The Fever (from Tracks)

No, it's a Springsteen composition.

There are several fairly well known songs with the title "Fever"

...there's the Springsteen song.
...there's the song made famous by Peggy Lee in the 50's (search YouTube)
...there's the song that was a hit in the USA and Canada in the mid 60's by garage band 'The McCoys' (search YouTube)

there's also a song by Madonna called "fever"

the Bruce's one is it from the Darkness period?

It was recorded in 73 fo Wild and Innocent (and recorded by Sousthside Johnny in 79 too)

From Brucebase: THE FEVER

COMMENTS: Allegedly written in late 1971. The earliest known live performance was during the March 1973 residency at Oliver?s in Boston. It was then played live several more times into May. The studio version was recorded (in one take) on May 16, 1973 at 914 Sound Studios during the early PHASE 1 SESSIONS. The recording features the Springsteen-Federici-Tallent-Clemons-Lopez lineup (pre-Sancious) and doesn?t include any overdubs. Mike Appel requested the studio take for publishing purposes. It does not appear that Springsteen had the song seriously in mind for the WEISS LP. In late 1973 Mike Appel sent the demo to UK Publisher Intersong Music and in early 1974 to several USA radio stations - the song gradually became an ?undergound? hit in places like Houston, Phoenix and Boston. Springsteen?s original completed lyric sheet titles the song ?(I Got The) Fever For The Girl?. Originally published by Laurel Canyon under the title ?Fever For The Girl? and first released under that title by singer Alan Rich in 1975. The song was recorded and released by Southside Johnny (several months after Alan Rich) under the amended title ?The Fever?.

Southside recorded it for his first album I Don't Want to Go Home (1976).

Just for the record, the original (and best) recording of the 1950's "Fever" was by Little Willie John. Peggy Lee's version was a cover.

The Fever has always been one of MY favorite Springsteen songs..
(unfortunately Bruce doesn't seem to like it much, based on some of his remarks in the last few years)
Anyway...
Thanks for this info on the recording...
BUT something doesn't seem right...
There are BOTH Piano & Organ tracks on the recording...
and I'm gathering that Bruce was playing guitar ????
So... If Danny is on the organ... and Sanches is not on the recording.. Who's playing the piano...
I must admit.. it's a great simple piano part - very much up to Bruce ability... but then who's playing guitar??
I always just assumed it was Ernist "Boom" Carter on drums though...

maybe Danny was recorded on two seperated tracks?

i knew a band who did it constantly.

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Springsteen is on piano on the track, Federici on organ. No Guitar.

During the Oct 72 - June '73 tour period the group would play the occasional songs at shows with the Springsteen (piano), Federici (organ), nobody on guitar structure. If you check out the May 1973 Ahmanson Theatre clip of the group performing "Spirit In The Night" you'll see what I mean.

During the earlier 'Bruce Springsteen Band' period (mid-71 to spring '72) they would once in a while do something similar....Springsteen (piano), Sancious (organ), Van Zandt (guitar)....Federici wasn't in the band at that point but Bruce had the luxury of having Van Zandt in the fold then - who Bruce didn't have with him in the early ESB era.

didn't Steve join at '75?

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Van Zandt joined the E Street Band in 1975. However he was also with Springsteen from March 1970 - April 1972 in pre-ESB outfits.

For some reason he dragged the song out of mothballs for the end of the Darkness tour, so it's played at a lot of classic shows--I guess the version everyone remembers most is Winterland.

a great song.BTW.

they used to play it alot on WMMR in philly in '74, it's one of the songs that got alot of us hooked that year.

-brianr

Hmmm...
I guess I just assumed there was guitar on the track...
I really never thought about a springsteen track with-out any guitar... ... now that I think about it.. I'm sure there are a lot more..

Personaly I like the Tracks version the best....

Thanks..


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Springsteen is on piano on the track, Federici on organ. No Guitar.

During the Oct 72 - June '73 tour period the group would play the occasional songs at shows with the Springsteen (piano), Federici (organ), nobody on guitar structure. If you check out the May 1973 Ahmanson Theatre clip of the group performing "Spirit In The Night" you'll see what I mean.

During the earlier 'Bruce Springsteen Band' period (mid-71 to spring '72) they would once in a while do something similar....Springsteen (piano), Sancious (organ), Van Zandt (guitar)....Federici wasn't in the band at that point but Bruce had the luxury of having Van Zandt in the fold then - who Bruce didn't have with him in the early ESB era. [/quote]

Did Springsteen re-record "The Fever" for Tracks like he did "The Promise" or is it the same (or similar) version played by radio stations in the 70s?

jom

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The version of "The Fever" released on '18 TRACKS' is the same recording that Springsteen's European song Publisher, Intersong, received on acetate in late 1973 and selected USA radio stations received on tape in early-mid 1974.

According to ESB drummer Vini Lopez's comments it was recorded in just the one take - a pure live-in-the-studio scenario....which probably explains why no alternate studio version has surfaced in all there years.

It is the same version, but certain people, including Lopez, went in to the studio during Tracks and recorded some additional vocals. If you listen closely enough you can distinguish Bruce's 1990s voice from his 1970s one.

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"The Fever" wasn't tampered with later.

Vini only went in and worked on "Thundercrack"....he was asked about that on Greasy Lake and confirmed that it was just that one recording, no others. None of the other WIESS session records issued on TRACKS were tampered with (except obviously the finer point mixing).

They had no choice but to tamper with "Thundercrack" - the studio version had never been completed at the time. That's why Appel used an edited live recording as the publishing demo he sent to Intersong in late '73...the studio take wasn't in a usable state.

Mr. Earthslayer, you are the human Encyclopedia Brucetanica.

This is from the Backstreets Tracks Liner Notes (Vini quote):

'Bruce called me up and said, "Hey,
I have some music from the early days. One of the songs
needs vocals, and I was wondering if you wouldn?t mind coming
in after all this time and doing it." I said, "No, I?d be glad
to." So I went to his studio by his house and did the vocals. It
took 40 minutes. We had a good time, just like the old days?
We did ?Thundercrack.? He wanted the original guys to sing on
it, so me and Federici went in.? I knew all my parts like there
wasn?t any time in between, like we were just there again, like
a time warp.'

Thanks for the info



It's too bad Bruce didn't use the same tact with "The Promise". I think he butchered the damn thing when he re-recorded it.

jom

Yes, as soon as I read your reply I realised I had the two mixed up! Cheers.

The Promise was the BIGGEST dissapointment from the Tracks release..
HUGE dissapointment...
I think It was on Chalie Rose.. where he said that there weren't ANY good takes of 'The Promise' so he had to re-record it.....
'aweee Bruce.... you need to get some better friends... "

either of the TWO (the Darkness or River) versions would have been spectacular..!!

The re-recorded solo version... just doesn't work...
Maybe, some songs shouldn't be - and just can't be re-recorded... in present time...
I kind of think that IF bruce used a re-recorded version of Roulette.. it would have been a dissaster too....
What ever it is... the versions that were recorded seem to have a "real" feeling.. or "connection" to the topic...
once they were recorded YEARS later.. the "connection" just doesn't come across....

The re-recorded version of The Promise is just awful.

The original version was beautiful, haunting and full of emotion.

The re-recorded version sounds like he banged it out while he was waiting for the cable guy to show up.

*L*
I can't believe that Bruce even thought the re-recorded version was even remotely good....

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Well some folks liked it.. ..Springsteen got nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for that recording on '18 Tracks'. It also got a nomination for Best Rock Song. Didn't win on either count but he was in the fight.

That's all you need to know about the Grammy Awards..."Thunder Road" or "Badlands" never made it on their radar screen, yet they nominate a half-baked track from a ripoff compilation-of-a-compilation CD.

Are you sure about that? I thought I distinctly heard some dubbed-in Patti wailing in the middle of "Zero and Blind Terry" that was not on the original...

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No Patti.

That's Suki Lahav at the 1973 sessions providing the ghostly sounding female backing vocal on the TRACKS version of "Zero & Blind Terry". That TRACKS recording also features a piano overdub by Sancious and an acoustic guitar overdub by Springsteen...the Lahav-Sancious-Springsteen overdubs had never leaked out prior to TRACKS. The studio recording of "Zero" that leaked out back in the 70's and that we all knew - that is the same recording take, but its the base recording without the final overdub touches. Appel had sent the base recording to serve as the publishing demo and it was that demo that was the boot source.

It's a similar situation with the version of "Santa Anna" on TRACKS. That features 1973 sessions overdubs from Sancious (piano), Springsteen (acoustic), Suki Lahav (background vocals added to the male group vocal segment) and 'ol Richard Blackwell (calypso percussion)...none of these overdubs are found on the leaked studio take from the 70's that had been booted all those years ago. Again, same recorded take...but without the final overdubs.

Poor Suki failed to get her proper credits on the TRACKS booklet (story of her life)..but neither did Blackwell if my memory serves me correctly.

Suki also did a big, multi-tracked vocal overdub for "Sandy"....but they opted not to use it and I don't think that overdub extravaganza is circulating in bootland. Bruce and Louis Lahav overdubbed her over and over and over to created a "choir effect"

Interesting...thanks.

(Note to self: never say "are you sure"? to Earthslayer.)