Original Labor of Love CD -->EAC-->Flac

Unreleased home demos circa 1983


Lost Masters Volume X:
Jesse James And The Wages Of Sin
(Solo Masters Volume IV)

All songs: Bruce Springsteen. Acoustic home demos, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, early 1983.

1. Long Way Home
2. Ruled by the Gun #1
3. Ruled by the Gun #2 Harmonies and guitar solos
4. Downbound Train
5. Wages of Sin #1
6. I Need You #1
7. I Need You #2 Background vocals
8. Ruled by the Gun #3
9. Ruled by the Gun #4 Harmonies
10. Baby I'm So Cold (Turn the Lights Down Low)
Early version of "Follow That Dream," with lyrics from "Loose Ends"
11. Untitled Riff
12. Wages of Sin #2
13. Wages of Sin #3 Harmonies
14. Wheels Make the World Go Round
15. Glory Days Original demo
16. Wages of Sin #4
17. Fade to Black
18. Your Love (Is All Around Me Now) #1
19. Your Love (Is All Around Me Now) #2
20. Jesse James #1
Harmonies similar to song "None But the Brave"
21. Jesse James #2 Harmonies
22. They Killed Him in the Street #1
23. They Killed Him in the Street #2 Harmonies
24. True Love Is Hard to Come By #1
25. True Love Is Hard to Come By #2
26. True Love Is Hard to Come By #3
Early version of "Janey Don't You Lose Heart"

Having gone from a prisoner of rock and roll to a prisoner in his own home in a few short years, Bruce Springsteen did not simply sit idly by a year after releasing his stark and riveting masterpiece, "Nebraska." With money, fame and critical acclaim throughout the world, he embarked on a long, arduous and soul-searching journey which would eventually result in the colossus called "Born in the USA." This trip was marked by fits and stops, detours and backtracks, hits and misses, some of which can be found on such unreleased tunes from this period as "Frankie," "This Hard Land," and "My Love Will Not Let You Down." The beginning of this trip, however (well, maybe not the very beginning, but certainly somewhere at the start), may very well be traced to the music you now hold in your hands. For those of you wanting to hear Bruce unplugged, it doesn't get any more unplugged than this. Accompanied only by an acoustic guitar and some skeleton lyrics, these demos capture Bruce at his rawest, presumably in the earliest stages of work on an album that would not see the light of day for at least another year and a half. Don't be fooled by the term demo in this case, either. There are no less than 12 "complete" (if not fully realized) tunes here, not to mention incomplete (yet still compelling) and early incarnations of "Glory Days" and "Downbound Train." What is perhaps most fascinating about these demos (beyond the unbelievable source sound quality and compelling lyrics), is that it provides a glimpse into a master at work, constructing and deconstructing ideas, lyrics and sounds and attempting to mold them into something substantial. Listening to "Jesse James" and its incredible reprise, one is left wondering what could have become of a song such as this. This is no mere "rough" demo and will rightfully take its place alongside other unreleased classics as "The Iceman" and "Preacher's Daughter." Ditto for "Your Love Is All Around Me Now," "Wages of Sin," and "Ruled by the Gun." Many other surprises await you on this extremely rare glimpse into the private world of the Boss alone, circa 1983. We guarantee you've never heard anything quite like it. Who knows when you might again (wink)?

Yazoo Street, London, March 1996