On the Line (Gary U.S. Bonds album)

Updated on Dec 02, 2023

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Released June 1982 Artist Gary U.S. Bonds Label EMI America Records		Length 40:29 Release date June 1982 Genres Rock music, Pop music

Studio Power Station New York, NY On the Line (1982) Standing In the Line of Fire (1984) Producers Steven Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen Similar Dedication, Back in 20, Men Without Women, Twist Up Calypso, Voice of America

On the Line is an album released by Gary U.S. Bonds in 1982, the second of two on which he collaborated with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, the first being Dedication, released the previous year, 1981.

Background

The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the E Street Band. The album includes seven songs written by Springsteen, one written by Steven Van Zandt, and two written by Bonds himself ("Turn the Music Down", "Bring Her Back"), and features a duet with Steven Van Zandt on the track "Angelyne". The album produced one single, "Out of Work" which peaked at #21 on the mainstream rock charts.

According to the liner notes on the Razor & Tie reissue, after recording the album, Columbia Records had Bruce Springsteen remove his vocals from the tracks, specifically from the track "Angelyne", so Van Zandt stepped up to record the duet instead. Because of this, although Springsteen can still be heard on several of the tracks, he is not credited in the original liner notes. Additionally, the liner notes state that three other songs were recorded for the album but not present on the final release including Springsteen's "Action In the Street", "Lion's Den", and "Savin' Up". Springsteen's version of "Lion's Den" was eventually released in 1998 on his boxset Tracks and "Savin' Up" appeared on Clarence Clemons' first solo album Rescue (1983); "Action in the Street" remains unreleased. Springsteen's version of "Rendezvous" was finally released in 2010 on The Promise.

The album was re-released in 1992 on the Razor Edge label of Razor & Tie music, and then again in 2009 on BGO Records paired with Dedication.

Track listing

"Hold On (To What You Got)" (Bruce Springsteen) – 3:05
"Out of Work" (Springsteen) – 2:53
"Club Soul City" (Springsteen) – 3:36
"Soul Deep" (Wayne Carson) – 3:16
"Love's On the Line" (Springsteen) – 3:38
"Turn the Music Down" (Gary L. Anderson) – 3:37
"Rendezvous" (Springsteen) – 2:41
"Angelyne" (Springsteen) – 4:03
"All I Need" (Springsteen) – 5:10
"Bring Her Back" (Anderson) – 3:45
"Last Time" (Steven Van Zandt) – 4:45

Musicians

Gary U.S. Bonds – lead vocals

Bruce Springsteen – background vocals (credited under the pseudonym "Rusty Cloud")

Steven Van Zandt – guitar (solo "Last Time"), background vocals (solo "Angelyne")

Roy Bittan – keyboards

Clarence Clemons – saxophone (solo "Angelyne" & "Out of Work"), background vocals

Danny Federici – keyboards (solo "Club Soul City"), accordion

Max Weinberg – drums

Garry Tallent – bass

Additional Musicians

Charles Jackson – background vocals ("Club Soul City")

J.T. Bowen – background vocals ("Out of Work")

Rusty Cloud – keyboards (solo "Bring Her Back"), background vocals

Bill Derby – guitar (solo "Turn the Music Down"), background vocals

Joe Martin – guitar, background vocals

Mike Micara – drums

George Ruiz – bass, background vocals

Joey Stann – saxophone (solo "Bring Her Back" & "Love's On the Line"), background vocals

Technical

Bruce Springsteen – producer

Steven Van Zandt – producer

Neil Dorfsman – engineer

Gary Rindfuss – assistant engineer

Josh Abbey – assistant engineer

Toby Scott – mixing

Dana Brisbee – assistant mixing

Songs

1Hold On (To What You Got)3:05
2Out of Work2:55
3Club Soul City3:38

References

On the Line (Gary U.S. Bonds album) Wikipedia

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