Bruce Springsteen ??- USA LP ACETATE / Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.

$

5,500

GRADED VISUAL AS VG+

WHAT CAN I SAY, HERE IS THE HOLY GRAIL FOR EVERY BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN FAN.

A 1972 ACETATE FROM THE ALBUM "GREETINGS FROM ASHBURY PARK N.J." WHICH WAS PROBABLY THE 1ST ACETATE EVER MADE OF BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN.

THIS ACETATE COMES FROM THE JIM CRETECOS COLLECTION. JIM WAS CLOSE TO BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND WORKED WITH HIM IN THAT PERIOD. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL ACETATE RECORDING WHICH MIGHT HAVE NEVER SEEN A CD OR LP. THIS ACETATE COMES WITH A COA FROM THE AUCTION HOUSE THAT SOLD THE ACETATE TO ME WITH THE ORGINAL SIGNATURE OF JIM CRETECOS.

THE ACETATE IS IN VG+ CONDITION AND HAS BEEN PLAYED, SOME NOISE ON THE QUIET PARTS, DOUBLE SIDED, PLEASE SEE THE YELLOW LETTER OF JIM WITH THE NOTES OF THE ACETATE SOUND QUALITY. THERE IS ONE JUMP ON "GROWIN UP" A FEW CLICKS HERE AN THERE BUT OVERALL IN GREAT SHAPE.

SONGS ARE:

SIDE 1

GROWIN' UP

LOST IN THE FLOOD

DOES THIS BUS STOP

MARY QUEEN OF ARKANSAS

SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT

SIDE 2

THE ANGEL

FOR YOU

BLINDEND BY THE LIGHT

VISITATION AT FORT HORNE

THE TRACKS ARE IN DIFFERENT ORDER THAN THE 1973 RELEASE OF THE ALBUM AND OF COURSE THIS ACETATE HAS "VISITATION AT FORT HORNE"WHICH NEVER MADE IT TO THE ALBUM.

VISITATION AT FORT HORN

Behind the walls where heat lightning falls
On five-starred gnat-faced princess
The buffalo man shoots at tin cans
Turns and shouts, "Children, blow your bridges"
In death row halls where dust men stall
For time's an enemy and a friend
At night, jackals crawl from the cracks in the walls
Salvation is never spoken

Morning sickness breaks the garrison gates
The cavalry cries for treason
The soldier strokes his pony and goes to shine the captain's sword
In this young boy's eyes lie reason

But then the sergeant burst in, says
"Captain, I caught a prisoner, Captain. A prisoner, what ho?"
The Captain looks up and says, "Let her go"
"But Captain, she commands the lightships that patrol the sea around the rainbow tips
Whose bagpipes wail unbroken
She haunts the night and the dawn and the light
On her sounds and words, your cavalry's choking"
The captain says, "Have no fear, boys, for what you hear
Because danger can't be spoken"

The war wind crackles and I hear the rustle of shackles
From the stockade door bursts Merlin
His eyes red and swollen like they've been pushed into the sun
His robe's aflame and burning
He jumps a horse, tries to get away, but gets caught in his irons
Tangled in his irons, and he falls to the ground, his neck was broken
His spirit rises high into the western sky
The magician lies an empty token

The sergeant walks over and kicks his body and says
"Captain, he's dead, uh, I think he's dead, uh, what should we do with him?"
The captain says, "Hang him
For those live moments on this earth are well spent
And I can see his body sure well bent
It's his magic that must be broken"

And now night cradles low
The penniless weed plays raw filth in the captain's corner
With anvils spread wide, the captain glides
Each blow to scare her, not hurt her
She spits with truth at the captain's boots
But he holds his rage suspended

The sergeant comes stinking of soldiers' gin
And cries, "Captain, the storm, she blows unending"
Oh, and the lightning cracked
And the sky was hacked by dagger rain, it was torn
And the yard was charged into a raging sea
And the captain ran crazily
For the first time in his life, in the captain's heart fear was born

So the captain storms out on the stoop
Panic strikes, sees Merlin's hung body stretched by the neck
Silhouetted on his door
The sergeant screams, "Captain, look high, look to the sky
Some whirling, swirling emission"
The captain falls to his knees, crying silent pleas
Because he knows, he knows
And he thinks to himself,
"A magician"

Info

VISITATION AT FORT HORN is a song written by Bruce Springsteen who recorded it in studio in mid-1972 . The song, which has been performed live around that period, has not been officially released. The above lyrics are transcribed from the only known studio version of VISITATION AT FORT HORN.

Composition and Recording

There is no indication to when VISITATION AT FORT HORN was written. One studio version of the song is in circulation among collectors. It's a studio take likely recorded around Jul-Aug 1972 at 914 Sound Studios in Blauvelt, NY. It features Springsteen solo on vocals and acoustic guitar. The Jul-Aug 1972 sessions at 914 Sound Studios were produced by Mike Appel and Jim Cretecos, and Louis Lahav took the role of recording engineer. The above lyrics transcribed from that circulating studio version of VISITATION AT FORT HORN. According to Sony's database of Springsteen recording sessions, VISITATION AT FORT HORN was cut on 27 Jun 1972 at 914 Sound Studios. The circulating studio version is probably from that 27 Jun 1972 session.

Consideration for Release

In early August 1972, the Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. album track selection was decided upon, featuring 10 tracks, including JAZZ MUSICIAN, ARABIAN NIGHTS, and VISITATION AT FORT HORN. A copy of the pre-release acetate of Springsteen's first album (with the original 10 tracks) is currently in the possession of biographer Dave Marsh.

It seemed the album was finalized, but when then CBS president Clive Davis listened to the tracks he commented that he felt the album lacked a potential hit single. Springsteen composed two more commercial-sounding songs, BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT, which bumped three solo recordings: JAZZ MUSICIAN, ARABIAN NIGHTS, and VISITATION AT FORT HORN.

Springsteen was in favour of including VISITATION AT FORT HORN on Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. instead of IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY, but Mike Appel thought it was too folky an pushed for IT'S HARD TO BE A SAINT IN THE CITY instead. "'Saint in the City' was so great," he told Charles R. Cross in a 1990 interview published in issue #34/35 (Fall 1990/Winter 1991) of Backstreets magazine. "I had to convince him of that one. I had to throw a fit to get him to go with that."

In his 2012 book E Street Shuffle: The Glory Days of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Clinton Heylin also mentioned that VISITATION AT FORT HORN appeared on every provisional track-listing for the debut album, but at the end made way for BLINDED BY THE LIGHT and SPIRIT IN THE NIGHT.

Please note that this acetate is offered strictly as a collectible item. The purchase of this acetate does not imply, include, convey or transfer any rights of any kind. It is purely intended to be enjoyed as an authentic piece of vintage Bruce Springsteen history.

This acetate comes directly from the private collection of Jim Cretecos who has kept this in his possession for the past 45 years.

ITEM WILL BE SHIPPED BY INSURED POSTAGE WELL PACKED IN A BOX.

COSTS ARE $ 30.00 TO USA/CANADA AND REST OF THE WORLD

/ $20.00 FOR EUROPE