Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work

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Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work
Rock N Roll Rebel - The Early Work.jpg
Box set by
ReleasedDecember 6, 2019 (LP + CD)
July 31, 2020 (CD + DVD)
Recorded1973–2019
Genre
Label
Producer
Little Steven chronology
The Early Work
(2019)
Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work
(2019)
Macca to Mecca! Live at the Cavern Club, Liverpool
(2021)

Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work is a box set collection by Little Steven (Steven Van Zandt), released on December 6, 2019. The set contains Van Zandt's first five studio albums remastered from the original master tapes for the first time ever. The box set also features 51 bonus tracks, including demos, studio outtakes, b-sides, remixes, and live tracks, many of which are previously unreleased. [1] [2] The set also includes the 1985 album Sun City by Van Zandt's protest supergroup Artists United Against Apartheid.

Contents

The initial release of the set contains seven vinyl LPs of the studio albums along with four CDs containing the 51 bonus tracks. [3] The set was reissued on July 31, 2020 on CD format containing 10 CDs and 3 DVDs. Each DVD contains a concert from a different live tour between 1982 and 1987. [4] [5]

Bonus tracks

In 2021, Steven Van Zandt said of the box set, "I'd gone 25 years without remastering anything. So I had to really say, "Hold on — wait a minute! Lets' take care of all of this old business here and get everything remastered, and maybe we'll find some extra tracks." And we found over 50." Among the tracks found were songs that "were not quite finished, but finished enough to put on the album", Van Zandt said, like "Time" and "Rock N Roll Rebel". The latter was originally slated to be the title track of his second album before it became Voice of America . The set also includes a 1973 audience tape recording of the Little Walter song "Who Told You" by Southside Johnny and the Kid (Van Zandt), who performed as a blues duo for a couple of months. [6] In the late 1970s, Van Zandt acted as songwriter and producer for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, [7] and seven rehearsal recordings plus a live recording, all featuring Van Zandt, are included in the box set.

"Inside of Me" was recorded live on French TV in 1983. Van Zandt wrote in the box set liner notes, "I was doing a TV interview in Paris and the cat says, "we have a piano here, why don't you do a song?" So I did. Never did a solo performance before, haven't done one since." Having written "It's Been a Long Time" for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes' 1991 album Better Days , Van Zandt wanted to end the box set with the song, as it summed up his early years. "But every version we looked at had some approval complication or something wrong somewhere, and I really hate asking anybody for anything," he wrote in the liner notes, "so I borrowed a guitar and just did it." [8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steven Van Zandt, except where noted.

Original albums

Men Without Women (1982)
No.TitleLength
1."Lyin' in a Bed of Fire"4:23
2."Inside of Me"5:03
3."Until the Good Is Gone"4:01
4."Men Without Women"2:49
5."Under the Gun"3:59
6."Save Me"4:52
7."Princess of Little Italy"5:14
8."Angel Eyes"4:32
9."Forever"3:56
10."I've Been Waiting"3:54
Total length:42:36
Voice of America (1984)
No.TitleLength
1."Voice of America"3:30
2."Justice"3:18
3."Checkpoint Charlie"4:37
4."Solidarity"3:26
5."Out of the Darkness"4:34
6."Los Desaparecidos (The Disappeared Ones)"5:15
7."Fear"4:43
8."I Am a Patriot (And the River Opens for the Righteous)"3:26
9."Among the Believers"3:54
10."Undefeated (Everybody Goes Home)"3:40
Total length:40:58
Sun City (Artists United Against Apartheid) (1985)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Sun City" 7:12
2."No More Apartheid" Artists United Against Apartheid 7:10
3."Revolutionary Situation"Artists United Against Apartheid6:06
4."Sun City (Version II) (Edit)" 5:45
5."Let Me See Your I.D."Artists United Against Apartheid7:30
6."The Struggle Continues"Artists United Against Apartheid7:05
7."Silver and Gold" Bono 4:42
Total length:45:32
Freedom – No Compromise (1987)
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom"5:14
2."Trail of Broken Treaties"6:05
3."Pretoria"5:16
4."Bitter Fruit"6:18
5."No More Party's"5:40
6."Can't You Feel the Fire"4:38
7."Native American"5:38
8."Sanctuary"6:04
Total length:44:48
Revolution (1989)
No.TitleLength
1."Where Do We Go From Here?"5:54
2."Revolution"5:25
3."Education"4:40
4."Balance"5:16
5."Love and Forgiveness"4:48
6."Newspeak"5:22
7."Sexy"4:04
8."Leonard Peltier"3:46
9."Liberation Theology"4:50
10."Discipline"6:16
Total length:50:17
Born Again Savage (1999)
No.TitleLength
1."Born Again Savage"4:38
2."Camouflage of Righteousness"5:01
3."Guns, Drugs, and Gasoline"4:59
4."Face of God"7:38
5."Saint Francis"8:17
6."Salvation"5:09
7."Organize"2:13
8."Flesheater"6:07
9."Lust for Enlightenment"8:38
10."Tongues of Angels"8:19
Total length:60:59

Bonus discs

Tracks marked with an asterisk (*) are previously unreleased.

Disc one – Men Without Women (And Before)
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Rock N Roll Rebel" (studio track, 1983) (*) Little Steven5:02
2."Who Told You?" (live at Gulliver's Pub, Red Bank, NJ, June 15, 1973) (*)Bernard Roth Southside Johnny and the Kid 3:12
3."That's How It Feels" (live at Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, May 30, 1976) (*) Bobby Womack, Don Covay Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes 5:37
4."When You Dance" (rehearsal, 1976) (*)Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes3:39
5."Little Darlin'" (Stone Pony rehearsal, 1977) (*) Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes4:09
6."Ain't No Lady" (Stone Pony rehearsal, 1977) (*) Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes5:12
7."Love on the Wrong Side of Town" (Stone Pony rehearsal, 1977) (*)Van Zandt, SpringsteenSouthside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes4:29
8."Little Girl So Fine" (rehearsal, 1976) (*)Van Zandt, SpringsteenSouthside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes3:12
9."Some Things Just Don't Change" (Stone Pony rehearsal, 1977) (*) Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes3:49
10."She Got Me Where She Wants Me" (Stone Pony rehearsal, 1977) (*) Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes4:16
11."Men Without Women Radio Spot" (1982) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul1:15
12."Angel Eyes" (Britt Row version, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul4:29
13."Forever" (Britt Row version, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul3:39
14."Until the Good Is Gone" (Britt Row version, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul4:52
15."I've Been Waiting" (early version, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul3:57
16."Caravan" (7" single, 1982) Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul3:57
17."Save Me" (live at Peppermint Lounge, New York, NY, July 18, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul5:06
18."Time" (studio track, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul5:01
Total length:75:05
Disc two – Voice of America
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."This Time It's for Real" (live at Marquee Club, London, UK, October 18, 1982 / live at Peppermint Lounge, New York, NY, July 18, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul5:26
2."It's Possible" (studio track, date unknown) (*) Little Steven4:23
3."Vote! (That Mutha Out)" (12" single, 1984) Little Steven4:36
4."Vote! Part II" (rap version, 1984) (*) Little Steven6:56
5."Vote! Part III (After World War III)" (rap version, 12" single, 1984) Little Steven6:25
6."Vote! Part IV (Instrumental)" (12" single, 1984) Little Steven4:36
7."Vote! Part V" (rap version, 1984) (*) Little Steven5:11
8."Caravan" (live at Marquee Club, London, UK, October 18, 1982) (*)Tizol, EllingtonLittle Steven and the Disciples of Soul4:17
9."I Don't Want to Go Home" (live at Marquee Club, London, UK, October 18, 1982) (*) Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul4:35
10."US Festival Radio Spot" (1983) Little Steven0:21
11."Alive for the First Time" (writing session, the birth of a song, 1983) (*) Little Steven9:10
12."Voice of America Radio Spot" (1984) Little Steven1:07
13."Out of the Darkness" (12" single, 1984) Little Steven5:31
14."Inside of Me" (live on French TV, 1983) (*) Little Steven5:14
Total length:67:50
Disc three – Sun City
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Let Me See Your I.D. (Extended Mix)" (12" single, 1985)Artists United Against Apartheid Artists United Against Apartheid 9:51
2."Let Me See Your I.D. (Street Mix)" (12" single, 1985)Artists United Against ApartheidArtists United Against Apartheid6:42
3."Let Me See Your I.D. (Beat and Scratch Mix)" (12" single, 1985)Artists United Against ApartheidArtists United Against Apartheid5:14
4."Not So Far Away (Dub Mix)" (UK 12" single, 1985)Artists United Against ApartheidArtists United Against Apartheid5:56
5."Sun City (Last Remix)" (UK 12" Single, 1985) Artists United Against Apartheid9:36
6."Soweto Nights" (studio track, 1985) (*) Tony Williams Artists United Against Apartheid4:58
7."The Struggle Continues" (extra Miles Davis version, 1985) (*)Artists United Against ApartheidArtists United Against Apartheid9:51
Total length:52:15
Disc four – Freedom - No Compromise, Revolution (And Later)
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformerLength
1."Bitter Fruit (Cana No Mas Dub)" (with Rubén Blades, UK 12" single, 1987) Little Steven6:48
2."Bitter Fruit (No Pasaran Mix)" (with Rubén Blades, UK 12" single, 1987) Little Steven8:18
3."Bitter Fruit (Platano Quemado Mix)" (with Rubén Blades, UK 12" single, 1987) Little Steven6:54
4."Fruta Amarga" (with Rubén Blades, Spanish 12" single, 1987) Little Steven5:53
5."No More Party's (For Those About to Party...)" (rock mix, 12" single, 1987) Little Steven5:38
6."No More Party's (Funky Party Edit)" (R&B mix, 12" single, 1987) Little Steven4:18
7."Vote Jesse In" (Jesse Jackson campaign song, 1988) (*) Little Steven4:45
8."Revolution (Naked City Mix)" (UK 12" single, 1989) Little Steven9:46
9."Revolution (Naked City Mix Part 2 - Maceo's Thang)" (UK 12" single, 1989) Little Steven5:44
10."I Wish It Would Rain" (Vin Scelsa Hungerthon, 1995) (*) Rodger Penzabene, Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield Little Steven, Southside Johnny, Rusty Cloud, Bobby Bandiera, and David Hayes3:15
11."Princess of Little Italy" (Vin Scelsa Hungerthon, 1995) (*) Little Steven, Southside Johnny, Rusty Cloud, Bobby Bandiera, and David Hayes6:04
12."It's Been a Long Time" (solo acoustic, 2019) (*) Little Steven4:16
Total length:71:40

Live concert DVDs

Rockpalast • Live at Grugahalle: Essen, Germany - October 16, 1982
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"  
2."Lyin' in a Bed of Fire"  
3."Save Me"  
4."Forever"  
5."Inside of Me"  
6."Take It Inside"  
7."Until the Good Is Gone"  
8."Princess of Little Italy"  
9."Caravan" Juan Tizol, Duke Ellington  
10."Under the Gun"  
11."I Played the Fool"  
12."I Don't Want to Go Home"  
13."Angel Eyes"  
14."This Time It's for Real"  
15."Can I Get a Witness" Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland  
16."Closing Credits"  
Total length:79:31
Rockpalast • Live at Loreley: Sankt Goarshausen, Germany - August 25, 1984
No.TitleLength
1."Peter Rüchel Intro" 
2."Voice of America" 
3."Justice" 
4."Save Me" 
5."Fear" 
6."Lyin' in a Bed of Fire" 
7."I Am a Patriot (And the River Opens for the Righteous)" 
8."Solidarity" 
9."Under the Gun" 
10."Checkpoint Charlie" 
11."Los Desaparecidos (The Disappeared Ones)" 
12."Out of the Darkness" 
13."Undefeated (Everybody Goes Home)" 
14."Men Without Women" 
15."Forever" 
16."Princess of Little Italy" 
17."Angel Eyes" 
18."Closing Credits" 
19."Peter Rüchel Interview with Little Steven" 
Total length:99:04
Live at the Ritz, New York, New York - October 8, 1987
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom" 
2."Sanctuary" 
3."Under the Gun" 
4."Los Desaparecidos (The Disappeared Ones)" 
5."I Am a Patriot (And the River Opens for the Righteous)" 
6."Pretoria" 
7."Fear" 
8."Trail of Broken Treaties" 
9."Bitter Fruit" 
10."Checkpoint Charlie" 
11."Vote!" 
12."No More Party's" 
13."Undefeated (Everybody Goes Home)" 
14."Native American" (featuring Bruce Springsteen) 
15."Sun City" (featuring Bruce Springsteen) 
Total length:98:01

Personnel

Adapted from the box set liner notes. [8] See original albums for full credits.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Van Zandt</span> American musician and actor (born 1950)

Steven Van Zandt, also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin. He has appeared in several television drama series, including as Silvio Dante in The Sopranos (1999–2007) and as Frank Tagliano in Lilyhammer (2012–2014). Van Zandt has his own solo band called Little Steven and The Disciples of Soul, intermittently active since the 1980s. In 2014, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the E Street Band. Van Zandt has produced music, written songs, and had his own songs covered by Bruce Springsteen, Meat Loaf, Nancy Sinatra, Pearl Jam, Artists United Against Apartheid, and the Iron City Houserockers, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southside Johnny</span> Musical artist

John Lyon, better known by his stage name Southside Johnny, is an American singer-songwriter who usually fronts his band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

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The Miami Horns are an American horn section best known for touring and recording with Southside Johnny, Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven and The Max Weinberg 7. They have also toured, performed or recorded with, among others, Diana Ross, Gary U.S. Bonds, Robert Cray, Bon Jovi, Cissy Houston, Joe Cocker, Dave Edmunds, Darlene Love, The Allman Brothers Band, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow and Ricky Martin. As individuals, the various members have also worked with the likes of Aerosmith, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Power Station, Graham Parker and They Might Be Giants.

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<i>Hearts of Stone</i> (Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes album) 1978 studio album by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

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<i>Men Without Women</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul

Men Without Women is the debut solo studio album by American musician Steven Van Zandt, credited as Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul. It was released on October 1, 1982 by EMI America. The title track was inspired by the Ernest Hemingway collection of short stories of the same name.

<i>Voice of America</i> (Little Steven album) 1984 studio album by Little Steven

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<i>Born Again Savage</i> 1999 studio album by Little Steven

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<i>Sun City</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Artists United Against Apartheid

Sun City is the first and only album by Artists United Against Apartheid, released on October 25, 1985, by EMI Manhattan Records. The Little Steven-led project features contributions from more than 50 artist from the rock, hip hop, soul, funk, jazz, reggae, latin, and world music genres. The album contains two versions of the "Sun City" protest song against apartheid in South Africa as well as other selections in the same vein from that project.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fade Away (Bruce Springsteen song)</span> 1981 single by Bruce Springsteen

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<i>I Dont Want to Go Home</i> 1976 studio album by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

I Don't Want to Go Home was the first album by seminal New Jersey rock/R&B band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. The work helped establish the basis of the Jersey Shore sound. It was produced and arranged by manager Steven Van Zandt, who also sang, played guitar, wrote the title song, and elicited the contribution of two compositions by Bruce Springsteen, who also wrote the liner notes.

<i>This Time Its for Real</i> 1977 studio album by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

This Time It's for Real was the second album by New Jersey Rock / R&B band Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, featuring three compositions by Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt, as well as an additional five by the latter. Like their first album, I Don't Want To Go Home, there are a number of guest artists and duets, a trend that would be dropped for their next album, Hearts of Stone. "Check Mr. Popeye" features Kenny "Popeye" Pentifallo on vocals with The Coasters on background vocals. The track "First Night" features The Satins on background vocals and Steven Van Zandt on duet vocals. "Little Girl So Fine" features background vocals by The Drifters. Another highlight is a cover of Aretha Franklin's "Without Love".

<i>Better Days</i> (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes album) 1991 studio album by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes

Better Days is an album by Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, released in 1991. It yielded minor hits "It's Been a Long Time" and "I've Been Workin' Too Hard". The song "It's Been a Long Time" features shared lead vocals by Southside Johnny, Steven Van Zandt, and Bruce Springsteen and is a reflection back on their early years together in the music business. "I've Been Working Too Hard" features a duet with Jon Bon Jovi. Eight of the eleven songs were written by Van Zandt, harkening back to the Jukes' first three albums which also featured Van Zandt writing, playing guitar, and singing harmony and sometimes duet vocals. One track, "All the Way Home", was written by Bruce Springsteen who later recorded his own version of it for his 2005 solo album Devils and Dust.

William Rush is an American musician, guitarist, composer, producer, arranger and engineer who started working professionally in 1964. Rush is especially known for his lengthy association with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes as guitarist and composer and for his work as guitarist and musical director with Serge Gainsbourg from 1984 until 1991.

<i>Soulfire</i> (Little Steven album) 2017 studio album by Little Steven

Soulfire is the sixth solo studio album by Little Steven, released on May 19, 2017. It marks his first studio album since 1999's Born Again Savage. The album consists of Van Zandt's versions of songs that he either wrote or co-wrote for other artists and describes it as "me covering me!" In June 2017, Rolling Stone ranked Soulfire number 28 on their list of the "50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far."

<i>The Early Work</i> 2019 compilation album by Little Steven

The Early Work is a compilation album released by Little Steven in conjunction with his Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work box set in 2019. The album contains various live recordings featuring Steve Van Zandt recorded between 1973 and 1995. The early versions of "Love on the Wrong Side of Town" and "Little Girl So Fine" feature alternate lyrics than those heard on Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes original 1977 album This Time It's for Real.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Van Zandt discography</span> Cataloging of published recordings by Steven Van Zandt

This is the discography of Steven Van Zandt, an American songwriter, singer and musician. Van Zandt has been featured on records steadily since 1975 as a member of Bruce Springsteen's The E Street Band and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, as well as with his own band Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul.

References

  1. "Little Steven – RockNRoll Rebel: The Early Work (2019, Box Set)". Discogs .
  2. "Little Steven opens vault with 'RockNRoll Rebel' box set". 6 December 2019.
  3. "MUSIC". Little Steven.
  4. "Little Steven - Full RockNRoll Rebel CD/DVD Box Set – uDiscover Music".
  5. Chelin, Pamela (July 30, 2020). "Steven Van Zandt on Activism and How to Save Rock 'N' Roll". SPIN . Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  6. "The Lockdown Interviews: Steven Van Zandt". Illinois Entertainer. February 18, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  7. Jordan, Chris (December 28, 2017). "Little Steven Van Zandt to Southside Johnny: I thank you". Asbury Park Press . Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work (booklet). Wicked Cool Records/UMe. 2019. B0032154-00.