1
Stray Bullet
(The Ties That Bind: The River Collection, 2015)
From 1980, here’s Bruce at his most plaintive, carried by rippling piano and soprano saxophone, and opening in a similar mood to The River’s title track: “In the tall grass we held hands/Down by the river we made plans…” before twisting away from small town New Jersey disappointments towards something considerably more dramatic.
2
Restless Nights
(Tracks, 1998)
There are many glorious moments in this outtake from The River sessions in 1980, but in the Bruce catalogue it’s one of the finest examples of Steve Van Zandt’s sublime approach to backing vocals. To see how stirring this can be live, seek out the YouTube footage of its performance in Buffalo in 2009.
3
Maybe I Don’t Know You
(Tracks II, 2025)
On last year’s Tracks II, the outtakes from the 1994 Philadelphia Sessions were perhaps the collection’s most intriguing offering: Bruce exploring the unfamiliar terrain of drum loops and synthesizers, and finding a kind of creative liberation. Here, it proves an evocative setting for a simmering tale of betrayal, suspicion, and deep disappointment.
4
The Promise
(18 Tracks, 1999)
This re-recording of an outtake from the Darkness sessions, tells the story of Bruce’s painful split from manager Mike Appel. There’s something deeply pleasing about the way it criss-crosses his own back catalogue, from Thunder Road to a pre-emptive nod to Darlington County, along the way checking in on a few familiar names — Johnny, Terry, Billy, and some oft-discussed themes — broken promises, highways, factories and hearts turned cold.
5
Matamoros Banks
(Devils & Dust, 2005)
The closing track of Bruce’s 2005 album finds the singer part way between Tom Waits and Bob Dylan, telling of a Mexican’s failed attempt to make his way to his love in America. It’s a sequel of sorts to Across the Border, from 1995’s The Ghost of Tom Joad, and the story is notably told in reverse; its opening verse depicts the man’s body as it floats along the Rio Grande. More than 20 years since its release, this song feels more relevant than ever.
6
Drive Fast (The Stuntman) – Film Version
(Western Stars, 2019)
“What frightens and what exhilarates and inspires us are often very close together,” Bruce has said of this song, describing it as a song of risk and “broken pieces”, in which the protagonist, a stunt driver, late in life, recalls the fearlessness of love. It’s a quietly beautiful piece of storytelling, buffered by pedal steel, strings, piano.
7
The Wrestler
(2008)
Bruce and Mickey Rourke first met at the Stone Pony in the 80s, and during the singer’s sojourn in Los Angeles, the pair would take motorcycle rides together — on a couple of occasions, Bruce even taking to the stage at the actor’s Rubber Club venue. It was Rourke who sent Bruce the script for the 2008 film The Wrestler, prompting Bruce to write this immensely tender acoustic number for his character.
8
Thundercrack
(Tracks, 1998)
Written in 1972, and re-recorded for Tracks, Bruce once explained how Thundercrack was meant to be a “showstopper”. Running off in several directions, with multiple different endings, it was boundless and breathless and, he told one interviewer, “meant to make you nuts.” While it never came to occupy its intended prime spot in the E Street live show, it offered a roadmap of sorts for tracks such as Kitty’s Back, Rosalita and New York Serenade.
9
Be True
(B-side to “Fade Away”)
Recorded in 1979, “Be True” was left off The River, to make way for “Crush On You” —a decision Bruce later questioned. It’s a sweet, quite simple song, that started out with the title Mary Lou, then became known as “Little White Lies”, eventually finding its way to this incarnation. The touchstone here is the movies, as an illustration of a kind of falsity that can distract from the true love.
10
Frankie
(Tracks)
1982’s Frankie was scheduled to appear on the follow up to Born to Run, and first unveiled at a show in Atlanta in the Spring of 1976 — though it was a very different song back then (audio from around that time is available online). This version, set down six years on, loses some of its original fire and vim, but gains a remarkable softness and romance in its tale of a couple dancing and hustling their days in a shuttered town.
11
Back in Your Arms, Studio Outtake
(Tracks 1998)
Bruce has often described 1995’s “Back in Your Arms” as a song about “blowing a good thing” — his own take on Joe Tex’s 1966 single “I’ve Got to Do a Little Better” (at other times he’s suggested it was also influenced by “Hold On to What You Got)” and Aretha Franklin’s “Without Love”, buoyed by a little gospel Hammond and a fine sax solo. It’s a fine example of the possibilities of Bruce’s voice —here, it finds a grain and richness and passion that places it plum in the great soul tradition.
12
Shut Out the Light, Version 1
(B-side to “Born In The USA”)
Recorded at Bruce’s Thrill Hill studio in Beverly Hills, in early 1983, “Shut Out the Light” was planned for a potential album release that same year. The record was intended to continue the bare-boned tone and unflinching themes of Nebraska. Bruce soon abandoned the idea, but several iterations of its songs still stand. This version marks Soozie Tyrell’s first session work for Bruce.
13
Secret Garden Studio Version
(Tracks II)
1994’s “Secret Garden” has had an interesting life — recorded as part of the Streets of Philadelphia sessions, it was first released as a low-key single from the singer’s Greatest Hits album in 1995, then found new fans thanks to its inclusion on the Jerry Maguire soundtrack, and entered the Billboard top 20. It’s the kind of unexpected love song once sometimes finds in Bruce’s canon —half-mumbled and running close to the ground, alongside I’m On Fire and much of Lucky Town and Human Touch.
14
Somewhere North of Nashville
(Tracks II, 2025)
In Western Stars, Bruce explained how he wrote this song quickly one morning at his kitchen table. “It’s just about being lost on the highway of life. Lost is something I’m good at writing about.” In this case, it’s a lost musician who walked out on his love in pursuit of his career in music, and lives in that regret. Although it surfaced on 2019’s Western Stars, this version is from a 1995 recording around the time of The Ghost of Tom Joad sessions.
15
Valentine’s Day
(Tunnel of Love, 1987)
Tunnel of Love is often billed as Bruce’s ‘divorce album’, but its final track stands as one of his most romantic —a lonesome, limbo-ed desire for connection and belonging. Bruce casts himself out on the highway, longing for home and his girl. He tells of his heart pounding, of wanting to be reunited, of a friend who just became a father, and how he heard in his voice “the light of the skies and the rivers the timberwolf in the pines/ And that great jukebox out on Route 39.” But it’s also a song of deep contradiction — its opening line speaks of driving “a big lazy car rushin’ up the highway”; half of him wanting to arrive, the other still dawdling.
16
Blood Brothers
(The Live Series: Songs of Friendship, 2019)
Recorded live as the finale to the final show of Bruce’s Reunion Tour on July 1st, 2000, at Madison Square Garden, this 1995 track received a new final verse that seemed to pay tribute not only to the E Street Band around him once more, but to all of those passed along the way: “Close my eyes and feel so many friends around me in the early evening light.” It carries a similar poignancy to more recent tours, and particularly to performances of Last Man Standing.
17
If I Should Fall Behind
(Lucky Town, 1992)
This absolute gem of Bruce’s catalogue first appeared on Lucky Town, and was written shortly before his wedding to Patti Scialfa. An account of the simple dedication of love, Bruce himself deems it one of his finest songs. It has enjoyed other incarnations — among them a B-side to Streets of Philadelphia, and on Bruce’s MTV Unplugged session, in addition to interpretations by artists such as Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill. A 1999 version featuring vocals by various members of the E Street Band, is stunning.
18
Stayin’ Alive, Live at Brisbane Entertainment Centre, 2014
(The Live Series: Songs Under Cover)
When Bruce ran a 10-night tour of Australia in 2014, he largely chose to launch each night by covering a track by local acts, among them AC/DC and INXS. When he reached Brisbane, however, his choice of opening number initially seemed to baffle many in the audience: the early bars of the Bee Gees’ 1977 disco hit reinterpreted as a solo acoustic track. But then Bruce picked up the vocal, the E Street Band joined in,and the song suddenly gathered and took flight. It’s truly majestic.
19
Janey, Don’t You Lose Heart
(Tracks)
A long-standing fan favourite, Janey was recorded as part of the Born in the USA sessions and was released as a B-side to “I’m Goin’ Down”. The tale of a young woman clearly in a muddy patch, there’s little in its lyrics that feels wildly innovative, but in its refrain “Janey don’t you lose heart” and —particularly, the “no no no no no” that follows, the song joins the ranks of great sonic pop delights that began with Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti.
20
Sad Eyes, Studio Outtake
(Tracks, 1998)
1990’s “Sad Eyes” is an unexpectedly divisive song in Bruce’s catalogue. For some it’s a cold-blooded account of seduction, for others it seems to brim with compassion. It’s an outtake from the Human Touch sessions, its players including David Sancious, Randy Jackson and Jeff Porcaro from Toto, and it tells of a man’s slow-burn pursuit of a woman whose eyes seem to belie her claims to be “doing fine”. For all its contention, what’s indisputable is the irresistibility of its chorus, performed in an unexpected Chris Isaak-style falsetto.