ON THE TRACKS 4.0 - TUNNEL OF LOVE

TUNNEL OF LOVE

Commercially Released: October 6, 1987

Produced by Springsteen, Jon Landau and Chuck Plotkin
Recording Engineer: Toby Scott

Recorded from Jan to July 1987 at THILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio), with additional recording, overdubbing and mixing taking place at THE HIT FACTORY (New York City), A&M STUDIOS (Los Angeles) and KREN STUDIOS (Los Angeles). 

PART 1 – TOL SESSION OVERVIEW
Springsteen completed the BITUSA Tour in October 1985. He kept a very low public profile for the next 12 months, residing almost exclusively on the west coast with then-wife Julianne. During the spring, possibly early summer, of 1986 Springsteen undertook a series of low-key sessions at his home studio (Thrill Hill West) in Beverly Hills. These appear to have been solo sessions, perhaps mirroring Springsteen’s early 1983 BITUSA solo sessions at the same location (although by this point Bruce’s west coast home studio had been substantially enhanced compared to 1983). However these sessions were abandoned by the early summer of 1986 when a decision was made to proceed with the “Live 1975-85” Box Set project. Springsteen devoted his energies during the remainder of 1986 preparing the large Box set for its late 1986 release. The Box set was a massive commercial success.

Following the Live Box’s release Springsteen began a new series of solo-based home studio sessions in early 1987 that would form the foundation of the material issued on the Tunnel Of Love LP (and the 1998 TRACKS outtakes box set). Unlike during 1986 this time Springsteen recorded at his NJ home studio, with specific E Street Band members later brought into the Hit Factory in New York City to embellish or add parts. It appears the “NJ home studio phase” took place during the Jan-April 1987 period.

The May-July 1987 period saw Springsteen conducting further recording sessions back out on the west coast at A&M Studios in Los Angeles (and possibly related solo sessions at his west coast home studio as well). The initial phase of these A&M Studios sessions included three outside session musicians (together and individually) - Jay Dee Maness (pedal steel, and at the time a member of ex-Byrd Chris Hillman’s Desert Rose Band), Richard Greene (a noted fiddle player) and James “Jimmie” Wood (a harmonica specialist). A July 1987 news piece in Rolling Stone Magazine reported on the three musician’s involvement in Springsteen sessions in L.A. Some individual members of the ESB were also involved in these, or slightly later, west coast A&M Studio sessions. However the only recording that’s surfaced from all these west coast sessions is “One Step Up” (which features only Patti Scialfa in support). Of these three “outside” session men – only James Wood appears on any of the known recordings (a harmonica overdub on “Spare Parts”).

In 1995 Springsteen confirmed in an Australian TV interview with Molly Meldrum that nearly an entire album’s worth of songs, material that effectively constituted another work-in-progress album separate from the Tunnel Of Love LP, had been recorded during 1986-87.  It is unclear from Bruce’s comments if he was talking about the material he is alleged to have recorded by himself during May-June 1986, or the material with the 3 (above-noted) session musicians that he recorded in Los Angeles in May-June 1987, or both. The Tunnel Of Love album was delivered to CBS in August 1987 and released in October. TOL can be seen as a virtual Springsteen solo album. Not a single circulating track that has surfaced from the sessions features the ensemble-type E Street Band playing that had characterized his previous studio albums (except Nebraska).

PART 2 – TOL SESSIONS DETAILS

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and April 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce solo.

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce solo.

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce solo.

Note: Recorded sometime between May and Aug 1987 at A&M Studios (Los Angeles). Springsteen solo on multi-instruments. Patti Scialfa (background vocals).

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce handles multi instruments and his 1-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums).

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multi instruments and his 1-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums).

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multi instruments and his 1-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums).

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multi instruments and his 1-man backing band on this recording is Max Weinberg (drums). Nils, Clarence and Patti provide background vocals.

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multi instruments and his 2-man backing band on this recording is Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (percussion)

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen handles multi instruments and his 3-man backing band on this recording is Roy Bittan (keyboards), Danny Federici (organ) and Max Weinberg (percussion).

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen’s 4-man backing band on this recording is Garry Tallent (bass), Danny Federici (organ), Max Weinberg (percussion) and James Wood (harmonica).

Note: Recorded sometime between Jan and May 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Springsteen’s 4-man backing band on this recording is Nils Lofgren (lead guitar), Roy Bittan (synthesizers), Max Weinberg (percussion) and Patti Scialfa (vocals). The Schiffer family of Point Pleasant, NJ provided the roller coaster vocals.

Note: Recorded April 4, 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce alone, on all instruments.

Note: Recorded during Feb 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce alone, on all instruments.

Note: Recorded on Feb 22, 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce alone, on all instruments.

Note: Recorded on Feb 22, 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) were added to the core recording in 1998 for TRACKS.

Note: Recorded on Jan 20, 1987 at THRILL HILL EAST (Springsteen’s NJ home studio). Bruce on all instruments. The drums (Gary Mallaber) and violin (Soozie Tyrell) were added to the core recording in 1998 for TRACKS

Note: Springsteen composition from 1983-84 recorded for the BITUSA album but not used. It was pre-show soundchecked at least twice in the fall of 1984 during the BITUSA Tour but never performed in concert.  It is believed this song was re-recorded during the TOL Sessions.

Note: Springsteen composition from 1986; recorded for TOL but not issued. Performed live regularly during the 1988 TOL Tour. Bruce re-recorded the song in 1990 during the Human Touch album sessions and that version was released as a 1992 b-side and then later on TRACKS

Note: In concert comments by Springsteen imply this composition was conceived in late 1984 or early 1985 while Bruce was in the middle of the BITUSA Tour. Springsteen premiered this song live in concert on July 3, 1985 during that tour and a live version (Sept 30, 1985) was officially issued on the LIVE 1975-85 Box Set in late 1986. Studio history is uncertain, but possibly recorded at some point during the early (1986) TOL Session

Note: Haunting ballad co-written by Springsteen (music) and Southside Johnny (lyrics) sometime in latter half of 1987. No Springsteen studio recording is known and he’s never performed the song live. Recorded by Southside in early 1988 and released later in the year on his “Slow Dance” album.

COLLECTORS NOTE: A bootleg called “Lucky Man - Tunnel Of Love Demos & Rough Mixes” (Prime of Rarities label) purports to have outtakes and/or alternate mixes of 11 of the 12 TOL album tracks + “Lucky Man”. This is a false claim and a bogus CD, as all the tracks on this boot are exactly the same recording and mixes as found on the official album, except the boot is poor sound quality.

Page updated August 14, 2007