All 7 of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Tracks II’ lost albums, ranked

One new Bruce Springsteen record would have us dancing in the dark. But seven? We’re on fire.

On Friday, the rock icon dropped Tracks II: The Lost Albums, featuring 83 songs in total, 74 of which had never been heard before. Spanning his career from 1983 through 2018, the massive box set compiles a mix of eclectic material the Boss wrote and recorded but then abandoned. While much of it had even been mastered, Springsteen decided it was not an essential part of his oeuvre for one reason or another.

Now, at last, fans can fill in the gaps between the LPs he did release, delving into a rich collection of work that never was. Because 83 songs is an incredible amount of music (though we have no doubt Springsteen diehards will tear through it as fast as they can), we’ve made things a bit more bite-size, ranking all seven albums of Tracks II and highlighting some of the best tracks off each.

So roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair, and let’s go.

7. Faithless

Springsteen was commissioned to write the music on Faithless for a companion album for a “spiritual Western” that never got off the ground. Without the film to accompany them, the songs here, which he recorded between late 2005 and spring 2006, feel like the most incomplete of the newly released Tracks II material, missing the visual half of their equation. Still, there’s beautiful work to be found, notably in several instrumentals, a true departure for a man known for his sharp lyricism. If you listen to just one song, however, make it “Let Me Ride,” a plaintive yet soothing ballad with rich choral harmonies and strings. Its chorus — “Give me my ticket, Lord, and let me ride” — is reminiscent of the Springsteen live-show favorite “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

6. Twilight Hours

Given his status as a dyed-in-the-wool rock and roller, it would be odd to call Springsteen a crooner, but that’s the vibe he’s going for on this quieter record he wrote and recorded in 2010 and 2011 before releasing 2012’s Wrecking Ball. “Lonely Town” offers some of Springsteen’s signature storytelling with a noir-worthy tale of a gray world for lonely lovers. It’s easy to imagine him singing it in a cocked fedora with a glass of whiskey in hand. “Sunliner” evokes a breezier atmosphere before he kicks it up a notch on “Follow the Sun,” which employs the distinct horns and drum brushes of 1960s Burt Bacharach. Twilight Hours is a unique entry in the Tracks II collection, but it’s a little uneven as Springsteen plays around outside his usual wheelhouse.

5. Inyo 

Inyo was largely written in the mid-1990s while Springsteen was on the road with a solo tour for The Ghost of Tom Joad. Much like Western Stars, Joad, and Devils and Dust, it is a spare and reflective record that pays homage to the landscape of California and the West with its sound. Though the singer has recently beefed up his backup production with brass and string sections, Inyo presages that with its implementation of mariachi music, most beautifully on “The Lost Charro,” a romantic ballad about the traditions of its titular Mexican cowboy. The album illuminates Springsteen’s versatility as an artist, shifting genres while he maintains his thematic focus of wandering men in wide open spaces. Also irresistible is “When I Build My Beautiful House,” which features exquisite finger-picking that further highlights Inyo‘s Spanish influence.

4. Perfect World

Unlike the other six projects of the new collection, Perfect World was not conceived as an album, instead compiling a sampling of tracks from across various points in Springsteen’s career. That lack of a unifying vision is what lands it solidly in the middle of this pack, even if it has some of the box set’s strongest tracks. “The Great Depression” was cut from consideration for Wrecking Ball, which is abundantly evident given its sound, which blends folksy traditions with rock & roll like that album’s “Shackled and Drawn” and “Death to My Hometown.” It’s a shame it wasn’t included, but we’re lucky to hear it now. “Rain in the River” is a driving rock song that Springsteen wrote way back in 1994 that he later considered for Wrecking Ball (though it wouldn’t have felt out of place on 2002’s The Rising either). Of all 83 lost tracks here, it might be the one we’re most eager to hear live with the full force of the E Street Band behind it.

3. Streets of Philadelphia Sessions

As the title suggests, these songs stem from the same period during which Springsteen wrote his 1994 Oscar winner, “Streets of Philadelphia,” for Jonathan Demme’s Tom Hanks–starring Philadelphia. The aural textures of the album lean heavily on the use of drum machines and synths, showcasing the artist’s desire to play with the popular tools of the trade at that time. Opening track “Blind Spot” is classic early-1990s Springsteen, with its looping bass line and lyrics that speak to the inevitable failure of a relationship (see also: 1987’s “Brilliant Disguise”). Meanwhile, “One Beautiful Morning” veers more into the warm rock sound of 1992’s “Lucky Town” and, with its talk of a resurrection that echoes the lyrics of 2002’s “The Rising,” plays with the religious themes that often pop up in Springsteen’s work.

2. Somewhere North of Nashville

Springsteen has never actually released a country album, though he’s covered Glen Campbell and much of 2019’s Western Stars relies on country-western traditions. If Somewhere North of Nashville is any indication, that’s a bummer because he has a real gift for honky-tonk. Surprisingly, Springsteen recorded this album concurrently with 1995’s The Ghost of Tom Joad, laying down cuts for Joad during daylight hours and Nashville at night. Featuring stirring pedal-steel guitar that lends it a yearning, melancholy sound, “Under a Big Sky” is a lilting ballad about a lonesome guy realizing he has ruined the relationships that matter most. Pair it with “Detail Man,” a forceful track that feels of apiece with 1981’s “Cadillac Ranch” that might just be the filthiest song the Boss has ever written — “I’ll kiss you in places other men ain’t even heard about,” he promises. Springsteen has never been as overtly lascivious as his rock brethren Mick Jagger or Jim Morrison, so it’s a delight hearing him fully embrace his sex appeal.

1. LA Garage Sessions ’83

This album might have the blandest name of the bunch, but it also feels like the most crucial entry in this collection, offering essential connective tissue between 1982’s Nebraska and the 1984 juggernaut Born In the U.S.A. (it even includes an alternate version of U.S.A.‘s “My Hometown”). Springsteen has performed many of these songs live over the years, but getting to hear them in a more unified context allows fans to chart his evolution as an artist in real time. It’s hard to pick favorites from LA Garage because it boasts so many great tracks, but start with “Follow That Dream,” Springsteen’s twist on an Elvis Presley track of the same name; “Don’t Back Down on Our Love,” which echoes the playful energy of U.S.A.‘s “Darlington County” and “Cover Me”; “Black Mountain Ballad,” which shares DNA with Nebraska tracks like “Johnny 99” with its haunting style; and “Don’t Back Down,” which offers divine Beach Boys–esque harmonies with a Springsteen flare.