The Bruce Springsteen song that took almost five decades to release: “I played it like it was 1977”
You don’t get to the level that Bruce Springsteen is at without stressing over whether some songs are good enough occasionally. Regardless of what piece of music he is writing, Springsteen has always done two things: He held himself to a high standard and ensured each track was perfect. The result is one of the best discographies in music.
Holding himself to a high standard came from his influences. Like many people from this period, one of the first bands he heard that inspired him to start making rock music was The Beatles. However, the artist who helped him understand the kind of music he should have been making was Bob Dylan, as his sound and honest lyricism stirred something in Springsteen.
“He showed us that just because the music was innately physical, it did not mean that it was anti-intellect,” Springsteen said when discussing Dylan. “He had the vision and the talent to expand a pop song until it contained the whole world. He invented a new way a pop singer could sound. He broke through the limitations of what a recording artist could achieve, and he changed the face of rock and roll forever and ever.”
The kind of music that Springsteen wanted to make was clear to him, so he held himself to a high standard when writing it, and when recording, every note had to be perfect. Anything less than that, regardless of how close he felt to a song, wasn’t going to be good enough.
“I want people to get the same experience from listening to one of my records as I had when I listened to Highway 61 Revisited,” he said. “The idea that something was revealed to them that was fundamentally true and essential, and gave you a view of your world, your country, your town, your neighbours, your family.”
One song that Springsteen started working on in the 1970s wasn’t good enough to make it onto a finished record because of these high standards. ‘Janey Needs A Shooter’ would have never seen the light of day had Springsteen not stumbled upon an old recording when looking for songs for a compilation album five decades later.
He decided to give the song another go, with the intention of recording a new version that could be included on his 2020 album Letter To You. With the experience that Springsteen had managed to accumulate in those years, he found himself more than prepared to do the song justice, and the finished product ended up on the album.
Max Weinberg, the drummer for the E Street Band, was particularly moved when he heard the song. Given the history that he and the band had had with the track, it was a pleasant experience when he got to play it again and found himself almost transported through time. “When he presented ‘Janey’, in my head, it was 1977, so I played like it was 1977, but better,” he conclusively declared.
