PERFECT WORLD: Springsteen's poignant, political, propulsive, but less-than-perfect patchwork

August 24, 2025

"The Vault" consisting of Bruce Springsteen's unreleased recordings has taken on a mythical status, with fans long speculating about the treasure trove hidden inside. Tracks II: The Lost Albums confirms that not every Bruce Springsteen song yet to see the light of day shines as brightly as hoped. While much of the seven-albums set includes some gems, there aren’t as many "shoulda-been-released" songs as there were on the original Tracks. Many tunes feel decidedly middle-of-the-road—especially those on the collection's final album (which also is the final album to be reviewed in Letters To You's Summer 2025 Tracks II deep-dive,) Perfect World.

Perfect World is different from the rest of the albums in the box-set, which were either conceived as full bodies of work or intertwined with other projects. This patchwork of songs was written between 1994 and 2011. In his introduction to the hardcover Bruce Springsteen: The Lost Albums book included with the physical Tracks II box-set, Springsteen describes Perfect World as "a record I pieced together from work I had held for this project... I wanted just a little fun, noise, and rock 'n' roll to finish the package." The only thread tying the generally buoyant songs together is a cast of restless characters who remain idealistic, even as the world gives them no reason to be.

The first three songs are collaborations with Joe Grushecky from the mid-1990s, which have all been performed live in the past. “Another Thin Line” rocked the E Street Band’s Reunion Tour at Madison Square Garden in June 2000, and then during the final shows of The Rising Tour at Shea Stadium in 2003. The more scathing “Idiot’s Delight” occasionally appeared during the Devils & Dust tour in 2005. “I’m Not Sleeping” was frequently played alongside Grushecky at the Light of Day and Soldiers and Sailors benefit concerts between 2010 and 2014 as an exuberant duet.

Roy Bittan’s lilting piano chords and the steady guitar in “I’m Not Sleeping” belie the frustration and isolation the narrator endures. “Turn off the TV, because it bothers me / I’ve seen all that, all that I wanna see,” he sings. The narrator has chosen to close his eyes to the dangerous and unfair world around him, one that is broadcast nonstop on the 24/7 news cycle. It’s a predicament many of us can relate to amid our current political chaos. “Feed the rich, eat the poor / Stack their bodies outside my door,” he spits, with the latter line being one that would reappear in slightly altered form nearly a decade later in "Last to Die" on Magic. One of the joys of Tracks II is spotting how lines have been repurposed; the album offers insight into Bruce’s creative process, showing how he continually tinkers with particular turns of phrase.

"Idiot's Delight" has a lot more bite than Grushecky's honky-tonk version with The Houserockers on the 1998 album, Coming Home. Bruce Springsteen frequently presented a stripped-down version with vocals warped through a bullet mic on the Devils & Dust tour that sounded as if the song was coming from the bowels of Hell. It was fitting for a narrative about Saint Peter looking down on the self-destructive and foolish humans who had been given a beautiful world and so royally fucked it up. Springsteen’s gravelly voice has a devilish snarl, matched by the whining harmonica and sprawling organ that sounds like the narrator’s blood boiling with anger. This hard-blues rocker is yet another song that feels dangerously relevant to our volatile political times.

“Another Thin Line” rounds out the Grushecky collaborations. It captures the working-class struggle of just getting by, with lyrics like: “More layoffs, up go the stock / Busted out below, sittin’ pretty on top” and “Money's all gone, nothin' in the bank / Somebody gets sick, family closes rank.” Despite the narrator’s despairing situation, the song has a propulsive energy, especially with Tom Morello’s searing guitar break. The cowbell ticks like a doomsday clock, signaling that there’s no crawling out from the economic grind. If not for the gnarly sound, it could’ve come straight off Wrecking Ball. “Another Thin Line” is a driving anthem for those living paycheck to paycheck—an unfortunate predicament for many today. The Grushecky trio of songs is the strongest and most cohesive on the album.

The next crop of songs, in which Springsteen returned to writing on his own, are interchangeable in their appeal and memorability. “The Great Depression” is a cheerful, folksy tune that calls to mind “Tomorrow Never Knows” from Working on a Dream. But instead of being reminded not to waste the time you’ve been granted with your loved ones, the narrator in “The Great Depression” has already lost everything that was once in his possession. The airy piano and plaintive banjo create a compelling tension between the narrator’s despair over playing cheap and easy games with his lover’s heart and destroying the romantic relationship he worked so hard to build.

“Blind Man” gently pulls the listener along with its sleepy rhythm and Springsteen’s quiet, flat voice, much like the smooth current of the river the narrator travels on in search of a lost love. Even as life moves forward and the tides are still coming in and out, he is on a journey that feels endless. As a result, the quietly plainspoken tune doesn’t feel like it goes much of anywhere, save for some gliding organ passages from Charlie Giordano.

The greatest sin of the majority of tracks on Perfect World is that they are merely serviceable. The single release “Rain in the River,” however, has a more impressive sound. The main character’s anger and despair pour into the hard-driving drums and shredding guitars. Springsteen’s voice is guttural, sounding like he has a throat full of gravel, which adds to the song’s grittiness. The title is a simile about how Marie's love for the narrator is now untraceable—like the rain that blends into a river. There’s a titillating mystery as to what exactly has occurred in the song when the narrator stands on shallow ground and Marie's long black hair, then leaves town with his Colt by his side. Has he killed her? He comes across like some unscrupulous gunslinger in a Western movie. “Rain in the River" is simple and short, but its forcefulness is welcome compared to the string of rather flighty tunes on Perfect World.

“If I Could Only Be Your Lover” was a Wrecking Ball demo that did not have enough political punch, even though its narrators face foreclosures and dried-up work during an economic downturn. It’s got some passionate guitar solos punctuating the chorus, but the overall melody languishes and does not flow well. The most interesting aspect of the track is its outro of sparkling chimes that resemble a music box; it seems better suited to many other songs in Bruce’s catalog that are far more romantic and tender.

Bruce Springsteen’s use of falsetto is an unexpected treat in songs, carrying an ethereal vulnerability absent from the gruff vocal style he’s known for. He employs it in “Cutting Knife,” whose lyrics evoke a kind of medieval ballad: “I have a fair love to whom I’m not true / For this I’ve no reason that’d satisfy you / I thought myself a gentleman and kind / Yet to her good soul and beauty / I’ve willed myself blind.”  It’s an unusual song, built around the striking metaphor of a cutting knife as a woman whose sharp, unflinching qualities call the narrator out in his worst moments. The chorus is elevated by Patti Scialfa’s glowing background vocals.

The closing songs of Perfect World are also notable. “You Lifted Me Up” has repetitive and simple lyrics, but its cheerfulness is infectious. Lines like “All of my faith’s in you,” “You lifted me up,” and “All of my praise to you” aren’t Springsteen’s typically rich poetics, but there’s a zesty energy in the uplifting piano lines and Steve Van Zandt and Patti Scialfa’s vocals that would thrive in a live setting. The Bruce Springsteen: The Lost Albums book describes “You Lifted Me Up” as "a spiritual companion" to “Land of Hope and Dreams.” You can especially hear this connection in the jubilant guitar riffs of the Live in New York City version from 2000, and how the lyrics portray interpersonal relationships as the handiwork of a higher power.

“Perfect World” is a lovely closer. It begins with very vivid yet simple imagery of what the world is really like and what we imagine it to be: “Every lover would get a rose on Valentine’s Day / And every stray dog would find its way / I’d be in your arms tonight 'neath the eves / Instead of at your doorstep down on my knees.” This contrasts sharply with the more twangy, raspy cover by John Mellencamp released on his album Orpheus Descending in 2023. We feel that longing for a “perfect world” far more deeply in Springsteen’s resonant and fragile vocals. In the chorus, Bruce lowers and elongates his voice, as if his throat is tight with sadness, making the gap between hope and reality palpable.

Tracks II should be regarded as more of a window into an artistic process rather than fully-formed songs admired for their masterful craftsmanship. Perfect World exemplifies that most clearly as a grab bag of unassuming compositions without a home, hardly masterpieces but still solid and intriguing listens.