"Where you from?" - Joe Amodei explores FAITHLESS, and the unmade movie-from-a-book that inspired it

August 19, 2025

EDITOR'S NOTE: In 1973, a young rock critic by the name of Jon Landau - who at the time also happened to be married to a young music/film critic named Janet Maslin - reviewed Bob Dylan's soundtrack album for Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, the '73 Sam Peckinpah film in which Dylan also acted, alongside James Coburn and Kris Kristofferson. "True to its soundtrack genre," wrote Landau in Rolling Stone, "much of the record is made up of instrumental music never intended to stand on its own and useless on an album." Ouch, the irony! What exactly would young Mr. Landau think of Bruce Springsteen's Faithless, a "lost album" of soundtrack music (including instrumental music) for another western film - a "spiritual western," at that - but a film that, to date, doesn't even exist? The world can never know, of course, but that's okay with us here at Letters To You. In any case, we're much more interested in knowing what our friend and occasional contributing writer Joe Amodei - the veteran filmmaker, astute movie buff, and longtime Springsteen fan - thinks of Faithless. Take it away, Joe...

When I was asked to pen a review of one of the seven albums in Bruce Springsteen’s epic  Tracks II: The Lost Albums release, I was hesitant. The album that was offered to me was Faithless. I knew going in that this album was not a typical well-written, epic Springsteen record release. This was a totally different path the rock star had taken, a path that as a fan, I always had wondered why it hadn’t been traveled previously. This was a score, a soundtrack to what was to be a major feature film. Of course, Bruce has written and contributed original songs to several films over the years, most famously with his Oscar-winning "Streets of Philadelphia" for Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia, and he's even done a bit of interstitial and prelude scoring for both his "Hunter of Invisible Game" and Western Stars films that he co-directed with Thom Zimny. Nevertheless, he's never taken on the task of scoring an entire film before, and therefore I've never before written about a soundtrack album containing - presumably - the full Springsteen-composed score for a feature film. I would not be diving into many songs, lyrics, and music that tell their own stories, as Bruce so poetically gives us in almost all of his albums. That would be done by the folks who inherited the jobs of reviewing the other six Tracks II albums. Lucky them.

This would be the opposite thing, entirely. This time the music and the songs would go hand in hand with a story already written by someone else. The source material would not be Bruce. And the music I would be listening to would be written to take us deeper into that story, and to dig deep into that emotion that would be on the big (or little) screen on which we'd be watching the film. Pretty heavy stuff, and quite a different adventure for this longtime Springsteen fan.

Oh, and I forgot the most important thing... The unknown mystery. The MacGuffin that I could not use because... well, it didn’t exist. There is no movie I can watch with this music in it. There isn’t even a script I can read as I listen to the music. As most if not all readers of this review will know, the score was written and then recorded before a frame of film ever was shot. And then the movie was never made. And we are not 100% positive what that movie is. And of course, no one is talking. (Well, as I would come to find out there actually was one person "talking," but more on that later.) So, I did some digging anyway, and here is what I found.

Throwing just a bit of caution to the wind, I’ll go slightly out on a limb here and write that Faithless definitely would have been the score for a film based on a Tom Eidson western novel entitled St. Agnes' Stand. This is the book that some folks have spoken about online as the one that might have been the film's source material. (Springsteen only has gone on record so far as to tell Rolling Stone's Andy Greene that he composed and recorded the music on Faithless using both "a book" and "a screenplay.") Having now read St. Agnes' Stand myself, I have no doubt at this point. And I have another pretty good source, to boot; Bruce Springsteen himself told me. Actually, he told all of us; he just didn’t say it out loud. I’ll explain below.

But first, some more on St. Agnes' Stand. Published in April 1994, this western saga tells the story of a shot-up, weary cowboy with a bullet in his leg, who goes by the name of Nat Swanson. Nat's on the run, being pursued across the desert towards California by a group of men intent on killing him. He comes across a wagon train that has been attacked by an Apache tribe out for blood in the worse fashion. Upon approach, he finds an elderly nun named Sister St. Agnes, still alive, who takes him to a hidden cave where two other nuns, along with seven young children, are sheltering in place. Sister St. Agnes believes that Swanson has been sent by God to save them. Swanson is not the believer Sister St. Agnes wants him to be, but he knows he is their only hope as the marauding Apache are getting closer and closer to discovering and infiltrating their hiding place.

The book was a somewhat hot property, and optioned by Dreamworks to be made into a feature film that was to be directed by Martin Scorsese. There are also reports that at one point Sydney Pollack was in the mix to direct, as well. But as we know, none of this ever happened; the film was never made.

Eidson’s novel has a spiritual bent to it, as the elder Sister St. Agnes truly believes that the Almighty has reached down and sent this man to save them, a la Homer Smith in the wonderful Sidney Poitier film Lilies of the Field ("gonna build me a chapel") or the long-running hit show Highway to Heaven, starring Michael Landon. But that’s as far as the spirituality goes in St. Agnes' Stand. The book contains nightmarish pages of brutality committed by the Apache that would most likely have been toned down at least somewhat for the film adaptation. The novel's depiction of the Apache is not the fair and accurate portrayal one would hope we'd see today.

So the question remains: Is Faithless the unused score that was written for a cinematic adaptation of St. Agnes' Stand? At this point it’s still left completely up to you, but there are some big clues that Springsteen himself gives us via the liner-notes and the book The Lost Albums included with vinyl-LP/CD versions of Tracks II. Along with Bruce referring to the film as “a spiritual western," there are lines in the lyrics of “Where You Goin', Where You From” that refer to a crossbow and a Hawken gun. These are the weapons of choice used by Nat Swenson in St. Agnes' Stand. In the same song, we find the lyric “I’ve got me a home on the other side of this storm." St. Agnes' Stand contains a sequence with a torrential life-threatening storm and flood that the characters fight to survive. Also, Swanson carries with him a deed to a home in California, and that is where he is headed if he can survive. And there is more. Let’s look at each track on the album...

Track 1 -“The Desert” (Instrumental) - As Bruce says in the book The Lost Albums, this is basically “interstitial music” that speaks to the images on the screen. It sets a tone and in this case, it could be the opening of the film, following Swanson as he heads into the sprawling desert, evading capture.

Track 2 - “Where You Goin’, Where You From” - Swanson is on the road now, and has eluded capture. Not sure where the road is heading but, as the lyrics say, it’s “on the road to kingdom come” and “I've got a round in my Hawken gun,” which, as stated above, happens to be the gun that Swanson carries throughout St. Agnes' Stand. Further evidence is the line  “Black powder on my thumb.” As we learn in the novel, Swanson has fired the gun before the story begins, which would have blackened his thumb. Also appearing in this song's lyrics is the line “I've got a quarrel in my crossbow.” Again, this is Swanson's main go-to when fighting the Apache, presumably the "devil" Bruce refers to in the song. For me, this is one of the highlights of the album. Backed on vocals by his sons Evan and Sam, along with Patti Scialfa, it sounds like a nice little almost-folksy song, but the lyrics are deadly serious and talk of danger behind and ahead. The song ends with a moody instrumental piece that is as haunting as it is beautiful.

Track 3 - “Faithless” - This is the story of Nat Swanson. A lone cowboy with no faith but the barrel of his gun who, as the song says, “walked 'neath the eves of the garden” and “in the valley 'neath an endless sky,” beaten and alone, but for the desert in front of him and the stars above. And then in a moment of acceptance comes the line “Then I found you.” God? Maybe. More likely it's Sister St. Agnes, but it clearly spells out that this lost man has found something meaningful. As a stand-alone song, this character could be anyone, and that is what makes this song one of the main reasons why the album has been called a spiritual journey.

Track 4 - “All God’s Children” - With an obvious nod to the children being sheltered and hidden away from the Apache, this gospel-church-clapping, knee-slapping song is the most raucous one on the album. As loud as it is lively, and with the “Glory Hallelujah” chorus, this could be one song to make it on stage at a Springsteen concert. (Coincidentally, Eidson also wrote and published a 1996 novel entitled All God's Children.)

Track 5 - “A Prayer By The River” (Instrumental) - This is where the score begins to soar. As background music, this would work just about anywhere, but I believe this would have been used throughout the film during its most serious and spiritual moments. With the Morricone-style angels providing the choral backdrop, this passage perfectly fits into what the movie would be saying.

Track 6 - “God Sent You” - Wow! Another title or subtitle could be “Sister St. Agnes' Theme," as it personifies all that she is wishing for and is asking for help from God. This is one of the most beautifully written and sacred songs Bruce has ever given us. More hymnlike than anything else he has written, it is one that grabs your heart and reaches into your soul. This one actually brought tears to my eyes with its beauty and soulfulness. It could stand away from the score and have different meanings to different folks but in particular for those who believe in the word of God. It is my favorite piece from the album. (Interesting point of speculation... Why the apparent "last-minute" lyric change - and clearly modern overdubbed vocal by a much older-sounding Springsteen - from the line "His inner light is my patience" as printed on the album's lyric-sheet, to “Through His inner light, forsake temptation?”)

Track 7 - “Goin to California” - Almost like a companion to “Where You Goin’, Where You From” in its wistful rendering by Bruce. This could be in the beginning or the end of the film. Not a whole lot to it, but in the frame of the score it would work well, and it does have some rip-roaring banjo.

Track 8 - “The Western Sea” (Instrumental) - Moody, atmospheric and once again leaning towards the spiritual side of things. Purely written for the score.

Track 9 - “My Master's Hand” - Another song that could take the stage at any Springsteen show, and one that possibly brings some of Bruce’s own spirituality into the film. This could be played over end credits or leading up to the exciting climax. Nat Swanson, at this point in the story, is all in and will do anything, including dying, if it means saving the nuns and the children. This is where he becomes what Sister St. Agnes has prayed for. He is the miracle she asked God for, and in these lyrics he surrenders to Him. This is more like a Springsteen song than any other on the album. One wonders if this is a description of Swanson, or of Bruce himself, as he sings “I’ll live in the love of my master's hand.”  Or is it a combination of both? It is interesting to think about this, especially given the continued ambiguity and ambivalence around how Springsteen publicly discusses his perspectives on religion and spirituality.  

Track 10 - “Let Me Ride” - This could have been featured on a few of Bruce’s previous albums, and while the lyrics could fit somewhat into the story of St. Agnes' Stand, I’m not sure how well it works both as a piece of the score and as a one-off. I like the vocals, and in particular the chorus, but feel this is one song that didn’t belong on this album.

Track 11 - “My Master's Hand (Theme)" - This instrumental version of "My Master's Hand" is, again, a piece that could also be played throughout the film, broken up to compliment the action taking place, as well as over the closing credits.

Faithless would be the perfect score to any film adaptation of Eidson's novel. Each piece carries with it the feel of the spiritual journey the characters undertake. This journey takes them along the desert and mountainous terrains that can be found in classic John Ford westerns.

It's interesting that Bruce composed a score without ever seeing any images of a completed film. We all have seen pictures of famous composers in front of a full orchestra in a recording studio, looking up at a screen while the action is right in front of them. Bruce did not have that advantage. Bruce loves the music of composer Ennio Morricone. I wonder if he knew that for the films that Ennio made with his frequent collaborator Sergio Leone, this is how the great Maestro often worked. He wrote much of the score for films like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in America before the film was shot. Master meets master.

Many critics and fans have placed Faithless at the bottom of the seven-albums set we now know as Tracks II: The Lost Albums.  But for what it is, and, more important, what it was recorded to be, I think it belongs up there with the best.

Someone out there should make this film. You already have a score.