"The West" - Bruce Springsteen - A collection of original Springsteen songs set in the wild west Mostly Early stuff Here is another collection of Bruce material, this one being based on his songs about the wild west that were primarily created during his early years. Tracklist: 01 Ballad Of Jesse James - Studio Rehearsal March 14, 1972 Challenger Eastern Surfboards, Highlands, NJ Also known as "Don't You Want To Be An Outlaw," this early Bruce written song features all future E Street Band members of the Bruce Springsteen Band which composed of Vini Lopez on the drums, David Sancious on the piano and organ, Garry Tallent on Bass, and Steve Van Zandt on guitar and backing vocals. This version is the same as the version from the officially released Chapter And Verse but it is the complete version from a different source. One of many Bruce's songs that reference the outlaw Jesse James. 02 Prodigal Son - April 1972 Jim Cretecos' Apartment, New York City, NY "Prodigal Son" is just one of those songs that has some great figurative language that was present very commonly in his picturesque early work. Cretecos was Bruce's co manager at the time and he was conviently an electronics engineer, enabling him to be able to create a reasonable recording environment in his apartment, so much so that it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between some of the recordings Bruce made in Cretecos’ apartment and those made in a professional studio. 03 If I Was The Priest - April/May/June/July 1972 Mediasound Studios, New York City, NY This song is probably Bruce's most important tune he has written. At Bruce's private audition for Columbia Records, John Hammond asked Bruce to play a song he would never perform live; Bruce then played this cowboy ballad about a town where Jesus is the sheriff and the Virgin Mary runs the Holy Grail Saloon. Afterward, Hammond asked Bruce if he was raised Catholic after hearing the religous core of the song. Bruce would later admit that he performed this song before creating the E Street Band, sometime in 1971 and then later around this time. 04 Cowboys Of The Sea - April/May/June/July 1972 Mediasound Studios, New York City, NY Written in 1971 and performed with the Bruce Springsteen Band, "Cowboys Of The Sea" is another track John Hammond liked from Bruce's demo session. 05 Arabian Nights - June 7, 1972 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY This take was from Bruce's first studio sesion for Greetings. Along with this song, many other tracks were also recorded, with the circulating versions featuring just Bruce but there are some full band takes that aren't circualting. 06 Visitation At Fort Horn - June 27, 1972 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY Toward the end of June, Bruce recorded a take of this stunning solo acoustic number that was left off of Greetings From Asbury Park. It was also used as a publishing demo by Laurel Canyon. It is also known to have been performed in early 1973 at least a few times. 07 Saga Of The Architect Angel - January 29/30, 1973 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY Before the only known live performance of this track a day or two after the sessions, Bruce says that he wrote this song for John Wayne. Bruce liked this song a lot because he couldn't let it go after recording this demo. He considered it for The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle, Born To Run, and Darkness On The Edge Of Town albums, but it has yet to see an official release. 08 Ballad Of A Self-Loading Pistol - January 29/30, 1973 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY This one is my favorite wild west song by Bruce. Recorded at the same session as track 7, this song is another one that features some great metaphors by Bruce that really paint a picture in your head. The song itself has some sharp teeth; it gets really powerful at times. 09 Song For Orphans - February 19/20, 1973 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY Bruce wrote this song shortly after his Columbia records audition and subsequent demo tape in May of 1972. Bruce considered the song for his first album but never recorded it for it until this session. Bruce considered putting the song on what would be the Born To Run album during the early stages of the album in 1974. Bruce played the song semi-frequently during 1973 and then it disappeared. Bruce played it out of the blue at the final two shows of the Devils & Dust tour in 2005 and not again since then. 10 Evacuation Of The West - June 1973 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY This outtake from the Wild And The Innocent Sessions is an unknown Springsteen song to many fans which is a shame because this is a excellent song with excellent lyrics that is worthy of an official release. The song is also known by the title of "No More Kings In Texas" but Bruce has it copyrighted under the above title. It was also considered for release on Tracks in 1997 but it unfortunately didn't make it. The song doesn't have any verified live performances but it was very likely to have been performed during 1973. This studio version doesn't feature David Sancious which is odd because he was present at this time for the sessions; the song also doesn't feature any overdubs meaning it was performed amazingly all in one take. 11 Santa Ana - June 1973 914 Sound Studios, Blauvelt, NY Many fans know this one because of the stunning official release it got on the Tracks Boxset. This take is the same as that one but it is missing the piano, calypso percussion, acoustic guitar, and saxophone. Instead we get a rare occurence of Clarence on the flute. 12 Janey Needs A Shooter - January-June 1979, Bruce's house, Holmdel, NJ Many people know this track for Warren Zevon's version and many mistake him being the original writer with Bruce covering it. Bruce revisted the song during his telegraph hill rehearsals in 1979, and this version here is a solo acoustic home demo that features a simplified version of the song that is fantastic. 13 Outlaw Pete - Live April 15, 2009 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA To close this collection we spring ahead 30 more years for a great live version of "Outlaw Pete," a song that apparently developed from a song Bruce wrote and recorded a rough demo of in 1982. ENJOY!! Do not attempt to remaster this collection. I don't appreciate people editing or attempting to remaster my work. Thank you.