Bruce Springsteen will release the previously unheard album Somewhere North of Nashville as part of Tracks II: The Lost Albums, which is set to come out on June 27 through Sony Music.
This 12-song collection draws from honky tonk, rockabilly, and upbeat country music. It was recorded during the summer of 1995, at the same time as The Ghost of Tom Joad. The album features key members of the band from those sessions, including Danny Federici, Garry Tallent, and Gary Mallaber. It also includes pedal steel guitar by Marty Rifkin, who later joined The Sessions Band, and fiddle by Soozie Tyrell. Two of the songs, “Stand On It” and “Janey Don’t You Lose Heart,” were originally meant for the Born In The U.S.A. album.
Springsteen explained, “I wrote all these country songs at the same time I wrote The Ghost of Tom Joad. The sessions overlapped completely. I was singing ‘Repo Man’ in the afternoon and ‘The Line’ at night. So, the country record was made alongside The Ghost of Tom Joad.”
He added, “Streets of Philadelphia helped me connect to socially conscious songwriting, which led to The Ghost of Tom Joad. But at the same time, I had this country streak running through those sessions, and I ended up making a country record on the side.”
Along with releasing the song “Repo Man” today, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band will start their “The Land of Hope & Dreams Tour” tonight in Manchester, England.
Related Topics
