Springsteen releases mariachi-flavored ‘Adelita’ from ‘Lost Albums’ boxed set (LISTEN HERE)

The cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Inyo” album.

Bruce Springsteen has released the fifth song from his upcoming Tracks II: The Lost Albums boxed set: “Adelita,” from the set’s Inyo album.

A press release describes the song as … 

an ode to Mexico’s female “soldaderas” — who played a major role in the country’s fight for independence. Inspired to explore themes of this nature in the 1990s, during a series of motorcycle trips across the Southwest, Springsteen’s years in California saw him diving into both the history of the region (including “La Adelita,” the “corrido” that serves as this song’s namesake) and its contemporary events. “There was constant border reporting in the Los Angeles Times, so it was a big part of your life,” he remembered. The results appear for the first time on “Tracks II” as “Inyo” — a previously-unheard, ten-song thematic collection set throughout the border states of California and Texas (plus one detour to New Jersey). 

“ ‘Inyo’ was a record I wrote in California during long drives along the California aqueduct, up through Inyo County on my way to Yosemite or Death Valley,” recalled Springsteen. “I was enjoying that kind of writing so much. [On ‘The Ghost Of Tom Joad’ tour] I would go home to the hotel room at night and continue to write in that style because I thought I was going to follow up ‘The Ghost of Tom Joad’ with a similar record, but I didn’t. That’s where ‘Inyo’ came from. It’s one of my favorites.”

While primarily tracked as a solo record, “Inyo” does notably find Springsteen collaborating with mariachi musicians throughout — as heard on “Adelita.” These musicians include Luis Villalobos, Alberto Villalobos, Angel Ramos, Humberto Manuel Flores Gutierrez, David Glukh, Jorge Espinosa and Miguel Ponce. Thematically, several songs on the record examine the Mexican diaspora, how border crossing between Mexico and the U.S. has affected generations and the cultural losses endured as a result. It’s a musical thread that Springsteen first began to examine by covering Ry Cooder’s “Across the Borderline” on his 1988 Tunnel of Love Express tour.

In addition to the musicians mentioned above, the track features producer Ron Aniello on accordion and guitar, and Barry Danielian on trumpet.

Here is the song:

The boxed set’s first single, “Rain in the River,” was released on April 3. Its second, “Blind Spot,” came out on April 17; its third, “Faithless,” on May 1; and its fourth, “Repo Man,” on May 14.

The complete boxed set will be released on June 27. For information, visit lostalbums.net.

Springsteen’s Tracks, a four-CD boxed set released in 1998, includes rarities and previously unreleased material recorded between 1972 and 1998.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band are currently touring in Europe, with their next show taking place at The Orange Vélodrome in Marseille, France, May 31.

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