Putting the flawless first 14 years of Bruce Springsteen’s recorded output to one side, there’s been a marked inconsistency since 1987’s Tunnel Of Love; for every Ghost Of Tom Joad high point there’s been a substandard release like Working On A Dream. But rumours of lost work abounded, especially from his unusually sparse 1990s.
This absolutely staggering collection of seven albums recorded – and in some cases very nearly put out – between 1983 and 2018 fills in the blanks and makes you wonder why lesser records were released instead. There’s nothing on 2014’s odd ’n’ sods High Hopes to match what’s here, for a start. Sadly there’s no Electric Nebraska, although that’ll arrive eventually.
