There are rumblings that a new Bruce Springsteen project might be dropping soon. The usually reliable Asbury Park Press reported that Springsteen's producer Ron Aniello's cryptic Instagram movie post on August 21st, showing a storm about to hit the ocean, stating, "It's coming. . . " may be the sign that a release is imminent.
Fans have been buzzing on the Internet and in private hubs regarding and archival set that Springsteen has been supposedly working on with both Aniello and longtime collaborator and legendary engineer Bob Clearmountain. Most fans are of the mind that Springsteen is either working on the long-awaited Tracks 2 collection or the now overdue 35th anniversary Born In The U.S.A. box set — with a likely scenario emerging that Springsteen might just be working on both.
Last month, Patti Scialfa — who's also recording with Aniello at the Springsteen's Colt's Neck recording Studio told Rolling Stone: "We’ve been sharing a studio, and Bruce has just been so prolific lately that it’s hard for me to get in there. He’s always like, 'I have to go do this thing and that thing.'" That same month, Springsteen was seen being photographed by Danny Clinch in and around Asbury Park, New Jersey at various iconic spots including the Wonder Bar and outside the Carousel building while sitting in his Camaro SS convertible.
Springsteen's initial plann was for the E Street Band to reconvene and record a new album before the end of 2019 in advance of a presumptive 2020 tour.
When we last caught up with guitarist Nils Lofgren, he made it clear that no matter what — having any type of new Springsteen material is music to his ears: ["We were glad that Bruce is, y'know, publicly saying he finally wrote songs for us, so I'm hoping that at some point we're start lookin' at recording — but that's up to Bruce. And certainly (I) feel that with the planet falling apart it'd certainly be high time and useful for the entire world to have another Bruce record, but that's up to him."] SOUNDCUE (:20 OC: . . . up to him)
Not too long ago, Bruce Springsteen explained the core elements of his songwriting process: ["I try to find a character. . . You should find a theme that you're interested in, but that is, sort of, coming up out of, I think, your own psychological needs and point of view at the moment. And then, what happens if you do it right, you start from the inside out and you grow your way into what the record or what the music is going to be thematically about."] SOUNDCUE (:22 OC: . . . be thematically about)
It's interesting to note that over five years ago, during the massive Wikileaks publication of Sony Music's private emails, Springsteen's contract, which stretched through 2027 — and reportedly included a $31 million advance — called for a massive amount of product to be delivered.
In 2015, Pointblank.com posted the details way back and spelled out what exactly was decided between "The Boss" and Sony:
4 new studio albums (delivered at least 12 months apart)
1 anniversary box set, with 3 CD's, for the Born In The U.S.A. album
1 anniversary box set, with 3 CD's, for the The River album
1 anniversary box set, with 2 CD's, for the Nebraska album
1 box set with 3 or 4 discs with unreleased songs (the second volume of Tracks)
5 complete live-concert albums (the box sets and live albums will be released at least 6 months apart)
Bruce Springsteen On How He Writes His Songs :
Nils Lofgren On The E Street Band In 2020 :