 Tracks)

CD2 "Bonus Tracks & Live At The Santa Monica Civic, 1981" (77:37 minutes, 20 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (6 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

3. "Learning To Crawl: 2CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released January 1984 in the UK on Real Records WX 2 (923 980-1) and in the USA on Sire Records 9 23980-1

CD1 "Learning To Crawl Album" (40:43 minutes, 10 Tracks)

CD2 "B-sides/Live & Demos" (38:44 minutes, 10 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (6 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

4. "Get Close: 2CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released November 1986 in the UK on Real Records/Warner Brothers Records WX 64 (240 976-1) and in the USA on Sire Records 9 25488-1

CD1 "Get Close Album" (44:54 minutes, 11 Tracks)

CD2 "B-Sides, Bonus Tracks & Songs For Soundtracks...Plus" (77:26 minutes, 16 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (5 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

5. "Packed! CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released May 1990 in the UK on WEA Records WX 346 (9031-71403-1) and in the USA on Sire Records 9 26219-1

CD1 "Packed! Album + B-Sides" (45:02 minutes, 13 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (5 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

6. "Last Of The Independents: 2CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released May 1994 in the UK on WEA Records 4509-95822-1 (LP) and -2 (CD) and in the USA on Sire Records 9 45572-2 (CD)

CD1 "Last Of The Independents Album" (49:13 minutes, 13 Tracks)

CD2 "B-Sides...Plus Bonus Tracks + Songs For Soundtracks" (47:01 minutes, 12 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (9 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

7. "The Isle Of View: CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original live album (recorded with The Duke Quartet at Jacob Street Studios in London) released October 1995 in the UK on WEA Records 0630-12059-2 (CD) and in the USA on Warner Brothers Records 9 46085-2 (CD)

CD1 "The Isle Of View Album + B-Sides" (74:10 minutes, 19 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (21 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

8. "Viva El Amor! 2CD + DVD Deluxe Special Edition"

Original album released May 1999 in the UK on WEA Records 3984271522 (CD) and in the USA on Warner Brothers Records 9 47342-2 (CD)

CD1 "Viva El Amore! Album" (45:04 minutes, 12 Tracks)

CD2 "B-Sides + Bonus Tracks + Songs For Soundtracks" (43:22 minutes, 10 Tracks)

DVD "Promo Videos + BBC TV Appearances" (7 Tracks, NTSC Regions Exempt)

 

As you can see from the above list – I have avoided detailed track lists for space reasons (we could be here for months). So what you get is the eight Deluxe Special Edition Digipaks that were issued February 2015 all wrapped in an outer Hard Card Box Set shell (no extra booklet). With 189 audio tracks and a huge 68 visuals – you are confronted with so much it’s hard to know where to start. First up – the Box Set is Edsel Records of the UK (a part of the Demon Music Group) with a Rhino logo because that’s where the Remasters come from. You can hear the Remastered muscle across the first three especially, whereas thereafter they were not really in need of audio uplift.

 

But if you take say album number five "Packed!" where I would say the public’s interest in the American/English hybrid band started to truly wane. The material is not the greatest – but rehearing her gorgeous cover of the Jimi Hendrix waterfall classic "May This Be Love" – the Remastered audio is lovely – Billy Bremner guitar. The same goes for "No Guarantee" – the big guitars chiming across your speakers – Tchad Blake and Billy Bremner lashing out that trademark Pretenders guitar sound. A co-write with Johnny Marr of The Smiths that features subtle backing vocals from Tim Finn of Crowded House (beside CH and Mart Hart) – "When Will I See You?" is so good. You could call it Soft Rock, but I think it’s beautiful and a typically magical melody from our lady hero – Chrissie. And there is a real sense of a woman-in-love coursing through the pretty warm kisses of "Sense Of Purpose" (Dominic Miller on Guitar). Chrissie feels like an outlaw for loving in "Criminal" – another forgotten melodic gem on a relegated album.

 

For me the first three albums are all great – especially the self-titled debut and the hit-laden "Learning To Crawl" (I have reviewed both in depth separately). Although "Get Close" had just a little too much filler – it also had devastatingly brilliant stuff like "My Baby", "Don't Get Me Wrong", "Hymn To Her" and their kick-ass cover of Jimi's "Room Full Of Mirrors". She came a-roaring back in my books with the 1994 outing "Last Of The Independents" – kicking Rock songs and huge production from courtesy of Ian Stanley. Most songs were co-writes with the duo of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly – a different approach for her that really delivered. "Night In My Veins" was always going to a winning lips/hands everywhere dancing single, but it is trashed in my world by the stunning Punk-Angry Rock of "Money Talk" (begging at the feet of the Devil).

 

The late great Andy Rourke of The Smiths plays Bass on Seven tracks of "Last Of The Independents" – one of which is the typically musical "Revolution" (I wanna die for something). You get Ian Stanley on Organ and Adam Seymour of The Katydids on Guitar – her old mucker Martin Chambers on Drums. A lovely kiss-the-world take on "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan ends a great album. And again CH goes to cover versions for TV and Compilation contributions – "Friends" gets the Chip Taylor song "Angel Of The Morning" while the Stone Free Tribute compilation gets Jimi Hendrix in "Bold As Love". There is even a take on the 1975 10cc number 1 "I'm Not in Love" for the Soundtrack to "Indecent Proposal" (give us a mil Rob) and "Every Day Is Like Sunday" by Morrissey for the "Boys On The Side" Soundtrack (Andy Rourke of The Smiths plays Bass on that too).

 

B-sides include the superb "Talk Of The Town" EP that followed the debut LP right through the guitar-jangle-lovely Meg Keene cover version "Spirit Of Life" that was the Non-LP flipside to the 1990 single for "Sense Of Purpose". But far better is the Soundtrack LP songs like the Timothy Dalton James Bond tracks from "The Living Daylights" – co-writes with the legendary John Barry on "Where Has Everybody Gone" and "If There Was A Man" or her cover of the Bacharach/David classic "Windows Of The World" for the movie "1969". The live tracks are perhaps a tad disappointing in that the passion is there (and how – they play like madmen), but it always appears to be let down by bad Production values where most only rise a bit above acceptable bootleg standard.

 

The 1995 Unplugged Live Set that is "The Isle Of View" seems to be the one that got away in her catalogue. The band consists of Adam Seymour on Guitar, Harmonium and Vocals with Andy Hobson on Bass and Martin Chambers on Drums. Complimenting her on Vocals and Acoustic Guitar is Damon Albarn of Blur on Piano. But the duo real difference is crystal clear muscular top-quality Production from Stephen Street and the softening of every song by the arranged accompaniment from The Duke Quartet – Three Violins from John Metcalfe, Louisa Fuller and Richard Koster with One Cello by Ivan McCready. Every Rock song is taken out of bombast and brought back to basic melody so that stuff like "Chill Factor" is even more haunting and you can literally feel the tingle of the crowd as the band goes into the debut album masterpiece "Private Life" – the other three getting those vocals just right as it acoustic Reggaes its way across your speakers.

 

The addition of the four-piece strings to "Back On The Chain Gang" is a sensation – the loveliness of the melody suddenly swarming around your speakers – a perfect remake that compliments the original. They slow down "Kid" to a sadness that the violins and cello only accentuate. Unusual and clever too to choose the vicious riffage of "I Hurt You" from the third album – the flickering strings brilliantly arranged to underpin the menace. Her voice is just shimmering throughout "Criminal" from the underrated "Packed!" album. Then to a real crowd-pleaser – the one that started it all in late 1979 - "Brass In Pocket" (gonna use my sidestep). Not surprisingly Hynde goes immediately into the seasonal beauty of "2000 Miles" – a song now forever associated with Christmas – and it is just gorgeous. She opens with only a guitar but is soon joined by strings and Tambourines and its Christmas in London. Albarn of Blur puts in a lone funereal organ for the Meg Keene song "Hymn To Her" which Chrissie sings without any other instrumentation. It is a surprise to hear "Lovers Of Today" from the debut suit the Strings/Acoustic format so well. And on it goes to four worthy bonuses - "Creep" by Radiohead with three of her own - "Happy Christmas", "Night In My Veins" and "Tequila" (the DVD has 18 tracks that includes a different arrangement of songs).

 

Produced at three different locations by Stephen Street and Stephen Hague - you may have to turn down the Stereo for album number eight "Viva El Amor!" because it comes out at you with a Rock Rage Energy in the fantastic "Popstar" – wailing Harmonica like a guitar solo – Chrissie on the lyrical assault like a Dave Chappelle gig. "Human" calms a little but in that great commercial Pretenders kind of a way – an obvious single – only human on the inside. Adam Seymour gets to show his guitar chops on the deceptively good "From The Heart Down" – Chrissie reemploying Duke Quartet and their strings to give it gravitas. Riffage abounds with "Nails In The Road" – her patience worn thin and her tires near exploding. But for me the album masterpiece is the truly brilliant gee-tar rawk of "Dragway 42" – a sort of "You Wreck Me" by Tom Petty slice of slow killer riffage that most bands would bump-off a close relative to acquire (dirty deeds done dirt cheap). You feel the dirty streets of a city – bleak artificial light – walking - waiting like a heartache junkie for love to pull up and save the day. The same slow drum menace permeates through the pings of "Biker" – CH pining for her outlaw in a Godless society. For her B-sides she covers the Neil Young "Harvest" classic "The Needle And The Damage Done" and on the Soundtrack front is the Goffin/King written Byrds gem "Goin’ Back" for the football movie "Fever Pitch" and a Steve Earle goody in "Goodbye" for the Demi Moore film "G.I. Jane".

 

To sum up – it looks cool – gives Remasters for albums that needed it and throws in so many great extras in both Audio and Visual that it can only be described as an embarrassment of riches.

 

Pretenders have always been the business for me and this heffalump only marinates their back catalogue even more tenderly. Brilliant...

 

FEBRUARY 2015 PRETENDERS

'Deluxe Special Edition' Reissue Series by Edsel/Rhino

 

1. "Pretenders" (January 1980 debut) - Edsel EDSG 8047 (Barcode 740155804732) - 2CDs + DVD

 

2. "Pretenders II" (August 1981) - Edsel EDSG 8048 (Barcode 740155804831) - 2CDs + DVD

 

3. "Learning To Crawl" (January 1984) - Edsel EDSG 8049 (Barcode 740155804930) - 2CDs + DVD

 

4. "Get Close" (November 1986) - Edsel EDSG 8050 (Barcode 740155805036) - 2CDs + DVD

 

5. "Packed!" (May 1990) - Edsel EDSX 3022 (Barcode 740155302238) - CD + DVD

 

6. "Last Of The Independents" (May 1994) - Edsel EDSG 8051 (Barcode 740155805135) - 2CDs + DVD

 

7. "The Isle Of View" (October 1995) - Edsel EDSX 3023 (Barcode 740155302337) - CD + DVD

 

8. "Viva El Amor!" (May 1999) - Edsel EDSG 8052 (Barcode 740155805234 - 2CDs + DVD

 

9. "Pretenders 1979-1999" (February 2015) - Edsel PRETBOX01 (Barcode 5014797892620) - 22-Disc Hard Card Slipcase Wrap Box Set with all of the 1 to 8 gatefold card digipaks above inside (no extra booklet)

"Wildflowers & All The Rest" by TOM PETTY – 54-Tracks from the November 1994 "Wildflowers" Album Sessions Including 7 Unreleased Songs and 25 Unreleased Studio and Live Versions – featuring Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Howie Epstein, Steve Ferrone and Stan Lynch from TP’s band The Heartbreakers with Guests Lenny Castro and Phil Jones (Percussion), Jim Horn (Saxophone), Orchestration by Michael Kamen, Backing Vocals by Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys and Drums by Ringo Starr (October 2020 UK Warner Records 4CD Deluxe Edition Hardback DigiBook Set with Chris Bellman Mastering) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

 

 

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"...Climb That Hill..."

 

Released as a Tom Petty solo album, the original Warner Brothers CD and 2LP set for "Wildflowers" was unleashed 1 November 1994 on an ever so slightly indifferent world. It peaked at a modest No. 8 in the US Billboard album charts (No. 36 in the UK). Melodic, Rocking, Plaintive and straddling everything from Riffage Rock, US Folk, Rockabilly and Alt-Country - it was a typically well-crafted Tom Petty album beautifully produced by Rick Rubin with TP and Mike Campbell. 

 

"Wildflowers" was well received critically too. Featuring Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Howie Epstein, Steve Ferrone and Stan Lynch from TP’s band The Heartbreakers - Guests included Percussionists Lenny Castro and Phil Jones, Horn Player Jim Horn with Orchestration by Michael Kamen and Drums by Ringo Starr on "To Find A Friend" with Backing Vocals by Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys on the rocker "Honey Bee" (both Wilson and Starr reappear on this retrospective on CD2 on the track "Hung Up And Overdue").

 

And back in late 1994 with the CD format dominating all in its path, the 2LP variant on Warner Brothers 9362-45759-1 (which did not shift much at the time, it was years before the VINYL resurgence) later became a legendarily hard to find rarity that often commanded price-tags in excess of £100. And after that – and 1994 – it was largely forgotten. But his horrible and untimely passing in 2017 changed all that...

 

There are 3 x CD variants of the reissue "Wildflowers & All The Rest" - all released 16 October 2020 – a 2CD Standard Edition on Warner Records 0936249229284, a 4CD Deluxe Edition on Warner Records 093624899112 and a 5CD (US-only) Super Deluxe Edition on Warner Records 093624893004 that had a Bonus Disc called "Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)". After consumer demand, that fifth CD was issued 16 April 2021 as a stand-alone in the UK and EUROPE on Warner Records 093624884934. There is also extensive VINYL represses of the original double-album and the extended retrospective. This review will deal with the 4CD Deluxe Edition and the Singular "Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)" as an add-on so you get the 'full' picture.

 

History: across 1992 and 1994 and with a splurge of new material and creativity, Petty had wanted a proper double-album, 2CDs and 2LPs (much of it acoustic) - but Warner Brothers balked - so we got the truncated 1CD version in Nov 1994. Time now with posthumous hindsight to rectify that and comply with his original intentions. Compiled with the full co-operation of his Heartbreaker band mates Guitarist Mike Campbell and Keyboard whizz Benmont Tench, Producer and Mixer Ryan Ulyate and especially his family (wife Dana and daughter Adria) – they have collated this massive return – and what a winner it is. To the details...

 

UK and EUROPE released 16 October 2020 - the 4CD Deluxe Edition of "Wildflowers & All The Rest" by TOM PETTY is on Warner Records 093624899112 (Barcode 093624899112) and gives you a Newly Remastered Version of the Album on CD1 with the other 3 being outtakes and alternate versions – all themed. They play out as follows:

 

CD1 "Wildflowers" Remastered (62:57 minutes):

1. Wildflowers

2. You Don't Know How It Feels

3. Time To Move On

4. You Wreck Me

5. It's Good To Be King

6. Only A Broken Heart

7. Honey Bee

8. Don't Fade On Me

9. Hard On Me

10. Cabin Down Below

11. To Find A Friend

12. A Higher Place

13. House In The Woods

14. Crawling Back To You

15. Wake Up Time

Tracks 1 to 15 are the 2LP/1CD album "Wildflowers" – UK released 1 November 1994 on Warner Brother Records 9362-45759-1 (VINYL) 9362-45759-2 (CD).

 

CD2 "All The Rest" (39:27 minutes):

1. Something Could Happen (Recorded 28 July 1993)

2. Leave Virginia Alone (Recorded 26 January 1993)

3. Climb That Hill Blues (Recorded 1993, no specific date)

4. Confusion Wheel (Recorded 11 April 1994)

5. California (Recorded 14 April 1994)

6. Harry Green (Recorded 1994, no specific date)

7. Hope You Never – Alternate Version (Recorded 11 April 1994)

8. Somewhere Under Heaven (Recorded 30 September 1992, first released in 2015 in the film "Entourage")

9. Climb That Hill – Alternate Take (Recorded 30 November 1993)

10. Hung Up And Overdue – Alternate Version (Recorded 3 June 1993)

NOTES:

Tracks 1 to 6 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Tracks 1, 3, 4 and 6 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Songs (see also CD3)

Tracks 7, 9 and 10 are ALTERNATES, appeared in different versions on the "She's The One" Soundtrack album

Track 8 first appeared in the 2015 film "Entourage"

 

CD3 "Home Recordings" (57:54 minutes):

1. There Goes Angela (Dream Away)

2. You Don't Know How It Feels

3. California

4. A Feeling of Peace

5. Leave Virginia Alone

6. Crawling Back To You

7. Don't Fade On Me

8. Confusion Wheel

9. A Higher Place

10. Break In The Rain (Have Love Will Travel)

11. To Find A Friend

12. Only A Broken Heart

13. Wake Up Time

14. Hung Up And Overdue

15. Wildflowers

NOTES:

Tracks 1, 4, 5 and 8 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Songs

 

CD4 "Wildflowers Live" (74:42 minutes):

1. You Don't Know How It Feels (14 December 2002, Fleet Center, Boston)

2. Honey Bee (17 March 1996, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto)

3. To Find A Friend (28 December 2000, Bridge School Benefit, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountainview, California)

4. Walls (6 February 1997, The Fillmore, San Francisco, California)

5. Crawling Back To You (27 July 2017, Forest Hills Stadium, New York)

6. Cabin Down Below (14 June 2009, Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA)

7. Drivin' Down To Georgia (11 August 2010, Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA, first released to the TP Fan Club in 2010)

8. House In The Woods (23 May 2013, Beacon Theater, New York)

9. Girl On LSD (6 June 2008, Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA)

10. Time To Move On (17 August 2002, UMB Bank Pavilion, St. Louis, MO)

11. Wake Up Time (17 April 2003, Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois)

12. It's Good To Be King (31 January 1997, The Fillmore, San Francisco, LA)

13. You Wreck Me (30 August 2014, Fenway Park, Boston, MA)

14. Wildflowers (28 June 2005, Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI)

 

CD5 "Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)" 69:21 minutes:

1. A Higher Place

2. Hard On Me

3. Cabin Down Below

4. Crawling Back To You

5. Only A Broken Heart

6. Drivin' Down To Georgia

7. You Wreck Me

8. It's Good To Be King

9. House In The Woods

10. Honey Bee

11. Girl On LSD

12. Cabin Down Below (Acoustic Version)

13. Wildflowers

14. Don't Fade On Me

15. Wake Up Time

16. You Saw Me Comin'

Tracks 1 to 16 originally released 16 October 2020 as part of the 5CD Super Deluxe Edition of "Wildflowers & All The Rest" (CD5). Released 16 April 2021 as "Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions)", an individually released CD on Warner Records 093624884934 (Barcode 093624884934).

 

Ace Engineer CHRIS BELLMAN (at Bernie Grundman Mastering) has beautifully mastered this release. I can't emphasise enough the gorgeous audio quality on this package - it's astonishingly good. And it looks gorgeous too – each card slip wallet inside featuring hand-tinted artwork that reflects the songs – released or otherwise. The attached photo-packed booklet gives song-by-song notes with contributions from Lead Guitarist Mike Campbell, Keyboardist Benmont Tench, Producer Rick Rubin and Reissue Co-ordinator and Archivist Ryan Ulyate – often more frank than you would think they should be. It feels and is substantial – and across five discs, there is an abundance to savour.

 

The initial album had four singles on it – the hugely Radio-friendly "You Don't Know How It Feels" (December 1994), the live showstopping Rocker "You Wreck Me" in February 1995 with "It's Good To Be King" and "A Higher Place" later into 1995. I have to say I can dig either version of the hooky melody "Crawling Back To You" – the one on the album with the stunning Michael Kamen strings that so work (unusual for a TP song) or the unadorned more Ryan Adams Country Rock version on CD5 that is frankly just as cool. And again the Alternate high-voiced whisper of "Only A Broken Heart" on CD5 is just as good as the official album cut.

 

But I am amazed they left such a great rocker like "Drivin' Down To Georgia" with its clever piano middle eight off the album (see CD5) and instead opted for the more ham-Rockabilly "Honey Bee" – a mistake I feel. The difference between the absolute balls-to-the-wall Rock hit that is the album version of "You Wreck Me" as opposed to the 12-String Acoustic Guitar and Drums of the Alternate on CD5 could not be more pronounced (they were right to chose the Rock cut). The live version too is enormous. The lazy tempo of the Alternate for "It's Good To Be King" is great – so incredibly musical – but I can hear why they chose the final released version.

 

Over on CD2, the seven unreleased songs are all fully formed and as beautifully produced as the album cuts – so when you play bloody good acoustic/electric jangle melodies like "Something Could Happen" or "Confusion Wheel" – it seems inconceivable that they stayed in a can somewhere and were not at least considered as flipsides for the four singles the album eventually produced. Disc 2 may be short on playing time folks, but it is big on surprises and fan-wins. You get TP protecting the vulnerable girl from the big bad world in "Leave Virginia Alone" – another shuffle and jangle that could easily have been on either of The Traveling Wilbury albums (fabulous slide guitar solo from Mike Campbell towards the end of the song).

 

"Climb That Hill Blues" is essentially an Acoustic Demo done at the TP home studio that they tried to turn into a Rock song but felt they had failed (see Track 9 on CD2 for Rock version called "Climb That Hill"). Torn apart – afraid – don’t know who to trust - "Confusion Blues" is brill and benefits hugely from Campbell guitar where the lonesome feels like the Byrds meets Irish Folk Music (if you can imagine such a thing). The Alternate Version of "California" loses the doubled-vocal harmonies at the end of the track – the Harmonica ala Dylan solo is still there – but it is just tighter. A genuine find is the Acoustic and Harmonica only Murder/Vehicle Suicide Ballad "Harry Green" – a fantastic tale from his teenage years after a brave man who saved TP from a redneck trashing. A rare case of TPO using an actual name – it so Dylan – but so moving too and just a little sad...

 

The Home Recordings and Live versions offer wildly differing approaches – the first all meek and sedate and incredibly intimate – the second being with the band and the numbers worked out – so they ROCK. You also get those outtakes in a live environment that in some respects often worked better in. There is beautiful audio to the 16^th Avenue song "There Goes Angela (Dream Away)" – the opening cut on CD3 – all strummed acoustics and Dylanesque Harmonica. Even in simple acoustic and doubled vocals, hearing new tunes like "California" and the full-band-feel "A Feeling of Peace" is a thrill. CD3 cements the Acoustic Album theory - "Leave Virginia Alone", "Don't Fade On Me" split up by the jangle of "A Higher Place". In fact if you compare the merely good Home Recording of "A Higher Place" to the brilliant band-rehearsed version of it that opens CD5 – it's astonishing how much The Heartbreakers brought to his initial great ideas – they were and are the glue that cemented everything. And how witty is that "Girl On LSD" tale he tells on the Live CD that has the crowd in stitches. Five whole CDs and not a bad un – wow!

 

Like so many guys of my age, I was taken aback my Tom Petty's untimely passing in October 2017. It hurt me way more than I knew how to deal with. After Prince and Bowie – he was another hero of my musical life gone too soon (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Amy Winehouse and Jeff Buckley – other diamonds taken too damn quick as well)

 

But with the September 2018 4CD 'Deluxe Edition' of "An American Treasure", this October 2020 return to an oldie "Wildflowers" and the November 2022 extravaganza that is "Live At The Fillmore 1997" (another 4CD set in Deluxe Edition form) – the Petty family and his band mates The Heartbreakers have kept Tom's legacy fresh, amazing and frankly formidable. Yet another top job done...

"Tracks" by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – 66 Songs Recorded Between May 1972 and May 1995 (some August 1998 re-records), Solo and including The E Street Band with 56 being Previously Unreleased. Included across 4xHDCDs are Demos, Nine Non-LP B-sides to Singles, An Alternate Version of a 10th B-side, Live Recordings and Studio Outtakes (some with 1997 additions) from eight albums "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." and "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" (both 1973), "Born To Run" (1975), "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" (1978), "The River" (1980 2LP-set), "Nebraska" (1982), "Born in The U.S.A." (1984), "Tunnel Of Love" (1987), "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town" (1990 both), "Greatest Hits" and "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" (1995 both) (10 November 1998 ORIGINAL UK Columbia 4xHDCD Long Hard Back Book Edition - 23 September 2013 REISSUE UK Columbia/Sony Music 4xHDCD Short Hardback Digibook Edition – Both with 1998 Remixes and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

10 November 1998 ORIGINAL 4xHDCD ISSUE 

With Long Digibook Presentation and Detached Booklet In Inner Pouch

 

23 September 2013 REISSUE 4xHDCD 

With Short Digibook Presentation and Attached Booklet Inside

 

 April 1999 Single CD Truncated Variant

15 Tracks from the 4xHDCD Book Set

With Three New Previously Unreleased

"Trouble River", "The Fever" and "The Promise"

 

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"...Be True..."

 

A huge amount of background work went into this amazing vault-trawl through the legendarily voluminous unreleased catalogue of The Boss – originally issued 10 November 1998 in a Long Book Set with Detached Booklet.

 

Months of cataloguing, remixing, adding new parts, remastering took place – even calling in original members of the band to finish and bolster up early Seventies recordings. It is in fact rumoured that over 120 songs were considered for the Box Set that might initially have been a 6CD variant. But senses prevailed and 66 cuts became the final tally – 56 of which are Previously Unreleased Studio Outtakes or Live Versions with the others being Nine Single B-sides and One Alternate Version of a tenth Flipside. And it was sumptuously packaged too.

 

Columbia even followed up with a truncated single-CD variant called "18 Tracks" issued 13 April 1999. It came with three more new unreleased tracks tagged onto 15 from the 4CD Box - "Trouble River" (6 June 1990 recording, 4:18 minutes), "The Fever" (16 May 1973 recording, 7:35 minutes) and "The Promise" (12 February 1999 new recording with Bruce on Piano only, 4:48 minutes). Typically I thought all three of these newbees were better than some on the Big Daddy that preceded it. The seven-minutes of "The Fever" even includes a rare Backing Vocal from Clarence Clemons (he's got the fever). 

 

Then Sony Music and Columbia reissued "Tracks" on 23 September 2013 as a handier Short 4CD Digibook Variant - this time with the booklet attached (review based on this). And now in June 2023, there is talk of Tracks 2 on its way after the 2023 World Tour. Let's get to the details because there is a lot...

 

UK re-issued 23 September 2013 – "Tracks" by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN on Sony Music/Columbia 88883768742 (Barcode 888837687423) is a 66-Song 4xHDCD Reissue Edition in a Short Hardback Digibook with attached 56-Page Booklet (originally issued 10 November 1998 as a Long Hardback Book Set with Detached Booklet in a Pouch). "Tracks" plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (67:40 minutes):

1. Mary Queen Of Arkansas (3 May 1972 Acoustic Demo at Columbia Studios with John Hammond Spoken Introduction and Count In)

2. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City (3 May 1972 Acoustic Demo)

3. Growin' Up (3 May 1972 Acoustic Demo)

4. Does This Stop At 82nd Street? (3 May 1972 Acoustic Demo)

5. Bishop Danced (31 January 1973 Live Recording at Max's Kansas City in New York)

6. Santa Ana (1 July 1973 outtake from "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" album sessions)

7. Seaside Bar Song (24 July 1973 outtake from "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" album sessions)

8. Zero And Blind Terry (7 August 1973 outtake from "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" album sessions)

9. Linda Let Me Be The One (29 June 1975 outtake from "Born To Run" album sessions)

10. Thundercrack (9 August 1973 outtake from "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" album sessions with 1997 additions from original musicians)

11. Rendezvous (31 December 1980 Live Recording at Nassau Coliseum)

12. Give The Girl A Kiss (11 October 1977 outtake from "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" album sessions)

13. Iceman (11 October 1977 outtake from "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" album sessions)

14. Bring On The Night (13 June 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

15. So Young And In Love (1 June 1974 outtake from "Born To Run" album sessions)

16. Hearts Of Stone (14 October 1977 outtake from "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" album sessions with 1997 additions – track first appeared on the Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes LP "Hearts Of Stone" in October 1978 – that album's guest musicians included Steven Van Zandt and Max Weinberg of The E Street Band and also had two other songs written by Springsteen that were exclusive)

 

CD2 (62:49 minutes):

1. Restless Nights (2 May 1980 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

2. A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Pittsburgh) (6 May 1982 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

3. Roulette (12 April 1980 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions, also used as a Non-LP B-side to the February 1988 45-single for "One Step Up" from the "Tunnel Of Love" album)

4. Dollhouse (21 August 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

5. Where The Bands Are (9 October 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

6. Loose Ends (18 July 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

7. Living On The Edge Of The World (3 December 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

8. Wages Of Sin (10 May 1982 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

9. Take 'Em As They Come (10 April 1980 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

10. Be True (18 July 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions, used as the Non-LP B-side to the January 1981 45-single "Fade Away")

11. Ricki Wants A Man Of Her Own (10 April 1980 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

12. I Wanna Be With You (31 May 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

13. Mary Lou (13 July 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

14. Stolen Car (Alternate Version) (24 September 1979 outtake from "The River" double-album sessions)

15. Born In The U.S.A. (Demo Version) (3 January 1982 outtake from "Nebraska" album sessions)

16. Johnny Bye Bye (4 January 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions, a reworking of a Chuck Berry song)

17. Shut Out The Light (19 January 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions, also the Non-LP B-side of the October 1984 45-single for "Born In The U.S.A.")

 

CD3 (67:33 minutes):

1. Cynthia (15 June 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

2. My Love Will Not Let You Down (5 May 1982 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

3. This Hard Land (11 May 1982 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

4. Frankie (14 May 1982 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

5. TV Movie (13 June 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

6. Stand On It (Alternate Version) (16 June 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions – the original version of this song was issued May 1985 as the Non-LP B-side to "Glory Days" – the version here is different)

7. Lion's Den (25 January 1982 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

8. Car Wash (31 May 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

9. Rockaway The Days (12 January 1984 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

10. Brothers Under The Bridge '83 (14 September 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

11. Man At The Top (12 January 1984 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions)

12. Pink Cadillac (31 May 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions, also released May 1984 as the Non-LP to the 45-single for "Dancing In The Dark")

13. Two For The Road (1 February 1987 outtake from "Tunnel Of Love" album sessions)

14. Janey, Don't You Lose Heart (16 June 1983 outtake from "Born In The U.S.A." album sessions, also released August 1985 as the Non-LP B-side to "I'm Goin' Down")

15. When You Need Me (20 January 1987 outtake from "Tunnel Of Love" album sessions)

16. The Wish (22 February 1987 outtake from "Tunnel Of Love" album sessions)

17. The Honeymooners (22 February 1987 outtake from "Tunnel Of Love" album sessions)

18. Lucky Man (4 April 1987 outtake from "Tunnel Of Love" album sessions)

 

CD4 (55:18 minutes):

1. Leavin' Train (27 February 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

2. Seven Angels (29 June 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

3. Give It A Name (24 August 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions, re-recorded 24 August 1998 for the "Tracks" Box Set)

4. Sad Eyes (25 January 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

5. My Lover Man (4 December 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

6. Over The Rise (7 December 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

7. When The Lights Go Out (6 December 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

8. Loose Change (31 January 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

9. Trouble In Paradise (1 December 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions, co-written with E-Street Band Keyboardist Roy Bittan)

10. Happy (18 January 1992 outtake from "Lucky Town" album sessions)

11. Part Man, Part Monkey (January 1990 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions, also released June 1992 as the Non-LP B-side to "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" album sessions)

12. Goin' Cali (29 January 1991 outtake from "Human Touch" album sessions)

13. Back In Your Arms (12 January 1995 outtake from "Greatest Hits" album sessions)

14. Brothers Under The Bridges '95 (22 May 1995 outtake from "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" album sessions)

 

The 56-page attached booklet is beautiful and comprehensive (recording credits, dates, players and unusually, lyrics to every song) and all of it with gorgeous period-appropriate photos between the text as the songs move from 1972 through to 1995. The only noticeable downer is perhaps there could have been liner notes from the great man on the genesis of each song or what they mean, but I guess the lyrics kind of do that anyway (the entire set is Produced by SPRINGSTEEN and his long-time associate CHUCK PLOTKIN).

 

A huge team of people did the Audio Research, Cataloguing, Remixes and eventual Remasters – principal among the names being TOBY SCOTT, GREG GOLDMAN, BOB LUDWIG, ED THACKER, ROSS PETERSEN, BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN, DAVID BOUCHER with THOM PANUNZIO and KOOSTER McALLISTER. The transfers are often so good, I am sure Boss-o-philes have already taken songs from CD3 and 4 and even the single 18 Tracks CD – and made their own new album or alternate version. The clarity on the 1972 demos is hair-raising, even that fabulous live version of Rendezvous. So while the quality of the outtakes may vary wildly (at least to my ears they do) – the Audio is superlative throughout.

 

The January 1973 American Debut Album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." has always been my least favourite of his albums - a worthy beginning with moments of brilliance like "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City", "Growin' Up" and the opener "Blinded By The Light". On this set we get four Demos with the first (unbelievably) announced by John Hammond – as if he knew "Mary Queen Of Arkansas" was by someone special. They are just Bruce and Guitar – so quietly dignified and knowing and make for a beautiful opener.

 

After the earnest but awkward feel of the debut – the improvement in Springsteen’s 2nd album "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" (November 1973 USA, February 1974 in the UK) whomps you in the proverbial chops. Not surprising then that the bulk of the outtakes come from this creative time frame. Fans have been hearing these fully-fledged studio efforts on dodgy-sounding bootlegs for decades, but I suspect many will have their jaws dropped by the present beauty of "Santa Ana" or "Seaside Bar Song". Similarly the two "Born To Run" outtakes ("Linda Let Me Be The One" and "So Young And In Love") could have gone on the B-sides of the officially released title track and "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" 45s – but alas. And I love that live "Rendezvous" – a late 70s outtake here presented in sparkling 1980 concert form. And dig those Darkness outtakes, especially the joyful "Give The Girl A Kiss".

 

CD2 is dominated by the 1979 and 1980 mammoth double-album sessions for "The River" whilst moving towards "Nebraska" in 1982 and the big baby break out of "Born In The U.S.A." in 1984 (Courtney Cox ahoy). I have to say that stuff like "Restless Nights" and "Where The Bands Are" do little for me but I have always flipped for "Be True" – a song I would have swapped out "Sherry Darling" for on Side 1 of "The River" as a better fit. I also cannot believe how later-period "Wages Of Sin" sounds – could be on an album now. The "Born In The U.S.A." demo leaves me stone cold as does the alternate "Stolen Car" which is almost completely devoid of the desolation and hurt the released version has on "The River" (the right choice there). And "Take Em As They Come" is an excellent find too. I actually found most of the "Born In The U.S.A." outtakes kind of lacklustre but when you get "Tunnel Of Love" – things are creatively jumping again. My fave is "When You Need Me" and it is amazing again that the genuinely cool "Rockaway The Days" or "This Hard Land" were not used as flipsides somewhere.

 

By the time we get to the home-stretch of CD4, I am way more invested because despite having a short playing time and track number, I think stuff like "Leavin' Train", the shuffle of "Sad Eyes" and the great riffage of "Seven Angels" should definitely have been on the much bad-mouthed "Human Nature" album. Three of the end four are fantastic to me - "Happy", "Back In Your Arms" and the May 1995 remade version of "Brothers Under The Bridge". I have formed a CD album of my won from these and other stragglers.

 

To sum up – with its 5-star presentation and 5-star Audio efforts but material that spans from 3 to 4 - "Tracks" is not as revelatory as say the Bob Dylan Bootleg Series stuff and can feel a tad underwhelming at times (4-stars overall). It even charted in the USA at No. 27. But man when you get that Springsteen nugget – it floors you. And as a fan that is more than I had hoped for. Roll on Volume 2 and do make it 6CDs – live for Disc 5 and 6 baby...

 

Photographic Evidence of Previous Crime Scene