Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Blinded By the Light
2. For You
3. Spirit In the Night
4. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
5. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
6. Thunder Road
7. Born To Run
8. Jungleland
9. Badlands
10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town
11. The Promised Land
12. The River
13. Hungry Heart
14. Nebraska
15. Atlantic City

Disc 2:

1. Born In The U.S.A.
2. Glory Days
3. Dancing In The Dark
4. Tunnel Of Love
5. Brilliant Disguise
6. Human Touch
7. Living Proof
8. Lucky Town
9. Streets Of Philadelphia
10. The Ghost Of Tom Joad
11. The Rising
12. Mary's Place
13. Lonesome Day
14. American Skin (41 Shots) (Live)
15. Land Of Hope and Dreams (Live)

Disc 3:

1. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
2. Big Payback
3. Held Up Without A Gun (Live)
4. Trapped (Live)
5. None But The Brave
6. Missing
7. Lift Me Up
8. Viva Las Vegas
9. County Fair
10. Code Of Silence (Live)
11. Dead Man Walkin'
12. Countin' On a Miracle (Acoustic)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1458 in Music
• Released on: 2003-11-11
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Extra tracks, Limited Edition, Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
Vastly expanding 1995's single disc Greatest Hits, The Essential Bruce Springsteen easily surpasses the earlier best-of set by serving up all its true essentials and tossing in less appreciated treats and a full disc of rarities. Disc one spans the first decade of Springsteen's recording career, serving up at least two tracks each from the six albums that laid the groundwork for his '80s burst into superstardom. Disc two picks up with his mainstream breakthrough, 1984's Born in the U.S.A., and carries on through 2002's The Rising, tossing in live recordings of "American Skin" and "Land of Hope and Dreams" for good measure. The selections and sequencing surpass those made on Greatest Hits, though there's not too much in the way of surprises, other than that it appears that Born in the U.S.A. hasn't aged all that well for the Boss; here, he selects only three songs from the hit-laden smash, one fewer than is found on the skimpy Greatest Hits. Disc three is where the fun really starts for all but neophytes. The live "Held Up Without a Gun" is as gutsy a one minute and 20 seconds as Springsteen as one could ask for, and the likes of "Trapped," "Countin' on a Miracle," and a cover of "Viva Las Vegas" rank with his signature songs. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

The Essential Bruce Springsteen...Almost
When compiling a "best of" collection of songs from an artist like Bruce Springsteen-and you can include the Beatles, the Who, the Clash and Bob Dylan in this-the question really isn't what to include but what can be left out? Indeed, as most of his albums are thematic, it can be difficult to hear his songs out of context; thus the 1995 "Greatest Hits" collection didn't make emotional sense.

But if you're looking for "essential" Bruce-songs that define his art and career and are the backbone of his perspective on life, America, and rock music, then this album comes fairly close. All of his albums and epochs are represented on two CDs, albeit briefly. His wonderfully funky first two albums are finally represented-they were totally ignored on the "Greatest Hits" compilation-and there is a welcome third CD of oddities, rarities, and b-sides that had not previously been collected. The set can serve as an introduction to the man's work, though I still tell friends to start by simply buying the first six albums-Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (1973); The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle (1973); Born to Run (1975); Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978); The River (1980); Nebraska (1982)-and then picking and choosing from the rest. The magnificent Tracks (1998), however, belongs in any record collection. It is the best anthology of its kind-unreleased cuts, alternate versions, collected B-sides-even if it fails to include "The Fever," "Held Up Without a Gun," and "The Big Payback."

But to truly capture the essential Bruce, it requires at least another CD of songs. Sure there are three cuts from the debut album, but where are "Growin' Up," "Lost in the Flood," and the lovely "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?" (Just listen to him sing the line "Love's like that-sure it is"). We get "Sandy" and "Rosalita" from the second album, but what about the magnificent "Incident on 57th Street" and "Wild Billy's Circus Story"? (E Street drummer Max Weinberg's favorite Bruce song). Better yet, give us the live version of "Billy" from the 1974 CBS executives' convention that was released to DJs only. I've got it and it's great.

There are three cuts from Born to Run, but why was the thunderous "Backstreets" left behind? You could include all ten cuts from "Darkness," but being prudent, at least "Adam Raised a Cain" and "Something in the Night" and "Prove It All Night" should have made this collection.

"The River" had its faults but where are "The Ties That Bind," "Two Hearts," "Cadillac Ranch" and "Fade Away"? Really, if any Bruce is essential it's "Cadillac Ranch" and "The Fever," which was written shortly after "The Wild, The Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle" and only released on 1999's "18 Tracks." Why aren't they here?

It's the same story for the other albums-how could "Open All Night" or "Used Cars" from "Nebraska," "Born in the U.S.A.'s" "My Hometown," "Tunnel of Love's" "Tougher Than the Rest" or "Soul Driver" and "Real World," "Lucky Town," "Souls of the Departed" and "Beautiful Reward" from "Human Touch" and "Lucky Town" be left out? What about "Light of Day"? or "Youngstown" and "Dry Lightning" from "The Ghost of Tom Joad," or "Into the Fire" and "Worlds Apart" from "The Rising"?

Moreover, albums like this are an opportunity to let unusual or alternate versions of songs see the light of day, but this does not happen. Legend has it that a rockabilly version of "You Can Look But You Better Not Touch" was recorded with just Bruce on guitar, Garry Tallent (bass) and Max Weinberg (drums), so why can't we hear it now? As for "Born in the U.S.A.," various CDs have the studio cut on the album of the same name, live band and solo versions, and the demo from the "Nebraska" sessions...so why not give us the fabled 17-minute version from the original studio take? And how about studio versions of "Fire" and "Because the Night" from the "Darkness" sessions, which we've only heard live?

Want the answer to all these questions? Money. CBS doesn't want to do a four or five-disc set and besides, if they really put all the essential Bruce tracks on this collection, then no one would buy the regular studio albums.

The other side of greatest hits albums is that we often hear a lot of things we don't need to hear again. To my ears,
"Hungry Heart" and "Mary's Place" are among Bruce's weakest songs. However, for others they're favorites, which only furthers the point that these albums never satisfy everyone.

Let's face it: compilations of any great artists are difficult to make perfect. Even last year's "Forty Licks" from the Rolling Stones could easily have been "Sixty Licks." And what always looms over these sets is the desperate need of the record companies to haul in cash. Commercial interests reign supreme these days. Look at it from this perspective: Had CBS merely released the third disc here, the rarities would not have sold well, even though many fans want it to complete their collections. As my brother asked, "Why do we have to buy three discs to get the one we wanted?" And if CBS had only released the first two discs, it still wouldn't have sold as well. So they combined all three to catch the diehards as well as the casual listeners-and they didn't do a very good job on the packaging, either. For CBS, it all came down to the bottom line.

Fortunately, technology has caught up to the record companies. You want the Essential Bruce Springsteen? Borrow a friend's collection and burn your own CDs.

But a last word: Thanks, Bruce. Thanks for being so talented, for caring so much, and for working so hard. Thanks for everything.

A Long Time Comin'....
No matter how many songs are included in a package like this, it's always the ones that are missing that stick in your mind. For me, it's "One Step Up". For someone else, it may be "Cadillac Ranch" or "Racing In The Street", etc. Until Bruce Springsteen releases an all encompassing box set of mammoth proportions, however, we can consider ourselves well served with this 3 disc set. It presents an accurate picture of one of the most influential singer/songwriter/musicians of the past 30 years, and cleans up the sound to boot. A remastering of Springsteen's catalog is long over due; in the meantime, "Essential" does a decent job at putting a nice shine on some of the more compelling, memorable songs ever to grace a turntable, tape or CD player. For long time and casual fans alike.

Boss Fields Back To The Beginning
In the days of Rock & Roll, we always have heroes when it comes to Americana in music. For some, we think of greats like Bob Dylan and hard rockers like Aerosmith, Metallica, and The Scorpions. Nevertheless, that all seems to be cliche', when it really comes down to Bruce Springsteen. His voice and his edge have made a dynamic impact for well beyond 30 years in the industry. He truly has been one of the very few icons that always remained true to the public, without the need to sell himself out like most corporate, manufactured artists there are today. Nevertheless, every time he is on stage, that is what makes him sell out.

The Essential Bruce Springsteen, is a comprehensive glimpse into Bruce's career. The 3 CD set contains over 40 tracks that really go deep into the musical depths the boss made responsible. The songs go from his early records, Greetings From Asbury Park and Born To Run, all the way to the massive 9/11 acclaimed The Rising. The album does include some great standards from the boss including Rosalita, Hungry Heart, Glory Days, Nebraska, all the way to his current hits, the Oscar-winning Streets Of Philadelphia, Lonesome Day, and his live acclaim's from his 2000 reunion tour with The E Street Band. Such as the diverse and controversial American Skin (41 Shots), which reflected on the death of a immigrant man who was killed mistakenly by cops in New York City.

The record does also have some disadvantages to this collection. The album does overlook some great Springsteen songs like, My Hometown, One Step Up from the soft-spoken Tunnel Of Love, I'm On Fire, Secret Garden from Jerry Mcguire, and Murder Incorporated from his 1995 Greatest Hits. They could've been added onto the bonus disc of leftover songs. Instead, the record has some lesser known songs to the mend such as The Ghost Of Tom Joad, and his Oscar- Nominated Dead Man Walkin', from the 1996 Sean Penn movie.

All in all, not every hits collection is perfectional, but this one is similar to recent collections by Elton John, Lionel Richie, and Donna Summer, which also includes a bonus disc. Out of all the ones that work, The Essential Bruce Sprinsteen fairs well. While some may feel a little more interested in the 1995 Bruce Springsteen hits collection, this one is a bit more diverse from the legacy of the boss.

Overall: B+