Five Bruce Springsteen Albums Are Coming to Vinyl for the First Time Since Their Original Releases
Photos by Danny Clinch, Rob DeMartinBruce Springsteen will simply never go out of style—the revered New Jersey musician will be re-issuing five of his albums from the turn of the century, including 18 Tracks (1999), Live in New York City (2001), The Rising (2002), Devils & Dust (2005) and Live in Dublin (2007) on vinyl for the first time since many of their original releases. The records, transferred from the original source masters, will hit shelves on Feb. 21.
Live in Dublin is the only album out of the five that never saw an original vinyl release, adding to the hype of uniquely capturing the sound of this particular period of Springsteen’s music. Some gems include the original demo of “Born in the U.S.A.” on 18 Tracks and Pete Seeger covers on Live in Dublin.
All of the albums chronicle the time in Springsteen’s career where he reunited with his E Street Band, which backed him from 1972 to 1989. The two banded together again in 1999, but the E Street Band didn’t hop back in the studio with Springsteen until The Rising, and the two continue to work together to this day.
After a rapturous performance on Springsteen on Broadway in late 2017 followed by a Netflix release the following year and his 2019 album Western Stars receiving favorable reviews and a supplemental concert film by the same name premiering at TIFF 2019, there’s no denying that The Boss (actually, he never really liked that nickname) is bigger than ever. So revisiting the past 20 years of his music might just be the best possible move. Also, can people finally stop making fun of New Jersey now? It’s boring.
A press release details the reissues as follows:
– ‘The Rising’ (2002) will be reissued on 2LP vinyl for the first time in over 15 years. The album offered messages of healing and redemption in the wake of the devastating attacks on 9/11, and saw The E Street Band re-unite in the studio for the first time in nearly a decade.
– ‘Devils & Dust’ (2005) comes to vinyl for the first time since its original release on the format. The 2LP set remains one of Springsteen’s starkest studio albums, recalling “The Ghost of Tom Joad” a decade earlier.
– ‘Live In New York City’ (2001) arrives on 3LPs for the first time since its original pressing. The set chronicles Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s much-anticipated reunion tour, recorded over two nights at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 2000.
– ‘Live In Dublin’ (2007) will be released on vinyl for the first time ever, a 2LP snapshot of Bruce Springsteen’s work with The Sessions Band, including classic folk songs popularized by Pete Seeger and radically rearranged versions of Bruce Springsteen favorites.
– ‘18 Tracks’ (1999) is coming to vinyl for the first time in over 20 years. The 2LP set features rarities like the original “Born In The U.S.A.” demo and exclusive songs “Trouble River,” a 1999 re-recording of “The Promise” and Springsteen’s original version of “The Fever,” made famous by Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes.
You can preorder the reissued LPs here. Watch Springsteen and The E Street Band perform together circa 1978 via the Paste archival video below.