Having long ago purchased Tracks I, equally long ago, concluded that after the initial excitement of the first play I have never played the whole thing since and have come back to maybe three takes half a dozen times. In terms of VFM it was basically giving a ludicrous amount of money for barely an EPs worth of pleasure.
The problem is compounded by the single CD version which of course contains stuff not on the boxed set and a selection of tracks from the boxed set which are maybe 25% of the better stuff.
Same with the new box and the new single disc version except the amount of money is way more ludicrous and the single album version probably has maybe 20% of the better but not best stuff. There is no universe in which I would pay a penny for it. I will stream odds and sods from time to time but it truly is one for completists. The problems start when the completists start justifying the purchase with the “great/interesting/never read that before” booklet argument and then also claiming there is some profound high quality stuff on there, which there absolutely isn’t.
if some people believe that Tracks II is worth shelling out £200 for, that is entirely a matter for them. It is understandable that their reviews focus on elements of the package that make them feel the outlay is justified, we all do that, especially when we buy new kit.
Taste is, of course, entirely personal. Some people love prog, I don’t. If those who have bought Tracks II (or are inclined to) feel it’s worth it, then it’s worth it to them. Their money, their ears, their choice.
I will not buy Tracks II unless the price is drastically reduced. Whilst I have listened to it all the way through just once, I have dipped in multiple times since, and (so far) I have not found enough that I like sufficiently to make me want to buy it for anything more than a fraction of its current price.
I sincerely hope that those who have bought it are happy with it and enjoy it for many years to come.
Depends where you’re sourcing from. There are several versions in circulation. UK version seems to just take from the box. Other territories have slight variations. Have seen one which rather cheekily contains the tracks which weren’t on Tracks but were on the single album version of the box.
He obviously hasn’t much clue where he puts them away given his insistence there was no electric Nebraska and then it turned out there pretty much was.
I’ve just listened to LA Garage Sessions for maybe the 5/6th time and Streets Sessions for the 3rd time around.
Leave aside the fact this this stuff is a virtual time machine, taking you back to Springsteen’s days gone by. That alone for me is worth the trip.
Moving on, these comments about quality, cutting room floor material, etc. are just nonsense.
It’s not BTR, Darkness or Born in the U.S.A., but if these are considered B/C-side material? Well. A lot of it is better than many other artists’ prime cuts.
Try as I might I’m not hearing any of what you’re hearing.
Interestingly, if you go on the Springsteen forums the growing consensus is more in my general direction than yours. Over priced and under cooked being the gist. A strong sense of what was described in the first two paras. of the Stereophhile article above.
Yes but that is your opinion and no more than that. When you have even the long standing Springsteen completists turning up their noses that seems like reasonable cause for a pause and some self reflection on whether your view is coloured in any way.
And frankly I don’t see any world in which you can be dismissive about price. It’s absolutely about balancing the completist mentality against the quality of what’s on offer against the cost.
Might be a shock but not everyone can afford to speculatively throw away that amount of money on something which has absolutely not been universally well received.
I thought it was far more entertaining when I was hilariously accused of having formed an opinion without listening to the albums.
Having listened to the albums I’m still wrong apparently.
I mean if you’re a completist then fine. Off you pop.
If you’re a fan of the awful period between 1992 and 2002 then you now have something marginally and patchily better but it’s not saying much.
If you’re making claims he’s made any great record since The Rising one can only conclude you didn’t quite understand what made him great in the first place nor the concept of quality control.
Already said it but listen to what he gave away between 1975 and 1985 and try and do anything but weep at people making claims for these cast offs.
Weird how we someone still manage to give certain work canonical status.
You’re confusing a lot of people wishing to impose their opinion on others with a lot of people believing the same thing because essentially it’s true/bleedin’ obvious.
If even Springsteen fans who haunt forums dedicated to his genius are drawing a line then at the very least some self reflection could help understand why.
I often wonder why these “lost tracks” were not released before.
The bonus tracks on a few albums I have bought are always a waste of time. I have not heard the Springsteen Box set, so I hope the music is worthwhile.
I have a “lost” Coltrane live, that Impulse should be ashamed to have ever released this unlistenable bilge.
However, I look at it like this, if I was a fan of an artist like Picaso and someone finds a portfolio of his work in the attic I would unlikely be saying “it can’t be his best work” or “there is a reason they have never been displayed”. I would want to see them and if I had the money collect them.
All 7 of these previously unreleased projects are unlikely to represent the zenith of his back catalog but it is of no little interest to hear music from such an artist not heard before. There are of course those who are critics of such artists but these people were just ready not to like the release.
Against the release is the price it makes the 7 albums quite expensive at around £30 per album. It is nicely packaged though but it is dressing to try and justify the cost I guess.
The music is interesting and much of it I like and perhaps some others will grow on me. I do think there are some weak songs for sure, on a few songs I thought the words were kind of shoe horned into the music even though the arrangement was OK. An awful lot to like though and at least some of the albums are better in my view than some of the later albums that did see main release.
There is the “lost & found” two LP selection set for folk that want something more reasonable in price and the set gives quite a nice collection from the 7 albums.
All-in all I am glad I have the set and think it is worth while set of recordings. They have been mainly well treated in terms of quality of presentation and mastering. The albums have mostly been mastered by Robert Ludwig and Ted Jenson both highly regarded.
Right, so if someone doesn’t like something you do like it’s because they were “…just ready not to”.
If someone disagrees with the idea that we have a right to hear stuff deemed not good enough, despite the reputational damage which might be done in consequence, they’re just disagreeing because they were “… just ready not to like”.
In essence then, amusingly, having lied about my previous posts and suggested I think only I can be right, we’re now back to the same argument dressed up in different language i.e. that only you can be right and the problem with me and the rest of us is that we were just not ready. We are either predisposed to dislike something before we’d even heard it, or, had heard it but were sufficiently lacking in your sophistication that we lack the skills to appreciate the artistry.
I literally cannot wait for the post where you tell us how we might be readied.
Oh, you’re not going to are you.
Presumably because “ I shan’t post again in response so have the last word if you wish.”
