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September 4, 2025 No matter what one's feelings may be about the upcoming Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere biopic, today's biopic-related announcement is very good news indeed. On Friday October 17, one week before the film is released, Sony Music will release Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska '82: Expanded Edition box-set . ( UPDATE: As per the October 8 announcement posted on Springsteen's social-media : "Due to delays in production, the release date for Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition will be shifted back by one week. The set will now be available in all digital and physical formats on October 24, 2025.") As per today's official press release , "Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska will be explored with more context and depth than ever before this fall, with the release of a five-disc [4 CDs/LPs plus a Blu-ray disc] box set featuring many never-before-heard and previously-undiscovered recordings. Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition will... include The E Street Band’s fabled 'Electric Nebraska ' sessions and solo outtakes from the era, as well as a newly shot performance film of Nebraska in its entirety - and a 2025 remaster of the original album. Together, they represent a wholly unprecedented look into the sonic world of this improbable lo-fi masterpiece turned enduring Springsteen classic." Click the embedded YouTube links below to watch the official promo-video "trailer" for Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition  and to hear the first preview-track from the set: a previously-unreleased "Electric Nebraska " version of “Born in the U.S.A” (a song which originally was part of the batch of songs for which Springsteen recorded the demos that eventually became Nebraska ,) featuring Springsteen backed by Max Weinberg and Garry Tallent, in a trio rendition from late April 1982. "We threw out the keyboards and played basically as a three-piece," says Springsteen in the press release. "It was kinda like punk rockabilly. We were trying to bring Nebraska into the electric world." The “Electric Nebraska ” material will feature eight previously-unreleased 1982 Springsteen versions of songs from the Nebraska demos in which he was accompanied by Tallent, Weinberg, Roy Bittan, Danny Federici, and Stevie Van Zandt, including two songs that were left off Nebraska and later released in different versions on Born in the U.S.A. : the album's title track and "Downbound Train." (Note: the screenshots below, taken from the official promo-video "trailer," include evidence of at least one unknown “Electric Nebraska ” track that featured a saxophone part presumably contributed by Clarence Clemons, but apparently no recordings featuring Clemons will be included on the “Electric Nebraska ” disc.) "Over the years," says Springsteen in the promo-video "trailer," "I'd been asked about 'Electric Nebraska ,' and I always thought the question was ridiculous. Finally I went back to the vault, and lo and behold, there it was." (Kudos to Rolling Stone 's Andy Greene for his role in prompting Springsteen to head "back to the vault," as documented in Greene's Rolling Stone interview with Springsteen that was published last June .) "It's shocking," adds Springsteen, "because of how incredibly different it sounded from most of the other electric things I'd ever done." The "Electric Nebraska " tracks "are not the songs you think they're gonna be," enthuses archivist/annotator Erik Flannigan in the trailer. "They're a hundred miles an hour; it's pedal to the metal... On top of that, we get Nebraska outtakes: nine solo-acoustic songs that are not featured on the original Nebraska album. The outtakes and 'Electric Nebraska ' are joined by a 2025 remaster of the original album and then, a new live recording of Bruce playing all ten songs from Nebraska ." Of this new live recording, which will be presented in aural form as a CD/LP and in visual form as a Blu-ray disc, Springsteen says, "When the idea for the box-set came up, I said that's the one thing that I need to do: [re-]record the album from start to finish and then shoot it, let Thom Zimny shoot it as a film." Springsteen was accompanied by several other musicians for this project, but an official list of who was involved has yet to be released. The below screenshot of the box-set's liner-notes from the trailer, however, reveals the involvement of Charlie Giordano in the performance, filmed at Red Bank, NJ's Count Basie Theatre last April: "I think in playing these songs again to be filmed, their weight impressed upon me,” says Springsteen in a quote from the press-release and liner-notes. “I’ve written a lot of other narrative records, but there's just something about that batch of songs on Nebraska that holds some sort of magic." " Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition ," concludes Flannigan in the trailer, "effectively gives us a window into the entire arc of the recording of Nebraska ." And Springsteen himself adds in closing, "This box-set is gonna be lot of fun," and (with a clap of his hands,) "I'm super-excited about [these discs] coming out now for the fans." Click here to pre-order Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition . (Oh, and a well-deserved shoutout to Sony Music for a much more reasonable pricing scale for this box in all formats this time around, folks. Thank you, thank you, thank you! ...sincerely.) photo by David Michael Kennedy - used with permission Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition tracklist Disc 1: Nebraska outtakes (solo-acoustic recordings) 1. "Born in the U.S.A." 2. "Losin’ Kind" 3. "Downbound Train" 4. "Child Bride" 5. "Pink Cadillac" 6. "The Big Payback" 7. "Working on the Highway" 8. "On the Prowl" 9. "Gun in Every Home" Disc 2: Electric Nebraska (recordings with E Street Band members) 1. "Nebraska" 2. "Atlantic City" 3. "Mansion on the Hill" 4. "Johnny 99" 5. "Downbound Train" 6. "Open All Night" 7. "Born in the U.S.A." 8. "Reason to Believe" Disc 3: Nebraska (performed live at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ) 1. "Nebraska" 2. "Atlantic City" 3. "Mansion on the Hill" 4. "Johnny 99" 5. "Highway Patrolman" 6. "State Trooper" 7. "Used Cars" 8. "Open All Night" 9. "My Father’s House" 10. "Reason to Believe" Disc 4: Nebraska (2025 Remaster) 1. "Nebraska" 2. "Atlantic City" 3. "Mansion on the Hill" 4. "Johnny 99" 5. "Highway Patrolman" 6. "State Trooper" 7. "Used Cars" 8. "Open All Night" 9. "My Father’s House" 10. "Reason to Believe" Disc 5 (Blu-ray:) Nebraska (performed live at Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ) 1. "Nebraska" 2. "Atlantic City" 3. "Mansion on the Hill" 4. "Johnny 99" 5. "Highway Patrolman" 6. "State Trooper" 7. "Used Cars" 8. "Open All Night" 9. "My Father’s House" 10. "Reason to Believe"

October 4, 2025 Yesterday, the Nugs/Live Archive "First Friday" series dropped its first release since last April. The series has returned with quite a banger, too: another great show from the Summer 1981 stand, in which Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band christened the then-newly-opened Brendan Byrne Arena, now no longer in use for any public events (though notably used for some concert scenes in the upcoming Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere biopic) and facing possible demolition in the near future. Brendan Byrne Arena 1981 (July 6th show) finds Bruce and his bandmates reveling in their celebratory six-nights New Jersey homecoming after their first full-scale European tour, in the wake of Springsteen's first number-one album and top-ten hit single. It joins the previously released Brendan Byrne Arena 1981 (July 9th show) as official releases of full-length concert-recordings from that six-show stand. (Recordings of some songs from each of these 1981 Brendan Byrne Arena shows also were featured in the Live/1975-85 box-set.) Among the highlights from this show are a loose and lovely duet with Stevie Van Zandt on Stevie's classic "I Don't Want To Go Home," which remains among the most impressive songwriting debuts of all time. Click below to hear Bruce and Stevie (as well as an arena-ful of folks) having big fun back in '81: The July 6th show also marked the first time that another one of Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels' big hits, "Sock It To Me - Baby!," was included in "The Detroit Medley." "Sock It To Me - Baby!" would be included in "The Detroit Medley" during the rest of the Brendan Byrne Arena '81 shows and only two other shows, both of them also in '81: a Spectrum arena show in Philly on July 13th and an L.A. Sports Arena show on August 23rd. As usual, Nugs is presenting this complete archival live-concert recording in its highest-available quality. It's newly mixed by Jon Altschiller from Plangent-Processed multitrack master tapes, with additional engineering by Danielle Warman. Click here to order/stream Brendan Byrne Arena 1981 (July 6th show.) And you no longer need a different link to read Columbia/Nugs archivist Erik Flannigan's essay on this recording, entitled "Reach Up And Touch The Sky." On the same page where you can order/stream Brendan Byrne Arena 1981 (July 6th show , ) just click the "SHOW MORE" button where it reads, "Show Notes."

September 29, 2025 We at Letters To You would be remiss if we let September reach its end without recognizing yet another significant anniversary/"birthday" this month. Set Lusting Bruce: A Bruce Springsteen Podcast , created and hosted by our friend Jesse Jackson, is now ten years old! Ten years talkin' Bruce down the road... quite an accomplishment indeed. Set Lusting Bruce is the internet's oldest continually-running Springsteen-themed podcast, and with good reason. Jesse Jackson is hands-down the hardest-working man in Springsteen-podcast-show-business. His dedication and tireless work ethic shine through the thousands of episodes he's produced by talking with almost as many folks (some of whom, including some of us here at Letters To You, have been his guests more than once.) Jesse also is consistently willing to discuss and debate all things Bruce passionately and respectfully with anyone who cares to join him. So Happy 10th Anniversary, Set Lusting Bruce , and congratulations, Jesse! Keep up the good work, and may you get every potential podcast-guest on your wishlist in this second decade and beyond. By the way, readers, if you haven't done so already, please consider becoming one of Set Lusting Bruce 's Patreon supporters . We're sure that Jesse would consider it one of the best "birthday gifts" you could give to him.

September 22, 2025 Anne Abel truly felt that she was at the end of her rope. She was in her sixties, and had been struggling with depression since she was a teenager. In her adulthood, she had attempted to battle depression by trying over twenty different antidepressants over two decades. "I’d been an inpatient at a psychiatric hospital twice," she writes in her book High Hopes: A Memoir , which will be published tomorrow, on Bruce Springsteen's 76th birthday. "I’d undergone three regimens of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). I’d also tried transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a treatment that sends magnetic currents through the skull. None of these modalities had ever given me any significant relief from my depression." Eventually Anne decided on a radical "treatment plan" completely of her own devising. Having already discovered just a few years earlier how good, energized, and inspired a Bruce Springsteen concert could make her feel, she decided to travel alone to Australia for eight of the Springsteen shows performed there back in 2014. It wasn't just about feeling good and inspired, however. Anne also was trying to force herself to step out of all of her normal comfort and dis comfort zones, establish a new sense of structure, and refocus on the writing career that she had long wanted to pursue. Unbeknownst to Anne at the time, the hotels that her travel agent had booked for her time in Australia were also where Bruce Springsteen, his band, and his crew would be staying while on tour. As a result, Anne's book ends up offering, in addition to her own moving and empowering tale of battling depression with the power of music, some interesting behind-the-scenes glimpses of Springsteen's touring organization in action. The sections of her memoir that detail her unforeseen encounters with former Springsteen co-manager Barbara Carr, and Carr's husband, now-retired music-writer, E Street Radio personality, and Springsteen biographer Dave Marsh, are particularly heartwarming and humorous. If you're a Springsteen fan who's ever struggled with depression and/or love(d) someone who has, we at Letters To You think this book will touch you deeply. You might sometimes find yourself quibbling, as we did, with small details like how long it took for one of Springsteen's 2012 Philly concerts (Abel's first Bruce show) to begin, but Abel is always right on the money whenever it comes to what's most important: the immense impact that music, especially Bruce Springsteen's music, can have in helping those of us who are experiencing mental-health crises. Letters To You editor/publisher Shawn Poole recently recorded an extensive and enjoyable conversation with Anne Abel about her book and her experiences. Click below to listen on either or both of our SoundCloud and YouTube platforms: Click this link for Anne Abel's website, to learn more about High Hopes: A Memoir , and how you can purchase your copy. Click here for Anne Abel's Linktree page, and to connect with her via email, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and YouTube.

September 21, 2025 photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Here at last is our extensive wrap-up coverage of the full week of The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music 's special events celebrating and commemorating Born to Run @50 on the campus of Monmouth University, along the Jersey Shore (including a rain-soaked side-journey to The Stone Pony for some "Jukebox" music.) Lisa Iannucci and Shawn Poole reporting, accompanied by plenty of Mark Krajnak 's beautiful photos for the Archives... SIDE 1, by Lisa Iannucci photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Wednesday, September 3 - Born to Run tribute concert at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre, featuring Jersey Shore musicians The concert included performances of all eight songs on the album, and each artist also performed an additional song of their choosing. Most opted to present their own material, and most were backed by - of course - a bar band, in this case, the stalwart Pat Roddy Band , who were more than up to the task, having hosted the Fourth Annual Brucefest just down the road in Lake Como a few weeks prior (during which they had performed the record in its entirety as the centerpiece of an epic two-hour set.) Participants in the concert included former E Street Band drummer Vini Lopez and percussionist Richard Blackwell (both of whom had performed with Springsteen on the albums preceding Born to Run ,) along with country/pop due Williams Honor , singer-songwriters Jake Thistle  and James Maddock , and self-described folk troubadour Pat Guadagno , whose support on acoustic guitar throughout gave the quieter material some depth and complexity.The material was not performed sequentially, and each artist was given some room to interpret the songs as they saw fit. Amongst the highlights: “She’s the One” performed by Reagan Richards and Gordon Brown of Williams Honor backed by the Pat Roddy Band. Richards is fully capable of belting out a lead vocal, but this performance brought an intense yet understated sensuality that only a female vocalist could muster, and it was quite effective. A bare-bones, forceful Vini Lopez performance of “Meeting Across the River,” with Pat Guadagno on acoustic guitar, followed by Lopez’ heartfelt and poignant cover of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me in Your Heart.” (As many fans of Jersey Shore music know already, Lopez has continued to perform in the area over the years, leading various assemblages of local musicians. The latest iteration is an outfit he’s calling The Wonderful Winos.) The Zevon tune was introduced as a tribute to deceased friends and fellow E Streeters Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici. As some fans are no doubt aware, Bruce himself had honored his old friend Warren by contributing background vocals and guitar on a couple of tracks for Zevon’s final release, The Wind,  back in 2003. “Keep Me in Your Heart” is the closing track on the album. A driving “Jungleland” performed by Roddy and band, who gave the war horse a fiery intensity, with Roddy on lead vocals and guitar. At the Jersey Shore, it’s practically a requirement that cover bands have a sax player, and Roddy’s band has a good one in multi-instrumentalist Dan Hutchinson , who plays everything from all  the saxophones to clarinet, flute, trumpet, keys, harmonica, guitar, and mandolin. Given the bar band treatment, the song felt every bit as vital as it had in 1975. “Rosalita,” which brought everyone to the stage to close out the night in truly shambolic E Street fashion. Garry Tallent, who had taken in the proceedings from a couple rows back, joined them to receive some well-deserved applause. The evening ended with a brief statement from Archives Executive Director Robert Santelli, who explained that Born to Run  is now on the LIbrary of Congress National Recording Registry . The registry, which preserves recorded audio material of artistic and cultural significance to America, was created by an act of Congress in 2000. The album was nominated for the honor by Santelli, who sits on the National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB), which advises the Library of Congress on the collection and preservation of these recorded materials. The National Recording Registry is meant to showcase “the range and diversity of American recorded sound heritage in order to increase preservation awareness.” photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Thursday, September 4 - opening reception for the Born to Run at 50: Photographs by Eric Meola exhibit at the Rechnitz Hall DiMattio Gallery on Monmouth University’s campus photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission The exhibit's official opening was hosted by Archives Curator Melissa Ziobro, who set the stage by providing some historical context for the album’s 1975 release and subsequent impact. Ziobro then introduced photographer Eric Meola, who provided some little-known background on the legendary Born to Run photo sessions. The soft-spoken photographer told the story of how he had been selected for the sessions, which had taken place after a run of shows that, per Meola, had left Bruce and Clarence a bit worse for the wear. (Bruce was yawning between photos.) photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Meola said he didn’t want to speak for too long, but he did hint at a wealth of stories not only about the photo sessions, but about the E Street Band shows he’d attended prior to and during the album’s conception and recording, and the relationship that had developed between him and Bruce over that period of time. Meola briefly related the story of how he’d originally caught the band’s 1973 show at Max’s Kansas City in Manhattan, and had instantly been hooked. Most photographers are not also memoirists, but one can hope that Meola just might be. (l-r) photographers Nicki Germaine, Danny Clinch, Eric Meola, Pam Springsteen, and Rob DeMartin - photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission The exhibit includes the best of the photos from Meola’s 2006 publication Born to Run: The Unseen Photos , and it’s fascinating to see them blown up to mega-size; gallery visitors are able to see the depth, shading and granular detail within each image that only black-and-white photography at its best can provide. The actual wear and tear evident on Bruce’s Jack Purcell sneakers, prominent in a number of the images, is concrete, physical proof of the shoestring budget E Streeters had to survive on in those formative years. The sneakers were part of Bruce’s stage and street attire in those days, but ironically they don't actually appear in the iconic album cover photograph, although they were later included in some promotional posters. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Make time for a visit to the gallery if you can; admission is free, and the exhibit runs through December 18. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission SIDE 2, by Shawn Poole Friday, September 5 - An Evening with Thom Zimny at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre Not surprisingly, Thom Zimny delivered the goods yet again. To mark the Springsteen Archives' celebration of the 50th anniversary of Born to Run , Zimny has created a unique and very special film entitled Jungleland '75 , masterfully editing Barry Rebo's fly-on-the-wall footage of Springsteen and the '74-'75 version of the E Street Band (before Stevie Van Zandt officially joined for The Born to Run Tour,) hard at work shaping and recording the song at Blauvelt, NY's long-gone 914 Sound Recording Studios, prior to Jon Landau's wise - if not low-budget-friendly - advice to move the Born to Run sessions to New York City's also-long-gone Record Plant studio. Here's hoping that eventually all fans will be able to see the important history documented in Zimny's latest work, but of course experiencing its official premiere was something very special indeed. The film opens with a brief snippet of Jon Landau speaking to Rebo and his camera while sitting behind a mixing console at The Record Plant - not during the recording of Born to Run , but instead during the Darkness on the Edge of Town sessions. We quickly see why Zimny chose to open his film with this snippet of footage, for in it Landau is discussing with Rebo the difficulties of capturing moments of musical creation on film. Landau, who is just as knowledgeable about films as he is about music, argues to Rebo and his camera that Jean-Luc Godard's 1968 short film Sympathy for the Devil (aka 1 + 1 ) actually failed to capture the true moments of creation for The Rolling Stones' classic song. Fade to black, and then Zimny begins utilizing the "time machine" (a term that Zimny frequently uses to describe Springsteen's film/video vault) of Rebo's 914 Studios footage to succeed with "Jungleland" where Landau feels Godard failed with "Sympathy..." Incidentally, I reached out to Barry Rebo shortly after seeing Jungleland '75 to ask him why there's 914 Studios footage of the Born to Run sessions and Record Plant footage of the Darkness... sessions, but there's no Record Plant footage of the Born to Run sessions. Rebo explained to me that right around the time that the Born to Run sessions moved to The Record Plant, he got his first big professional break by landing a gig with Time-Life Television, and thus no longer had the time needed in each day for documenting the Record Plant Born to Run sessions. Nevertheless, the 914 Studios footage, and Zimny's editing of it, convey so well the stress and strain involved in creating "Jungleland," especially under less than ideal recording conditions. There also are lighter moments to be found here, where Bruce, the band (including the rarely filmed violinist Suki Lahav,) Mike Appel, recording engineer Louis Lahav, and the crew find some time to share a meal, some laughs, and some small talk together. You truly feel as if you've gotten to be a special guest in the studio with Springsteen and his comrades while one of his greatest songs is taking shape. Then fade to black again, and suddenly when we fade back in, we're onstage at The Bottom Line in August of '75. Not only has "Jungleland" finally been perfected in the studio for the album version that the world will soon get to hear at last, but Bruce and his band are now able to deliver a killer live version of it in concert, as well. Transitioning Wizard of Oz -style from Barry Rebo's black-and-white studio footage to his color (but still single-camera) footage of "Jungleland" performed at The Bottom Line is yet another of Thom Zimny's editing masterstrokes. And what a performance that Rebo managed to capture! It ends stunningly with Springsteen dropping to his knees, dramatically conveying Magic Rat's death to a stunned audience's rapt attention. Whatever the various technical limitations with which Rebo had to cope at the time, he still managed to capture one of the finest live versions of "Jungleland" ever performed, and his footage provides the perfect ending to Jungleland '75 . After the film, Zimny came onstage to a well-deserved standing ovation, and sat down for a post-screening discussion with Springsteen archivist Erik Flannigan. Before that conversation began, however, Max Weinberg - who had been sitting with Garry Tallent in Row E, of course - was brought up to join them. As usual, Max had some great stories and insights to share, humorously recalling that his main goal back in '74/'75 was to not get fired. Fortunately, Max still has a steady gig, five decades on and counting. To celebrate that fact, and to close out the evening, we got yet another special cinematic treat from Thom Zimny: a modern-day live version of "Born to Run," consisting mainly of a single-camera shot of Max intensely drumming and (as always) focused on Bruce onstage, but interspersed beautifully and movingly with various clips of Max musically interacting onstage, in rehearsal, and in the studio with Bruce through the decades. Again, here's hoping that the Springsteen Archives and/or "Bruce, Inc." eventually will find a way to share both Jungleland '75 and the short "Born to Run"/Max Weinberg tribute film with all fans who want to see them. They each offer another fantastic "time machine" experience, courtesy of Barry Rebo, Thom Zimny, and, of course, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Saturday, September 6 - The Born to Run 50th Anniversary Symposium at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theatre This day, of course, was "The Main Event" for the Archives' weeklong celebration of Born to Run @50. It not only featured the extensive participation of Bruce Springsteen himself, but also reunited him with every living E Street Band member, as well as all key members of Born to Run 's production team, involved in the making of Springsteen's breakthrough album. They didn't just sit around talkin' about it, either. Bruce, with all living E Streeters - past and present members included - who played on the album, closed out the day with live performances of "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run," accompanied by Eddie "Kingfish" Manion ably filling in on sax for the late, great "Big Man," Clarence Clemons. Before that happened, however, there were plenty of other great moments preceding it. I'm sure you've read about at least some of them elsewhere already, and I also am presuming (as well as hoping fervently) that since everything was filmed professionally by the Archives, eventually a way will be found to share all of the day's highlights, if not footage of the entire day from start to finish, with all interested fans. Bearing all of that in mind, I'll just share here some of my personal favorite highlights from a day filled with them... photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission It certainly was an appropriate idea to open the day with longtime 105.7 The Hawk Bruce Brunch host Tom Cunningham sitting down with Ernest "Boom" Carter, David Sancious, and Garry Tallent to discuss the relatively brief 1974 E Street Band formation that included Carter (the version of the band that recorded Born to Run 's title track at 914 Studios and first performed the song live.) Cunningham was well-prepared, asked great questions, and, although he often had to pull some teeth for recollections and reflections, still managed to nab a few important historical notes from the trio about the formation's impact on the band's sound (especially its rhythm section) and, of course, the significance of a mid-1970s rock band having an equal number of white and Black members, even if only for a brief time. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Another beloved radio figure, Rich Russo , moderated the session entitled "At the Crossroads: Bruce Springsteen & Columbia Records," with panelists Mike Appel (Springsteen's former manager, of course,) and Columbia Records publicity veterans Peter Philbin, Michael Pillot, and Paul Rappaport . It offered many insights into the record-company politics of the mid-1970s and how the young disciple-like Columbia supporters of Springsteen's music and performers were pitted against other Columbia staffers and execs who... er, were not big fans, to put it mildly. I'm very glad that Appel's perspectives, which often can be self-aggrandizing to say the least, were balanced by the other three panelists' perspectives. It's a shame that Appel got to talk over Rappaport's attempt to share some of his knowledge about those famous dual 1975 Time and Newsweek covers, but we at Letters To You are planning to do something about that ourselves sometime relatively soon. Stay tuned... photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission What a treat this was! Kudos to whomever decided to have Pam Springsteen, who could speak from both the perspective of a great photographer in her own right as well as that of Bruce Springsteen's sister, interview Eric Meola about his brilliantly beautiful Born to Run album-cover photography. Springsteen asked Meola some great, smart questions, and Meola offered detailed, moving, and insightful answers in response. It was especially important, if not exactly surprising, to learn just how involved that Bruce himself was in selecting the "props" for the shoot, and that he specifically wanted Clarence - and only Clarence - to be photographed with him. Eric also spoke about how he purposefully shot all of his photos very quickly that day, in order to keep the momentum going, continue capturing action, etc., and Pam explained knowledgeably to all of us non-photographers in the audience just how difficult it was for Meola to achieve his gorgeous, striking black-and-white images. The late, great John Berg, who designed Born to Run 's gatefold LP cover, also got his due recognition. This session definitely is one that should be made available for all fans to view in its entirety at some point. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission After lunch came "The Historical Significance of Born to Run ," with a panel moderated by the Archives' curator (and Monmouth University Director/Adjunct Professor of Public History) Melissa Ziobro, and consisting of music writer/critic Anthony DeCurtis, Sony/Springsteen archivist Erik Flannigan, music writer/critic Alan Light, and longtime Columbia/Legacy executive Greg Linn. I think it's best to begin addressing the major problem with this panel by quoting this trio of sentences from Dave Marsh's book Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story , which includes the still-authoritative-more-than-forty-five-years-after-its-publication account of the making of Born to Run (Peter Ames Carlin's Tonight in Jungleland notwithstanding,) as well as the album's enduring significance: "In a medium that has been noted for its unyielding dominance by males, and for its callous attitude toward women, 'Backstreets' is a landmark. Terry is neither Bob Dylan’s goddess/angel 'Isis,' nor the 'Stupid Girl' of Mick Jagger’s and Neil Young’s fantasies. If she seems a dream, that’s only because she is an equal - something people rarely are in life." Yes, I understand how Terry also could be a man just as easily as Terry could be a woman, but that's beside the point here. If and when Terry is a woman, she's an equal. And I'll add that the same could be said of Mary in "Thunder Road," the unnamed women of "Night" and "She's the One," Wendy in "Born to Run," Cherry in "Meeting Across the River," or the barefoot girl of "Jungleland." How Born to Run treats its female characters is one of the essential elements of its greatness. So why were there no women on this panel? Sure, like the Eric Meola session, it was moderated (and well-moderated, at that) by a woman, but was it that difficult to find one or more female music writers, critics, and/or educators to comment on the historical significance of Born to Run ? Hell, I personally know of a few who already were sitting right there in the audience that day, including one who is the former Vice-President of Education and Public Programming at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And yes, I know that Suki Lahav, the lone woman who could've spoken with first-hand knowledge and authority about the Born to Run recording sessions, hasn't felt safe enough to travel from and back to Israel for any personal appearances at any of the Archives' events over recent years. While that's unfortunate as well as understandable, that sad fact also made this one of the Archives' few Born to Run 50th-anniversary symposium panels that could've featured at least one knowledgeable woman on the panel. Nevertheless, this still was yet another all-male panel, and it's hard to imagine any good reason why. Not surprisingly, the result was a discussion that offered very little in the way of unique, interesting, or challenging insights. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission A woman was a panelist for the next session, entitled "Behind The Scenes: The Born to Run Tour," the only session of the day to feature a female panelist. Barbara Pyle, who photographed the band extensively during the Born to Run period and later published many of her photos in Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band 1975 , joined the tour's Front of House (FOH) sound engineer Chas Gerber, Mike Appel, and his brother Stephen Appel, the tour's road manager. Unfortunately, this session devolved rather quickly into pretty much a trainwreck. While Pyle managed to deliver a few funny one-liners about everyone's general working conditions and emotional states during the period in question, overall there just wasn't much of interest or insight to be found here. Bruce Springsteen's initial onstage appearance at the symposium immediately followed this panel. "Whoa!," he said with a laugh to Bob Santelli before they began discussing the writing of "Born to Run," "I saw that last panel... I'm glad I missed the others before it!" 'Nuff said. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Not surprisingly, once Bruce began his participation in several sequential discussion sessions, the quality of discussion was raised considerably. In the first session, it also helped greatly that it was Santelli, who's conducted very good interviews with Springsteen in the past, sitting and talking one-to-one with Bruce about the writing and recording of "Born to Run," his first Top-40 hit single as well as the title track of his first Top-10 album, which began in late 1973 and took more than half a year to complete. Some key highlights of this discussion for me... Although he's acknowledged it previously, personally I can never hear Bruce talk enough about how the opening of "Born to Run" was lifted from Little Eva's "The Locomotion." The fact that it took him to mention it, however, and that once more the powerful influence of all those great 1960s female (and mostly Black) singers' recordings on both "Born to Run" the single and Born to Run the album barely got mentioned, let alone explored in depth, by anyone else onstage during this day-long 50th-anniversary focus on Born to Run , speaks volumes. Which of course brings us back directly to that women-panelists question raised above. It also was great to hear Springsteen fully confirm that long-suspected link between the naming of the character Wendy in "Born to Run" and the Peter Pan poster that used to hang on the wall of his bedroom in West Long Branch, NJ. Special shout-out of congratulations to Monmouth University graduate student Carlee Migliorisi , whose recent research inspired Santelli to ask Springsteen about it onstage. Finally, I'll always treasure getting to hear Springsteen's hilarious impersonation of Mike Appel, upon discovering that his client actually knew how to lead a band. Please don't let that presumably recorded moment sit in the vault for too long, Springsteen Archives! photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Next up was author Peter Ames Carlin discussing the writing of the entire Born to Run album with both Bruce Springsteen and Jon Landau, who of course played a key role in helping Springsteen edit and sharpen some of his lyrical and musical ideas. Full disclosure: I am not a fan of Carlin's Tonight in Jungleland book at all. I think if you're going to write a book-length exploration of the making of Born to Run , yet barely address, say, the girl-groups sound's influence (and never write the words "Little Eva" at all,) making brief references to Phil Spector's records on just five non-sequential pages or so of a book that's over two hundred pages long, your book has at least one major problem. And placing far more emphasis on a sentiment like "Appel was a good man whose dedication to and sacrifice for his client's music matched Bruce's own level of commitment" extremely oversimplifies a much more complex relationship in which Mike Appel consciously and repeatedly chose to deny complete control of "his client's music" to that very same client, forcing said client to engage in an infamous, existential legal battle with his own manager over not just money, but artistic control. Bruce's liberating legal victories in that period were nowhere near as tinged with tragedy as Tonight in Jungleland portrays them. Yet again, I find myself asking myself where Dave Marsh's Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story is when you need it. That noted, Carlin managed to draw some interesting, insightful, and sometimes downright moving comments from both Springsteen and Landau about their longtime friendship that also quickly became a professional relationship, as well as its enduring importance to each of them. And all of that's nice, of course, but now this whole Born - to - Run -begins-with-a-nativity-and-ends-with-a-crucifixion thing (first proffered by Jon Landau in Carlin's book and dredged up yet again during this session; I use the term "thing" because it certainly doesn't qualify as a theory, and it's barely an observation...) Can we just let that go already?! Yes, it's well-known that Bruce Springsteen was raised as a Roman Catholic and that religion's imagery and culture had some impact on his art, but by no means does Born to Run offer any kind of significant analogy to the story of Christ. And if it ever was intended to do so, which has yet to be proven in any substantial way, it certainly has nothing of note to do with why this album remains important and beloved for so many folks five decades on. While Bruce himself has tersely acknowledged the idea of a New Testament analogy as being at least somewhat valid, both in Carlin's book and during this session, he certainly hasn't come across as being very comfortable doing so. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Of course we all knew what the next session would be simply by its title, "Roundtable Discussion: The Making of Born to Run ," but I strongly doubt that anyone in the general audience expected everyone who ended up onstage for this one: Mike Appel, Roy Bittan, Jimmy Iovine, Jon Landau, Bruce Springsteen, Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg! Moderator Bob Santelli got everyone involved and talking in yet another session that absolutely begs to be shared with Springsteen fans and scholars, in its entirety. Just a few personal highlights for me, for now, again with the hope that everyone reading this eventually will get to see and hear it all for yourselves: Jimmy Iovine's hilarious physical demonstration of how he learned to grab some badly needed sleep during overlong sessions while continuing to bob his head as if he were still awake and listening, followed by Jon Landau's confession that he sometimes asked Iovine to pretend he was falling asleep to help convince Bruce that it was time to call it a night. And, oh yeah, Stevie Van Zandt's equally hilarious guitar-accompanied demonstration - "just one more time, for the Archives" - of how he singlehandedly saved "Born to Run" from being released with an off-key guitar part. Great stuff, for sure. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission The final panel-discussion of the day, "Meanwhile, Down at the Jersey Shore," certainly had a tough act to follow, but it was more than up to the task. Erik Flannigan returned to the stage to moderate a very interesting discussion between Eddie Manion, Bob Santelli, and Stevie Van Zandt, all veterans of the Jersey Shore music scene that had been developing prior to and then flourished in the wake of Born to Run . Of course much of the discussion centered around Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, Van Zandt's deservedly recognized leadership of that band, and its central role in delivering Jersey Shore rock and soul at its finest. The presence of Southside Johnny himself - currently enjoying a well-deserved retirement from touring - was missed, but even in his absence Manion, Santelli, and Van Zandt certainly provided the history in which they and Southside played such important roles. Manion told a particularly offbeat personal story of having joined the U.S. Navy, and being stationed away from his New Jersey home. One fine Autumn 1975 day at mealtime, he happened to spot those dual Time and Newsweek magazines with Bruce Springsteen on the covers. Shocked and amazed, he decided then and there that it was time to get back home ASAP, and rejoin the burgeoning Jersey Shore music scene. ---------- With the day's onstage conversations over, it was now time to get to the music... And what music indeed! "Thunder Road" and "Born to Run," performed back-to-back by Bruce Springsteen (playing the same legendary guitar featured on the cover of Born to Run , natch,) and a very unique, possibly once-in-a-lifetime version of the legendary... E... Street... Band! Max Weinberg AND Ernest "Boom" Carter on drums... Roy Bittan AND David Sancious on keys... with a special shout-out to Eddie "Kingfish" Manion for ably taking on the always-difficult task of filling in for the immortal Clarence "Big Man" Clemons. There was so much emotion and history powerfully packed into this two-song sequence. Not many more words are needed from me about it right now, I think, so until the video/audio gets released somehow for all of us to enjoy/re-enjoy (I hope,) Mark Krajnak's beautiful photos below will more than suffice: photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Of course there were more than a few tears shed by the time that those performances, and the symposium as a whole, came to a close. Little did most of us know before we started heading outside The Pollak Theatre that the sky itself also had begun crying sheets of heavy rain, accompanied by plenty of thunder and lightning. The post-symposium concert in nearby Asbury Park, NJ by Max Weinberg's Jukebox, originally scheduled for The Stone Pony but then rescheduled to take place outside at The Stone Pony Summer Stage due to demand, now would have to be moved back inside The Pony. Special well-deserved shout-outs to Max and his band, which included special guest Garry Tallent, for playing not one, not two, but THREE shows that night in an effort to accommodate all ticket-holders who still wanted to attend. photo by Jeff Crespi - courtesy of Max Weinberg - used with permission photo by John Cavanaugh - courtesy of Max Weinberg - used with permission photo by Jeff Crespi - courtesy of Max Weinberg - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission Sunday, September 7 - The Born to Run   @50 Academic Conference at Monmouth University’s Pozycki Hall and Bey Hall One of the best things about this conference was that it was very much where women's voices and perspectives about Born to Run finally got to shine. Many women from multiple generations served as presenters, panelists, and/or moderators. Click here to view and/or download a complete listing of the conference's sessions, presenters, panelists, and moderators. photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission It was especially great to see so many Letters To You contributors, friends, and supporters involved with this conference. Familiar faces who spoke and/or moderated included Donna Luff and Lorraine Mangione on Born to Run 's "igniting and enduring appeal for women fans," Caroline Madden on how the multiple meanings of "Backstreets" have evolved and shifted for Springsteen and his audience through the decades, and Lauren Onkey on how Born to Run  "reframes rock history." And our pal Jesse Jackson, creator/host of the Set Lusting Bruce  podcast, was a co-panelist in the "Springsteen Podcasters' Roundtable," along with my former Backstreets  colleague Flynn McLean of the None But The Brave  podcast. It was equally great to meet some new friends and colleagues, as well, such as Jersey-based high-school social-studies teacher Daniel Willever. Dan delivered an excellent presentation entitled "'In good faith:' Bruce Springsteen's Labor Politics in Practice," which included some material that we shared with him from our Labor Day 2024 feature . photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission The day ended with well-received performances of songs from Born to Run by students in Monmouth University's Music & Theatre Arts Department. Under the leadership of Department Chairman Joe Rapolla, the university's student-run record label, Blue Hawk Records , recently released Runaway American Dream: Innovative Interpretations of Springsteen 50 Years Later , featuring many of the students pictured below. I can't think of a more fitting way to close out a very special week and weekend of Born to Run @50 events than helping to place those epically romantic, evocative, and hope-filled songs, dreams, struggles, and visions of Bruce Springsteen's breakthrough album within the grasp of yet another generation of listeners. Long may you run, Born to Run . photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission photo by Mark Krajnak  for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music  - used with permission

photo by Mark Krajnak for The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music - used with permission September 8, 2025 Okay, as you might have heard already, the hands-down (or is that hands raised by all those little pretties?) biggest highlight of The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music 's series of events celebrating Born to Run @50 occurred on Saturday, with onstage insights and performances from Springsteen himself, reunited with ALL of the living members of the E Street Band - past AND present members - involved in the creation of the album: Roy Bittan, Ernest "Boom" Carter, David Sancious, Garry Tallent, Stevie Van Zandt, and Max Weinberg. They were accompanied in their performances by Eddie "Kingfish" Manion, ably filling in for the late, great Clarence "Big Man" Clemons, of course, and Springsteen played his now-legendary, now rarely played Fender Esquire/Telecaster hybrid guitar, the very same one featured in Eric Meola's brilliantly beautiful cover-photo for Born to Run . Other highlights of this weekend, as well as the week leading up to it, weren't too shabby, either. Letters To You folks were there for it, of course, and someday soon - we don't (exactly) know when - we'll walk in the sun and have MUCH more to share about all of it, along with more photos, once all of our contributors get finished catching our breaths and collecting our thoughts. Stay tuned!

August 30, 2025 With Labor Day Weekend unofficially bringing a close to Summer 2025 here in the Northern Hemisphere, we've prepared something special for our readers... an online scrapbook of "The Land of Hope and Dreams Tour," which began when summer was still about a month away - though also when Memorial Day Weekend, which unofficially marks the beginning of summertime fun here in the U.S., was only about a week away - and ended on the eve of Independence Day Weekend's arrival. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band spent a significant chunk of their Spring/Summer 2025 performing in Europe, but this entire tour was very much about the United States, its ongoing leadership crisis, and its effect on not just U.S. citizens, but all citizens around the globe. (And speaking of Labor Day Weekend 2025, it also was about "the richest men... taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they inflict on loyal American workers.") More important, it served as a sorely needed beacon of hope, resistance and inspiration in times that are both dangerous and depressing. And so, as Bruce said onstage before performing "Chimes of Freedom" at the end of the tour's first show, "Take this home with you." We've compiled a great set of tour-photos from the large portfolios of Gert Dewaelheyns and René van Diemen . (Thanks, guys!) The photos can be viewed in both scroll-down mode and - by simply clicking on any photo at any time - slideshow mode. In scroll-down mode only, the photos are also accompanied by a selection of Bruce Springsteen's own words - onstage and off - related to one of the most important tours that he and the E Street Band have ever undertaken. While the tour is now over, the inspiration and the challenge that it offered - for all of us - remains, as do the struggles and tasks we must endure and accomplish together, if we as a nation and planet are to survive and overcome this severe, worldwide threat to democracy. So crank up one (or more) of those official nugs.net tour recordings, or maybe the Land of Hope & Dreams EP , begin scrolling down, and let freedom ring. All rise and enjoy, brothers and sisters! (And Happy Labor Day Weekend 2025 to all who are celebrating it.) ---------- “One of the artist's jobs is to make sense of existence and to make sense of the current times that you live in, and to contextualize those times. Every artist does it in a different way. So I’ve got that on my mind, and I’m sure it’ll be reflected in our next leg of the tour.” ( Variety interview published on April 18, 2025 ) photo by Gert Dewaelheyns - used with permission "Good evening!...Welcome to 'The Land of Hope and Dreams Tour!' The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times. "In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration. "Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism, and let freedom ring!" photo by René van Diemen - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission "The last check on power after the checks and balances of government have failed are the people, you and me. It’s in the union of people around a common set of values now that’s all that stands between a democracy and authoritarianism. At the end of the day, all we’ve got is each other." photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission photo by Gert Dewaelheyns  - used with permission photo by René van Diemen  - used with permission "[O]bviously we’re living through an American tragedy, and I believe we will come out intact. The country is not like other countries that have had authoritarian histories. We have a democratic history, and I believe that will rear its head again. That is not a tradition that I believe is going to disappear overnight regardless of how hard somebody tries to subvert it. "(interviewer:) You’re not losing hope? "No, no, no. Got to have hope, man. I got to have hope." ( Rolling Stone interview published on June 19, 2025 )

August 29, 2025 This autumn, Bon Jovi will re-release its 2024 album Forever in a new edition entitled Forever (Legendary Edition . ) The Legendary Edition version adds to the original album's tracks recorded and released by the band (which now includes former E Street percussionist and E Street Choir member Everett Bradley) some additional vocal and instrumental contributions from a group of well-known collaborators, including Bruce Springsteen. The Springsteen collaboration, an overdubs-generated duet on the slow country-tinged ballad "Hollow Man," officially dropped today as one of two preview tracks for Forever (Legendary Edition,) which will be released in full on October 24. You can hear this new version of "Hollow Man" in the official YouTube video embedded below: It ain't exactly uplifting to hear Bruce Springsteen sing, "Here I am, a hollow man, telling stories 'bout the promise of a promised land," followed a bit later in the song by him singing, "And what do you dream now that you've sold your dreams? What do you sing when the song's been sung?" Here's hoping that Springsteen didn't choose to sing on this particularly depressing ditty because he saw any current autobiographical aspects to the song. Step away from the ledge, Bruce (and Jon Bon Jovi!)

August 27, 2025 Two years ago, shortly after this website had launched, we were honored to be introduced to our friend Sarah Gregory and her moving, powerful, and challenging story. Sarah wrote about her experiences for Letters To You, and her essay remains one of the best, most important ones we've ever published. Click here to read Sarah's 2023 essay for Letters To You, "'Grabbed my pen and bowed my head...' - How 'Letter to You' inspired healing and forgiveness." We also are pleased, though certainly not surprised, to learn that Sarah remains very active around death-penalty issues. It's great to know that she continues to share her story and speak out on behalf of forgiveness, justice, and sanity. With that in mind, we are very glad to help spread the word about Sarah's upcoming "Be The Boss" episode on E Street Radio . She'll be playing some of her favorite Springsteen tracks and, of course, sharing some of the story of how Bruce's song "Letter To You" inspired her to write a life-changing letter of her own. SiriusXM subscribers can catch Sarah's E Street Radio "Be The Boss" episode on these dates/times: Saturday, August 30, beginning at 11:00 am ET Sunday, August 31, beginning at 6:00 pm ET Sarah also will be among the featured participants at The Atlantic Festival 2025 in New York City. On Thursday, September 18, she will be one of the panelists for "Redefining American Justice," which will feature The Atlantic staff writer Elizabeth Bruenig, Equal Justice Initiative founder and Executive Director Bryan Stevenson, along with Jenisha Watts and Clint Smith of The Atlantic , as well. Bruenig has written two Atlantic articles featuring insights from Sarah Gregory. (Click here to read "Inside America's Death Chambers" from the July 2025 issue , and click here to read "What It Means to Forgive the Unforgivable" from May 2023 .) If you're interested in attending The Atlantic Festival 2025 to see Sarah Gregory and other scheduled participants, click here for information on how to purchase Festival passes . (Prices will increase today, Wednesday August 27, at 11:59 p.m. ET, so get your passes before then for the best rate.)

August 25, 2025 “ Born to Run  was an instant classic. Anyone who loves rock and roll must respond to its catalog of styles, the rough and tough music, the lyrics that sum up the brightest hopes—and some of the darkest aspects—of the rock and roll dream... “ Born to Run  makes no stylistic breakthroughs, as the fundamental Elvis Presley and Beatles recordings had done. But it does represent the culmination of twenty years of rock and roll, and when it was released in 1975 it was the strongest possible testimony to the continued vitality of that tradition... “Left without an American rock star, the underclass rebels who formed rock and roll’s natural constituency drifted away from music, toward motorcycles and petty crime. The few who stuck with the music listened more often to Black music than to white sounds, which left an enormous vacuum. Bruce Springsteen was the first American rock performer in nearly a decade—since [Jimi Hendrix]’s death—to attempt to fill that space. And his emergence would create, in surprising ways, a flood of followers and would reopen issues many had thought closed. If the meaning of ‘punk’ has changed drastically since 1975, Born To Run must be counted as the record that set the stage for its reemergence at all. It was a record that took the music’s possibilities from the hands of craftsmen and profiteers and gave them back to the sort of people who loved rock because they lived it.” - Dave Marsh, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story , 1979   “At record’s end, our lovers from ‘Thunder Road’ have had their early hard-won optimism severely tested by the streets of my noir city. They’re left in fate’s hands, in a land where ambivalence reigns and tomorrow is unknown. In these songs were the beginnings of the characters whose lives I would trace in my work (along with the questions I’d be writing about—'I want to know if love is real’) for the next four decades. This was the album where I left behind my adolescent definitions of love and freedom; from here on in, it was going to be a lot more complicated. Born to Run  was the dividing line.” - Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run  (his autobiography,) 2016

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. T he 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. -- Film critic, scholar, and writer Caroline Madden  is also the managing editor of the academic journal BOSS: The Bi-Annual Online Journal of Springsteen Studies , and the author of the book Springsteen as Soundtrack: The Sound of the Boss in Film and Television . To connect with Caroline and learn more about her work, please click here to visit her website .

August 23, 2025 Yesterday, Bruce Springsteen/Sony Music digitally released "Lonely Night in the Park," an outtake from the Born to Run sessions, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Born to Run (which officially will hit the big 5-0 on Monday, August 25, having been released on that date back in 1975.) You can hear/download "Lonely Night in the Park" via your preferred online music service by clicking here , or just click the embedded YouTube link below: As released-to-date Born to Run outtakes go... Well, at least this one isn't quite as bad as "Linda Let Me Be The One" from Tracks . Unfortunately, it's also nowhere near as good as "So Young And In Love" from Tracks . My pal (and Letters To You contributing writer) Lisa Iannucci astutely and hilariously described "Lonely Night in the Park" to me as sounding far too much like John "Johnny Cougar" Mellencamp's "I Need a Lover" for comfort. And while it clearly has been beefed up and cleaned up with modern-day contributions from Ron Aniello, Bob Clearmountain, Rob Lebret, Stevie Van Zandt, and Springsteen himself, it's still essentially the same track that's been available in bootleg form widely for decades, played frequently on E Street Radio over the years, etc. Finally, despite the beautiful Eric Meola image accompanying the release of "Lonely Night in the Park," there are absolutely no Clarence Clemons saxophone contributions to be found on this track. All in all, releasing this rather unimpressive outtake, which greatly pales in comparison to every single track that actually made the cut for Born to Run , comes across as a very weak way to celebrate such a major anniversary for such an important album in Bruce Springsteen's oeuvre. How 'bout a long-awaited official release of, say, the best-possible audio available/obtainable from that legendary August '75 Bottom Line stand instead, hmm? Just sayin'. Of course, your mileage may vary on this formerly officially-closed alternate route to Thunder Road, Duke Street, Highway 9, Flamingo Lane, and the Turnpike. To each...