These notes provide commentary on the 300 songs written by Springsteen in the twelve years (to the day) that separate his audition for Appel in February 1972 from the recording of ‘Dancing In The Dark’ in 1984. Included is full studio data for each track, culled primarily from Sony’s own database of the sessions, and where applicable the first documented live version. Session dates in square brackets indicates a possible mix session, as opposed to a full recording session with the band. In the case of certain early compositions, a second documented live version is included in brackets, to indicate where the first recording may be sonically challenged (i.e. crap). The short codes for the album on which a given track appears are as follows:

 

18TR – 18 TRACKS

BITUSA – BORN IN THE USA

BTF – BEFORE THE FAME

BTR – BORN TO RUN

DA – DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

GH – GREATEST HITS

GR – GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK

NE– NEBRASKA

PS – PRODIGAL SON

RI – THE RIVER

TE – THE ESSENTIAL . . .

TP – THE PROMISE

TR – TRACKS

WI – THE WILD, THE INNOCENT & THE E STREET SHUFFLE

 

[TR]* and [TP]* indicate that the original studio recordings were overdubbed decades later, prior to release on Tracks or The Promise.