What ‘The Lost Albums’ Say About Bruce Springsteen

“Two faces have I

One that laughs, one that cries

One says hello, one says goodbye”

Bruce Springsteen, “Two Faces,” 1987

Taken off Springsteen’s brilliant 1987 Tunnel of Love album, this gem is ostensibly written about a troubled relationship. But as someone who has interviewed so many of the greatest songwriters ever – Mike Stoller, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, Stevie Nicks, Tom Petty – the list goes on and on, I can tell you most songwriters will tell you that songs often have multiple meanings and hidden subtext even the writers don’t know about. I have had countless songwriters tell me they often don’t know what a song is about until years later.

So, it is very interesting to revisit this particular track nearly 40 years later with two facts in mind. One, it was on the album that directly preceded Springsteen disbanding the legendary E Street Band for a dozen years. Two, looking at the song in the wake of the massive seven album, 83-song Tracks II: The Lost Albums set coming out Friday (June 27), it could easily be an artistic confession.

Because, although unlike Tracks, these are seven complete individual albums, when you look at them as a whole, they very much reveal the duality of Springsteen, the musician.

Almost all great artists have multiple artistic sides to them. Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Prince, John Lennon – if you go through their whole bodies of work, you see great detours along what is considered their artistic path. And some, like Waits, their whole career is exploration. So, to say Springsteen has multiple artistic personalities is not unusual. It is recognizing that as a true artist he has the normal wanderlust all great musicians do.

In Springsteen’s case though it is particularly interesting because he has created a larger-than-life persona. This year is a perfect example. As he gets set to release this incredibly introspective collection he is currently touring overseas, playing stadiums to nearly 100,000 fans a night and again being recognized as an American hero for leading the artistic charge against the current presidential administration.

In a way, the Springsteen leading the E Street Band and tens of thousands in anthemic rockers like “Badlands” and “Born to Run” is a version of Superman. Well, if that version is Superman, the Springsteen of these seven albums is Clark Kent.

Each of the seven albums – LA Garage Sessions ’83, Streets of Philadelphia Sessions, Faithless, Somewhere North of Nashville, Inyo, Twilight Hours and Perfect World – has its own vibe and standout songs.

LA Garage Sessions ’83, the collection that famously bridges Nebraska and Born in the USA, is 18 songs that range from the goofy, fun “Little Girl Like You” to the story song “Jim Deer,” a natural continuation of from Nebraska. The standout song is the incredibly sweet “County Fair,” a song beautiful in its simplicity and innocence.

The famed Streets of Philadelphia Sessions does not disappoint. The 10-song album, which opens with the recently released “Blind Spot” is driven by looping and rhythmic beats like on “Between Heaven And Hell” and the somber, even a little sinister “Something In The Well.” The highlight is “Maybe I Don’t Know You,” a powerful statement on insecurity in a relationship.

Faithless, the soundtrack to a never-made movie is a gorgeous collection driven by a quest for answers and hope and propelled by religion. The record features at least six noteworthy songs out of the 11, including the Tom Waits-like “All God’s Children,” a screaming mix of blues and gospel, the stunning elegy “Let Me Ride” and the Johnny Cash-esque title track, a beautiful hymn. The standout though is the breathtaking ballad “God Sent You.”

Somewhere North of Nashville, is, as the name implies, the most country record of the set. From the beautiful “Poor Side of Town” and “Delivery Man,” a very up-tempo, almost rockabilly tune, to the lush title track, the record is almost all country. The standout is “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone,” a sweet song that feels like ‘70s era Tom Waits doing country.

The largely Spanish and Mexican-influenced Inyo is next. The 10-song record is heavily influenced by both words of music, from “The Lost Charro,” which is Mexican and unique on the set, to the Spanish-styled “One False Move.” The highlight is the gorgeous gospel song, “When I Build My Beautiful House.”

The lush Twilight Hours, arguably the strongest individual album in the set, is a masterful work of strings, crooning and gorgeous arrangements. Every track is a standout on this one, including each of the first four; the gorgeous “Sunday Love” and “Late in the Evening” and the crooners, “Two of Us” and “Lonely Town.” –

Finally, the set ends with the more rock-based Perfect World. Heavier in tempo and vibes on songs like “Blind Man” and the rocking gospel fee of “You Lifted Me Up,” these 10 songs have more of a grit, led by the slow build of “If I Could Only Be Your Lover.”

So, each of the albums is musically strong and worthy of exploring. Ultimately though the most compelling part about Tracks II: The Lost Albums is what it shows about Springsteen as a complete artist. It shows an artist, like so many other greats, on a journey for an artistic vision that is ongoing and like all true greats, is much more about the quest than the destination.