Four for the Fourth: Electric Nebraska

So a few years back on that 4th of July, I did a review of the major album releases from Bruce Springsteen. Of note was the entry for his dark classic Nebraska:

The recording history for this album took on legendary status: Springsteen recorded a bunch of new songs onto a single recorder, planning to have the E Street re-do them into more rounded rock-n-roll numbers similar to Darkness and River. Thing was, when they did record the "electric" version of most of those songs, Bruce realized the original solo takes were the better versions and decided to release a cleaned-up set of songs from that. Several of the songs recorded from this period would end up as full E Street songs on Born In the USA, meaning there are at least nine known unreleased songs as well as the full-band versions of several of these songs in the vault that fans would love to hear some day. 

I should note Bruce and the E Streeters perform a hard-rock version of "Johnny 99" which they did at the 2023 Tampa show, but compared to the original sparse version, I gotta go with the sparse. An up-tempo song about a guy wanting to be on death row just isn't a toe-tapper. Otherwise, drummer Max Weinberg is on record claiming the "Electric Nebraska" kills it...

And then in 2025, Springsteen released another boxed set - Tracks II - of previously unreleased materials as a follow-up to an earlier release of B-sides and alternate versions across his career up until the 1990s. This time, for Tracks II - how much unreleased stuff does this boy have? - he had organized most of the songs into thematic works as separate albums (it helped him that a lot of those works were for unreleased film soundtracks or concept efforts like a Southwestern Latino-themed set).

So of course, considering the time period involved, a good number of reporters asked Bruce "oh hey does this include the famous Electric Nebraska?"

And Bruce answered "Nah, I don't believe we really kept the master tapes of that Nebraska session, sorry guys."

Only for a few weeks later Bruce calling those reporters back and going "You know, we never really checked that broom closet until now..." and admitted they found it.

And then will little fanfare that October - because I didn't even know about it until this year, dammit I need to keep up on things - Springsteen released the Nebraska 82: Expanded Edition containing not only the full band version (Disc 2) but also the nine unreleased demo songs (Disc 1) alongside a live performance in Red Bank NJ of the songs (Disc 3), and a remastered version of the original 1982 album (Disc 4).

Okay, so the remastered disc I don't really need to hear (tosses disc four over shoulder). GOTTA PLAY DISCS 1 AND 2 TO HEAR HISTORY, SON!

Of the Outtakes on Disc 1, realizing that some of these tunes appeared later for Born in the USA gives you an idea of how Springsteen can go in different directions with just one song. "Pink Cadillac" in particular originally played as a slow moody song of seduction in the outtake, instead of the faster-paced toe-tapping dance version that got released as a B-side for radio play. The song "Born In the USA" is more Punk-oriented than bombastic Arena Rock, "Working on the Highway" with different lyrics and mood, and "Downbound Train" more Country than Jersey Bar. You can see songs like "Big Paycheck" (you can hear Roy Orbison's influence on that one) that could have been hits if they got the E Street effort.

Epic Song(s): Born in the USA (Demo), The Big Paycheck, Working on the Highway
Great Song(s): Child Bride, On the Prowl
Good Song(s): Downbound Train, Pink Cadillac

As for Disc 2... the main event, the ELECTRIC version...

The title song "Nebraska" opening the album doesn't sound too different from the released demo, only with a deeper studio sound and background instrumentals completing the mood. Nothing really changes here... 

"Atlantic City" sounds like a proper E Street song, more up-tempo, with Bruce singing with more range than the whispered despair on the original. If you recall Springsteen's appearance on MTV's Unplugged with a Plugged electric show that included this song, it sounds much like that.

"Mansion On a Hill" echoes some of the moodier elements of the earlier River album, otherwise still sounds the same as the original. 

"Johnny 99" sounds a lot like the live version I heard in Tampa back in 2023, and I can kind of hear the punk rage underlying the lyrics better than in the demo release. Still, playing it as an upbeat Jersey Bar dancefloor tune creates a dissonance that's hard to accept (did it really need that piano?). 

It does lead right into a harder-rocking "Downbound Train" that goes full thrash punk, good God. Of the versions of that song - the Outtake, the 1984 BitUSA release, the Electric Nebraska - the Outtake version is the more coherent although the slower moodier 1984 version feels more apt.

I was expecting "Open All Night" - my personal fave from the original release - to sound just as up-tempo as the original release, only with the full band kicking it to another level, and it did not disappoint. Still like the demo version a bit better, depending on the mood.

Shocking here is this version of "Born In the USA" as a hard-rocking song but without the bombast that we heard in 1984. Retaining the punk flavor - and open anger - of the Outtake version on Disc 1, this would have kicked the teeth in of the likes of Ronald Reagan and other conservatives who misheard the chorus as patriotic instead of damning. Kinda thinking Bruce should have kept this version with the 1984 release.

Closing out is the dark song "Reason to Believe" and you can hear Bruce trying to come to terms with a lot of anger issues that seemed to be haunting him that year. Where the original release had the sparse despair hovering in the background, the electric version is a bit more in-your-face about it.

Overall, the Electric Nebraska is a clear Yang to the original's Yin: the band version complements the darkness in the sparse demo version, being more "radio friendly" in most respects but exposing the same raw lyrics and anger that powers both takes. If you had to go back in time to change anything, I would have argued releasing the Electric version of "Born In the USA": Even though it may not become the radio hit the 1984 release became, it would have at least gotten all the Right Wingers to stop mishearing the damn thing. 

Epic Song(s): Atlantic City, Open All Night, Born In the USA (Electric)
Great Song(s): Reason to Believe
Good Song(s): Mansion on a Hill, Johnny 99 (Electric)

Now, if you want me to do a review of the Tracks II albums... let me know. (muttering to self: I still gotta work on a Led Zeppelin review...)