Dark, brooding, and haunting, “Wages of Sin” is one of Bruce’s bleakest and finest outtakes. Backstory, evolution, analysis, and one gorgeous performance inside.
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Tracks (61)
Originally entitled “Small Town Girl,” this unusual Born in the U.S.A. outtake makes for a fine honky-tonk companion song to “Darlington County.”
Bruce has grappled with feelings of isolation and alienation through song for decades, but “Loose Change” may be the most artful and hopeful example. Let’s take a close listen.
“Brothers Under the Bridges” is a Born in the U.S.A. outtake bristling with youth and yearning–but it foreshadows Bruce’s twelve-years-later sequel.
Patiently romantic or cruelly manipulative? Read my take on Bruce’s one and only single from Tracks inside.
Bruce re-wrote Roy Orbison’s classic “Oh, Pretty Woman,” giving the title character a name and a more realistic ending. Insights and rare performances inside.
It may be pink, but it ain’t no car. Backstory and great performances inside.
An outtake and afterthought from the Lucky Town sessions, “Happy” nevertheless captures the almost out-of-body contentment that’s born along with a new and growing family.
The ultra-rare “Man at the Top” (performed only three times ever) has surprising depth beneath its simple lyrics. Written when Bruce was on the precipice of mega-stardom, the song grapples with the nature and cost of ambition.