Make Mine a Double # 2 - Born In The USA

I have been tempted to tackle a River1 lp or even harder Darkness as 2lp set.. ..not an easy task but I will give it a go at some point. Darkness in my view is an unbeatable single lp and it is amazing that "the boss" distilled down the wealth of superb material to form that one single document of those 2 year sessions...

So lets tackle the 83 - 84 recordings that formed the breakthrough. I think, but you need to check this out yourself, that Springsteen has officially released 32 tracks from the Born In The USA Sessions. Given that they numbered over 80 we should be expecting a deluxe re-issue sometime soon. Here is my take on the double lp that would have formed Born In The USA

Side 1
Born In The USA
Johnny Bye Bye
Shut Out The Light
Protection*
My Hometown
Brothers Under The Bridges


Side 2
Murder Incorporated
Bobby Jean
Dancing In The Dark
Trapped*
Janey Don't You Lose Heart
Sugarland*

Side 3
Man At The Top
Frankie
Light Of Day
Follow That Dream*
I'm On Fire


Side 4
Dancing In The Dark
Cover Me
I'm Going Down
No Surrender
This Hard Land

Even as I type and excuse the indulgence of the * tracks which are of course yet to be released., what a double lp. Man at The Top and Sugarland share the same music (roughly) and this is deliberate on my part. I have excluded the Gary US Bonds sessions around this time although I have to say On The Line at the very least would be a strong contender. I have included that below, great track.

 

Make Mine a Double #1 - The Clash Sandinista

Quite often, ok well every now and then, you hear the phrase "would have made a great single album.  I thought it would be interesting to look at some double albums, or indeed triple, and consider which tracks would have made the cut sticking to the 10 songs, Side A and Side B format.

So first up is Sandinista from the Clash. Sandinista was released it is fair to say to some mixed reviews in the press however many well respected critics gave the album a huge thumbs up. Certainly at 36 tracks and covering an amazing array of musical styles it was certainly ambitious.

Here is my take on what Sandisita may have loooked like as a single lp:

Side A

1. Somebody Got Murdered
2. The Magnificent 7
3. Hitsville UK
4. Washington Bullets
5. Broadway

Side B

1. The Call Up
2. Police On My Back
3. Up In Heaven (Not Only Here)
4. Lightning Strikes
5. Something About England

Here are the lead singles: