''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 E Street Band is an American rock band, and has been musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. For the bulk of Springsteen's recording and performing caree ...

, the first being '' Dedication'', released the previous year, 1981.

Background

The musicians accompanying Bonds on the album include many members of the

. The album includes seven songs written by Springsteen, one written by

Steven Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), 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 mandoli ...

, and two written by Bonds himself ("Turn the Music Down", "Bring Her Back"), and features a duet with

on the track "Angelyne". The album produced one single, "Out of Work" which peaked at #21 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles charts. According to the liner notes on the

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles an ...

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 studio version of "Lion's Den" and a live version of "Rendezvous" were 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 studio version of "Rendezvous" was finally released in 2010 on '' The Promise''. The album was re-released in 1992 on the Razor Edge label of

music, and then again in 2009 on BGO Records paired with '' Dedication''.

Track listing

All songs written by Bruce Springsteen unless otherwise stated. Side one # "Hold On (To What You Got)" – 3:05 # " Out of Work" – 2:53 # "Club Soul City" – 3:36 # " Soul Deep" (

Wayne Carson Wayne Carson (born Wayne Carson Head; May 31, 1943 – July 20, 2015), sometimes credited as Wayne Carson Thompson, was an American country musician, songwriter, and record producer. He played percussion, piano, guitar, and bass. His most fam ...

) – 3:16 # "Love's on the Line" – 3:38 # "Turn the Music Down" ( Gary L. Anderson) – 3:37 Side two # "Rendezvous" – 2:41 # "Angelyne" – 4:03 # "All I Need" – 5:10 # "Bring Her Back" (Anderson) – 3:45 # "Last Time" (

) – 4:45

Personnel

Musicians

* Gary U.S. Bonds – lead vocals * Bruce Springsteen –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are us ...

(uncredited) *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

(solo "Last Time"), background vocals (solo "Angelyne") *

Roy Bittan Roy J. Bittan (born July 2, 1949) is an American musician best known as a long-time member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Professor", Bittan joined the E Street Band in 1974. He plays the piano, organ, accordion and synthe ...

– keyboards *

Clarence Clemons Clarence Anicholas Clemons Jr. (January 11, 1942 – June 18, 2011), also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death in 2011, he was the saxophonist for The E Street Band. Clemons released several s ...

–

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

(solo "Angelyne" & "Out of Work"), background vocals *

Danny Federici Daniel Paul Federici (January 23, 1950 – April 17, 2008) was an American musician, best known as the organ, glockenspiel, and accordion player and a founding member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. In 2014, Federici was posthumously induct ...

– keyboards (solo "Club Soul City"), accordion * Max Weinberg – drums *

Garry Tallent Garry Wayne Tallent (born October 27, 1949), sometimes billed as Garry W. Tallent, is an American musician and record producer, best known for being bass player and founding member of the E Street Band, Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band si ...

– bass

Additional musicians

Chuck Jackson Chuck Jackson (born July 22, 1937) is an American R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961. His hits include "I Don't Want to ...

– 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 Joey Stann is an accomplished saxophonist who has worked as a sideman and has recorded with a long list of rock and roll luminaries. Stann performs primarily on the tenor, Alto saxophone and baritone saxophone and has contributed vocals and has ...

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

Technical

* Bruce Springsteen – producer *

– producer *

Neil Dorfsman Neil Dorfsman (born May 31, 1952) is an American sound engineer and record producer, best known for his work with Dire Straits, Bruce Hornsby, Mark Knopfler, Paul McCartney and Sting. He won Grammy Awards for Best Producer for Bruce Hornsby's ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, mixing on "Club Soul City" and "Last Time" *Gary Rindfuss – assistant engineer *Josh Abbey – assistant engineer *Toby Scott – mixing *Dana Brisbee – assistant mixingGary U.S. Bonds - On the Line
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External links

{{Authority control 1982 albums Gary U.S. Bonds albums Albums produced by Steven Van Zandt EMI America Records albums