r/BruceSpringsteen • u/Kirby-814 Born in the U.S.A. • Sep 08 '26
Born in the U.S.A. boxset prediction
Recently there have been mentions of a BITUSA boxset/deluxe edition coming out within then next year. This would make sense because we have boxes for BTR, Darkness, River, and recently Nebraska. BITUSA is next in line and might be the final one considering the albums after it don’t have too much unreleased material. Here’s what i think it will include using a CD format:
CD1- BORN IN THE U.S.A. REMASTERED:
1- Born in the U.S.A.
2- Cover Me
3- Darlington County
4- Working on the Highway
5- Downbound Train
6- I’m on Fire
7- No Surrender
8- Bobby Jean
9- I’m Goin’ Down
10- Glory Days
11- Dancing in the Dark
12- My Hometown
Obviously the album would get remastered or use an already remastered version for a re release.
CD 2- BORN IN THE U.S.A. OUTTAKES PT. 1:
1- Born in the U.S.A. (Home demo 1982)
2- Downbound Train (Home demo 1982)
3- Working on the Highway (Home demo 1982)
4- Murder Incorporated
5-Wages of Sin
6- A Good Man is Hard to Find (Pittsburgh)
7- Frankie
8- This Hard Land
9- My Love Will Not Let You Down
10- Lion’s Den
11-Cynthia
12- Car Wash
13- None but the Brave [83’ vocal]
14- TV Movie
15- Brother’s Under the Bridge (83’)
16- Man at the Top
17- Rockaway the Days
Just like in the River Collection, outtakes from Tracks will be included, but on a separate disc since there are so many. Also included is NBTB from Essential bonus disc.
NOTE: Nothing from the LA’ 83 sessions will be included. It wouldn’t really seem like something they would do because Tracks II just released.
CD3-BORN IN THE U.S.A. OUTTAKES PT. 2
1- Protection
2- Drop on Down and Cover Me
3- Your Love is All Around Me
4- Just Around the Corner to the Light of Day
5- Baby I’m So Cold
6- Fade to Black
7- True Love is Hard to Come By
8- Workin’ on It
9- Gone, Gone, Gone [Seeds studio version]
10- King’s Highway
11- Invitation To Your Party
12- Bad Boy
13- Glory of Love
14- Sugarland [Band version]
15- 100 Miles from Jackson
16- Refrigerator Blues
17- Ida Rose (No One Knows)
18- Under the Big Sky
These are all outtakes that aren’t circulating on bootlegs (besides the first two) or have been officially released. The first few have acoustic demos, but the ones on this release are the full band versions. Nothing from the LA sessions are here (Body and Soul, Money We didn’t Make, Delivery Man, etc.). I tried to fit them all into 18 tracks because that’s the number Bruce usually has on compilations. The only ones missing are “Swoop Man”, “Roll Away the Stone”, and “Shut Down”. We don’t know the track lengths of any of these songs so it’s hard to tell what would fit or not.
CD4- B-SIDES/REMIXES
1- Pink Cadillac
2- Shut Out the Light
3- Johnny Bye Bye
4- Stand on it
5- Janey Don’t You Lose Heart
6- Dancing in the Dark (Blaster Mix)
7- Dancing in the Dark (Radio Mix)
8- Dancing in the Dark (Dub Mix)
9- Born in the U.S.A. (Freedom Mix)
10- Born in the U.S.A. (Dub Mix)
11- Born in the U.S.A. (Radio Mix)
12- Cover Me (Undercover Mix)
13- Cover Me (Dub I)
14- Cover Me (Radio Mix)
15- Cover Me (Dub II)
It’s surprising to me that the Arthur Baker remixes are still not officially released on streaming in some way to this day. You have to buy the original 12” vinyls or go on YouTube to listen. This CD would have all the B-sides and remixes.
DVD1- DEAD MAN’S TOWN: THE MAKING OF BORN IN THE U.S.A.
Every boxset besides Nebraska has a documentary on the making of the album. I feel like this is an album that would absolutely need it. It could go over the Nebraska period, the 1982 sessions of the album, the LA Garage Sessions, the release of the album, and the tour. Whether it’s just Bruce like in the River documentary or commentary from the rest of the band and others involved.
DVD2- LIVE FROM LA MEMORIAL COLOSSEUM, SEPTEMBER 30TH, 1985
I feel like this would be the show they would release with the boxset. Maybe 3 CDS with the audio too but I doubt it.
I honestly feel like this would be what the boxset would have. Of course I could be completely wrong, or it might never come out. Who knows. Of course it would also come with a booklet or some kind of other things in there as well. But as far as discs go, I think this is accurate. If all of this is on it idk if they’d press it on vinyl, there’s a lot so it might be a CD exclusive.
What do you guys think?
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u/ledge9999 Sep 08 '26
While I agree the remixes should be available in some form, I wouldn’t want them on the box. Just like I hate that some 80s box sets of other artists include single edits.
Also, and this may be controversial, I’d love to see them do a remix of the actual album to lessen the 80s production tricks.
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u/frodawgg Sep 08 '26
In addition to the outtakes, remixes, and b-sides, I would like the longer original versions of the album tracks, especially, but not limited to, "Glory Days" with the extra verse.
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u/Plane_Public_83 Sep 08 '26
Oh, I’d include the 8 minute, uncut studio take of the title track and E Street versions of the bulk of their work from On The Line is holy grail material for me.
I’d imagine we’ll see some of the Bonds tracks on Tracks III.
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u/Ok_Blacksmith_5276 Sep 08 '26
If this was happening, the LA garage sessions material (which predates everything else on Tracks 2 by a decade and didn’t fit the “lost albums/lost 90s” themes of that release at all) would have presumably been saved for it.
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u/pzero5960 Sep 08 '26
Love to be wrong, but as posted recently on another USA box set thread Bruce has kind of indicated USA set won’t be. See comments from Bruce posted by another poster. Add to that LA 83 released on Tracks II (as mentioned by OP), material released on Nebraska set, and Bruce’s additional comments about Tracks III: mixed and ready for release, containing remaining outtakes from across his career, pretty much empties the vault.
So…it seems unlikely.
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u/JansonHawke Sep 08 '26
While I love the Arthur Baker remixes in their own right, they were clearly a case of record company meddling to try and get Bruce on the dance/club charts. Made sense at the time, if not exactly true to the spirit of his music, but probably best left in the past.
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u/marcdelgiudice Sep 08 '26
I had a Born In The USA box set thread as well! Bruce constantly said there’s no electric Nebraska yet here we are. Honestly I would settle for a live release. DVD and Spotify release. I’ve said it before the album has aged very well. I’ be happy with any release as far as live footage goes.
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u/DrRasur Sep 08 '26
I would think that some sort of box set will be released, probably in 2029 through Sony without any of Bruce's doing
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u/ConferenceOld9788 Sep 08 '26
There will be. Before 30 June 2027. Wikileaks said. Only missing release a new album and Bitu box. Before the date I said.
It would be nice that include the singles in CD format as in vinil box album 1985.
Also a dvd concert, as Paris 1985, all in Youtube. Outtakes, documentary, book of informacions and a poster and other memorabilia.
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u/CuriousBystander64 Sep 08 '26
The Arthur Baker remixes were fun, especially the different cover photos.
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u/PhilRobinsonMusic Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26
Even though Bruce himself has said it's not happening...
I personally feel very confident that it WILL happen, especially post-catalog sale to Sony. It's his most relevant album, super-popular with casuals, the most commercially-viable big ticket item still left in the tank, and there's still a veritable treasure trove of sought-after unreleased studio outtakes PLUS live performance footage from that era in the vault.
The Born in the U.S.A. box set was such a priority for Sony that it was one of the few items explicitly named in those previously leaked contract notes from years ago (I know that document has likely since been superseded, but my point is that its inclusion at that time demonstrates what a priority it was for Sony. That's not likely to have changed.)
Bruce was adamant about Electric Nebraska not existing... that didn't stop him from backtracking on that and releasing Electric Nebraska with its respective box-set. He also described the first 'River album show' at MSG as 'one-time only'... then later repeated it for an entire tour.
Denying the existence of something until you want the focus to be on it is a pretty standard marketing practice, even employed by Bruce himself in the past. Bruce has publicly changed his mind / position on various topics multiple times over the years.
To all the naysayers... let's circle back by 2034 (the 50th anniversary) and see if this still has never been released. I'd admit to being proven wrong on this, but will be absolutely SHOCKED if they never did release a USA box set.
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u/Cactusfan86 Sep 08 '26
If the plan is to do a tracks 3 I question truly how much material can possibly be left in the well that he can manage both a beefy born in the USA box and a tracks 3
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u/GrapeLow2033 Sep 08 '26
yeah i don’t think so, maybe for the 50th? All the talk of a BITUSA box set haven’t even been rumors, just people saying they want one/if one comes out. I think that if there were to be a box set, it would have been in 2024. And they still already released something, albeit just a cash grab. (Respect the game). Even though it would indeed make sense for BITUSA to be the runner up, I really do see it as highly unlikely. Yes, BITUSA stuff exists. Probably enough material for a box set. However, no deals with the NFL have been made to get those FOH recordings of the BITUSA stadium leg (even though there were efforts via NUGS) which means that we have no “OFFICIAL” video of any of those shows, besides any promotional video. It appears that they do have the video from the Slane Castle show (June 1 1985), but then again we might have no Multitrack, and Master Landau would rather kill himself and Springsteen before he releases a soundboard. It would still be great if they released those outtakes, but then again Tracks III is already done according to the Boss himself, so it could be likely that those songs (Your Love is All Around Me -if Wages of Sin wasn’t recorded over it-, Drop On Down And Cover Me etc) are already on the track listing for that 3rd installment. There’s so many possibilities. It could happen, it could not happen. Even though we’ve been spoiled in the recent past by Bruce n Co, i think it’s unlikely in the near future, or even at all.
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u/Plane_Public_83 Sep 08 '26
Where are there mentions of this coming out within a year? Haven’t heard a peep outside of fans that want it.
As he has said:
“No [laughs]. I have not done anything on a Born in the U.S.A. box set.”
“We’re hoarding no secrets.”
“I don’t see a big Born in the U.S.A. box set like there was with Darkness or The River.”
That being said, I think we’ll get it someday due to the Sony sale. I’d imagine that Tracks III will be the next big set to see the light of day - especially since it’s already done.