Little Steven collects his early solo work in expansive new box set, 'RockNRebel'

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Wicked Cool/UMeE Street Band guitarist “Little Steven” Van Zandt explores his early solo career in an expansive box set called RockNRebel — The Early Work, which will be released on December 6.

The collection features remastered vinyl versions of six long-out-of-print albums, plus four CDs containing previously unreleased live and studio tracks, B-sides, demos, rehearsals, remixes, extended mixes, collaborations and radio spots.

The LPs in the RockNRebel box set are 1982’s Men Without Women, 1983’s Voice of America, 1987’s Freedom — No Compromise, 1989’s Revolution and 1999’s Born Again Savage, the latter making its vinyl debut.  Van Zandt released the first two albums under the name Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul.

Also included is the star-packed 1985 album Sun City, released as Artists United Against Apartheid. Each LP will be pressed on a different multicolored-vinyl disc.

The CDs contain tracks spanning from a 1973 live performance with Southside Johnny through an unreleased 2019 solo acoustic rendition of a song he wrote for Southside, “It’s Been a Long Time.”

Bonus tunes include rehearsal recordings by Van Zandt and The Asbury Jukes from the late 1970s, extended mixes of Sun City tracks, collaborations with singer/songwriter/actor Ruben Blades and a 1988 campaign tune Steven wrote for Jesse Jackson.

“It’s been a blast going through the archives and finding all these hidden gems,” says Van Zandt. “In addition to demos in various stages of completion, there are entire songs I’d completely forgotten about…I’m excited to have my stuff back on vinyl for the first time in decades!”

Meanwhile, deluxe standalone versions of the albums featured in RockNRebel will be released digitally in the weeks leading up to the box set’s 6 arrival, starting today with an expanded edition of Men Without Women.

Here’s the digital release schedule:

10/18 — Men Without Women
10/25 — Voice of America
11/1 — The Early Work (new compilation of unreleased track)
11/15 — Revolution
11/22 — Born Again Savage
11/29 — No Compromise
12/6 — Sun City

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