We’ve finally got the long sought-after tracks, but should we have been more careful about what we wished for?
We’ve finally got the long sought-after tracks, but should we have been more careful about what we wished for?
“Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition” by Bruce Springsteen, via Sony Music.
When Bruce Springsteen’s longtime manager, Jon Landau, was asked about the legendary “Electric Nebraska” tapes, he reportedly said, “The right version of ‘Nebraska’ was released.” And guess what? Turns out he was right! (Jon Landau is always right.)
Not that there’s any shortage of interesting curiosities on “Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition,” out Friday in conjunction with the release of the Springsteen biopic, “Deliver Me from Nowhere.” The outtakes from the sessions recorded in that rented Colts Neck, New Jersey farmhouse contain a few hidden gems, and a new straight-through take on the classic album recorded live by Springsteen at the Count Basie Theater this past April offers its own rewards.
More on those later, though. What people are really salivating over are those long-rumored “Electric Nebraska” recordings, which Bruce famously shelved in order to release his original demos instead. As recently as this past June, Springsteen was telling a Rolling Stone reporter they didn’t exist, before texting back later to say that, waddaya know, he found them! And now here they are, on a deluxe special edition release. The question is, should we have been more careful about what we wished for?
Ironically, the most effective of these electric tracks are the least, well, electric. The subtle addition of Stevie Van Zandt’s mandolin and Danny Federici’s synthesizer actually brings a quiet heft to “Nebraska” that complements its resigned delivery. That’s even more true for Federici’s organ and Roy Bittan’s piano on “Mansion on the Hill” — the addition provides just a touch of extra melancholy, and points toward the sad country version eventually preserved on the “Live from New York City” release.
But that brings up a pertinent point about several other key tracks, namely “Atlantic City,” “Johnny 99,” and “Reason to Believe.” Anyone who’s been paying attention over the last 40 years has heard the E Street Band’s live work-ups of these songs, and these versions are basically those versions — except not as good, because they were the first run-throughs.
