{"id":3256,"date":"2018-11-29T11:15:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T11:15:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pusabase.com\/blog\/?p=3256"},"modified":"2018-11-29T11:15:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T11:15:19","slug":"bruce-springsteen-the-george-lucas-of-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pusabase.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/29\/bruce-springsteen-the-george-lucas-of-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruce Springsteen, the George Lucas of Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two perfectionists \u2013 George Lucas and Bruce Springsteen<\/h2>\n

\"Bruce<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big fan of demos, unreleased takes, unreleased songs etc. When my favorite artists has a new anniversary\/remastered edition coming with bonus track, those are the day one purchases for me. Golden era of CD releases has however passed. Live recordings and new remasters aren\u2019t goldmines to record companies anymore. I\u2019m sure that artists and record companies has kicking their butts from missing the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Bruce Springsteen fans are however surely happy about the fact that there is finally official bootlegs series available. Something we\u2019ve (fans) dreamed for years. Nugs has done a wonderful job releasing live recordings<\/a>. Recording quality is usually pristine. You can count on that there is a new release coming regularly.<\/p>\n

Studio recordings on the other hand, are an entirely different thing. For years we have waited for an unreleased studio gems, even unreleased albums. Tracks box-set was a huge release back in 1998. Finally fans could hear a huge amount of unreleased material. It was also strange to notice that new takes would be used, and lots of other tweaking. Songs tweaked to the final form. I\u2019m sure it was a long process. What we would also learn later is that there is still a huge amount of stuff waiting to be released from the vaults. Fans have waited a sequel for the Tracks box-set for 20 years now. Original tracks box-set was rumored to be a 6 disc version. Some tracks got added to the 18 tracks version. Like I said those type of releases were goldmines back in the golden days. I\u2019m sure it gave a nice profit margin.<\/p>\n

So far, the only way to hear new unreleased gems is to patiently wait for anniversary editions. Nebraska anniversary edition could feature the holy grail we know as\u201dElectric Nebraska\u201d. It\u2019s still a myth. I don\u2019t believe the existence of this, before I hold it in my hand. Some band members says it doesn\u2019t exists, and Bruce says it exists\u2026What is the truth? We will never know, until the vault doors really open. With Bruce I don\u2019t hold my breath. We all know why this doesn\u2019t happen anytime soon.<\/p>\n

Perfectionism Can Lead to Great Things\u2026<\/h3>\n

\u2026But it can also limit your productivity. So far the releases must have been really time consuming. Bruce Springsteen tweaks, re-record, re-edit, remix, remaster\u2026.every fine detail on these unreleased studio tracks. Nothing gets released before he is perfectly satisfied. It\u2019s easy to say the Bruce Springsteen is the George Lucas of music. Those unreleased tracks are his Star Wars. You just can\u2019t let go. Some tracks even has a brand new vocal track (maybe it was an instrumental the first place, or Bruce just wasn\u2019t happy with the take). For me it sounds a bit strange that there would be instrumental only tracks on vault. Why would Bruce not try to do a vocal track and see how it goes. Lyrics are ready. Maybe the sound quality wasn\u2019t good as he hoped for. Maybe there was a messed line, maybe there was just a rehearsal take recorded with one microphone. Maybe, maybe, maybe\u2026<\/p>\n

All of this has to take a lot of time away from crafting something entirely new. Broadway thing can leave more room to work something new. It\u2019s something I\u2019m looking forward. Bruce ain\u2019t turning younger. Just focus on new things, and leave the old work to trusted hands.<\/p>\n

I do understand the perfectionism, when it comes to the planned album. You don\u2019t want to let down your fans or yourself. Album has to be in top form. When you want your album out. You\u2019ll want greatness from every aspect. Lyrics, music, production, artwork\u2026Everything! With outtakes, one would think that it would be easier to just let go. But no!<\/p>\n

Examples<\/h3>\n

For me the most important part of the studio outtakes is not the perfection of the track. It\u2019s the rawness, shaping progress, capturing the magic at that time, passion behind those tracks. Or course those should be remastered and mixed properly (if multi-rack recordings exists) Do I feel the same energy and passions with these newly recorded takes? No. They do sound great, but they are also a bit sterile. You can\u2019t put yourself to the emotion atmosphere that happened decades ago. We all know that there is a huge pile of tracks that was left out from the Darkness Box, and the River box. Maybe those got saved for the Tracks 2 release. Who knows? For Bruce, all the outtakes must tell a story. They\u2019ve must fit to the same mood. Has to get the same sound scene. I get it, but we are living in a music streaming world. How many of you listens albums from a start to finish anymore?<\/p>\n

Here are two fine examples that doesn\u2019t fit to any of the anniversary editions, or the Tracks box-set(s):<\/p>\n