Customer Reviews

Essential

5 star:		(82)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

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.

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.

THE BAND: Bruce Springsteen (vocals, guitars, harmonica, bass, recorder, mandolin)... and a host of musicians over the decades - the main players being - Roy Bittan (piano, keyboards, synth, mellotron, backing vocals), Stevie Van Zandt (guitars, mandolin, backing vocals), Patti Scialfa (guitar, backing vocals), Clarence Clemons (saxophone, percussion, backing vocals), Danny Federici (accordion, organ, piano), Garry Tallent (bass, tuba, backing vocals), Nils Lofgren (guitar), Max Weinberg (drums & percussion, backing vocals).

THE DISC: (2003) 42 tracks on 3 discs clocking in at approximately 200 minutes (disc-1 at 76 minutes, disc-2 at 77 minutes, disc-3 at 47 minutes). Included with the discs is a 42-page booklet containing song titles/credits, song lyrics, year each song was released (but sadly does not include what songs came from which albums), musicians on each track, numerous band photos, and thank you's. This compilation covers Springsteen's career from 1973-2002. Remastered sound. Label - Columbia / Sony Music.

ALBUM REPRESENTATION: Greetings From Asbury Park (3 songs), The Wild, The Innocent & The E-Street Shuffle (2), Born To Run (3), Darkness On The Edge Of Town (3), The River (2), Nebraska (2), Born In The USA (3), Tunnel Of Love (2), Human Touch (1), Lucky Town (2), The Ghost Of Tom Joad (1), The Rising (3), "Philadelphia" movie soundtrack (1), Live in NYC (2). Disc-3 contains odds & sods, B-sides, live tracks, rarities, etc.

COMMENTS: You get a lot of Bruce here. It's a great collection of songs (and a ton of music for the price). It makes his "Greatest Hits" (1995) look downright small... though don't trade in your "Greatest Hits" disc - it's worth keeping since 6 songs won't be found on this "Essential" set. THE GOOD: Many of Bruce's staples are here - "Blinded By The Light", "For You", "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)", "Thunder Road", "Born To Run", "Jungleland", "Badlands", "Hungry Heart", "Nebraska", "Born In The USA", "Glory Days", "Dancing In The Dark", "Brilliant Disguise", "Human Touch", "Lonesome Day", etc. The booklet is extensive - lyrics & photos are a definite plus (also included is a 1-page note from Bruce noting the long career he's had and the difficult task in selecting songs for a compilation). The songs are in chronological order (another plus in my book), so you can hear Bruce mature/change over the years. Glad to see "American Skin (41 Shots)" made it from "Live in NYC"... this is/was my favorite live song in recent years... and if you've seen the band perform it live or on their HBO special from 2001, (knowing the story) maybe you'll feel the same. Disc-3 is a treat - lots of unreleased material (my favorites being "County Fair" and the live "Trapped". THE NOT SO GOOD: There's no such thing as THE perfect 'best of' mix. This holds true of this "Essential" collection from Springsteen. The liner notes say the sound is "remastered" (no mention of digitally remastered), yet the first half of disc-1 still sounds a bit dated. I have to keep reminding myself that the early-to-mid 70's recording technology was not kind to some artists. As much as you get here, there are still some very key songs missing - "10th Avenue Freeze-out", "Growing Up", "Backstreets", "I'm On Fire", "Pink Cadillac", "I'm Going Down", "My Hometown", "Cover Me", "Prove It All Night", "Adam Raised A Cain", "The Ties That Bind", "She's The One", "Reason To Believe", "Murder Inc", "Secret Garden", "Better Days"... and perhaps a few classics that were not big hits like "Does This Bus Stop at 82nd Street?", "Lost In The Flood", "Racing In The Streets", "Youngstown" or "Incident on 57th Street". Only 3 songs from the classic "Born To Run" is not enough, and 3 songs from "The Rising" is probably too much. And, couldn't they find a better photo for the cover? For me, listening to Bruce was always an album experience. If you just want to get your feet wet, this "Essential" disc should do the trick. If you really want to dive in, gather up his 1st five albums plus "Born In The USA". A great collection of songs here, just not complete (4 stars).

If you're looking for a good overview of Sprinsgteen's canon, buy this album or Live 1975/85. If you are a hardcore Bruce tramp, however, you can probably skip this one - everything on discs one and two is a studio release and most of disc three is available on soundtracks and compilations, or as B-sides to singles.

The liner notes start with Springsteen acknowledging the problems that come with releasing a greatest hits compilation - namely some good stuff gets left out. The album could use "Backstreets" and "Racing in the Streets," but I'm not sure what they should replace. As this album was made to have the greatest possible commercial appeal, I was surprised "Secret Garden" wasn't included. Of course, keeping it off means there's still a reason for people to buy Greatest Hits - the only Springsteen album on which it appears.

My big complaint with Springsteen's studio albums is that he hasn't remastered them yet. While these songs on the first two discs haven't been remastered, they have been cleaned up a bit over the original versions.

As for the songs on the first two discs - all are top notch and provide a good retrospective of Springsteen's career. Unlike Greatest Hits, this album does contain pre-Born to Run material (five songs from his first two albums, released in 1973, are included). This set is more balanced than Greatest Hits too, which focused on his Born in the USA material. I have several hundred Bruce CDs, however, so it's a good bet I won't listen to these two CDs that often.

I bought the set for disc three. It was a disappointment. Most of the previously unreleased tracks and rarities on disc three don't sound any better than bootleg copies (not that I'd know anything about that). Highlights include

"County Fair" - a folksy song in the vain of Nebraska, albeit more upbeat

"Missing" - the closest Bruce has come to rapping

"Life Me Up" - Bruce's only song sung in complete falsetto. This song is one of my all-time favorites of his.

"None but the Brave" - it wasn't until I heard it live that it really got me, but this song is great.

The rest of the songs on disc three are mediocre for Springsteen.

Finally, the liner notes have a couple of mistakes: organist Danny Federici and bassist Garry Tallent are confused in a caption; "Trapped" was originally said to have been recorded in the 1970s, but Patti Scalfia and Nils Lofgrin are heard singing on it and listed in the credits for this song, although neither joined the E Street Band until 1984.

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+

This three disc compilation piles together some of the best recordings of Bruce Springsteen, arguably one of the finest solo rock singers in the genres history. Picking two or three songs from each album, the collection is far from comprehensive but still the best compilation of Springsteen available.

It features the obvious highlights such as Badlands, The Promised Land, Born In The USA, and Born To Run - one of the greatest rock songs ever. But lesser known highlights such as Blinded By The Light and The Ghost of Tom Joad produce a more rounded retrospect of Springsteen's career.

Since the singers decision to support John Kerry in the recent election, I have noticed many of his `fans' have decided to slate him in these reviews. This surprises me. I am new to Springsteen's music but anyone who has listened to it or read his lyrics should have known all along where his political allegiance lay. Writing the theme tune to Philadelphia, a film that sympathised with aids sufferers, was a clear sign of this. Other songs, such as American Skin, about the gung ho shooting of an African immigrant by New York police is another example, as well as lyrics like `Poor men wanna be rich, rich men wanna be kings, and a king ain't satisfied till he rules eveything'.

This is a comprehensive introduction to the career of `The Boss'.

As a devoted fan of early Springsteen, I picked up this album last year after I read the list of songs on the first CD. I bought Greatest Hits years ago, and thought that it was lacking some of the best material. This CD includes a great, broad sampling of some of his best material, but due to its broad sampling, misses some of the best. I have listened to the third CD, and thought most of the songs were great (particularly "None but the Brave", and "Trapped"), but I agree that "Viva Las Vegas" was unnecessary.

I wanted to respond to the ridiculous post that Bruce somehow "hurt America's soldiers' chances of survival in wartime by dissuading their self-confidence in victory over the enemy" and all that nonsense.

First off, I served in Iraq earlier this year, and took along this album. I listened to it several times while I was there and I have to say that it improved my morale immensely, particularly songs like "The Promised Land" and "Land of Hope and Dreams." Make of that what you will...

OK, after listening to this CD on my home stereo all the way through, I'm amending my original review from 4 stars to 3. For a guy who often devotes excruciating attention to details, Bruce could have done much better than this.

The first two discs sound pretty good. Not as big an improvement as some remastering jobs I've heard, but better than the original CD releases. No major complaints there.

Regarding the song selection- Bruce addresses that himself in the introduction, acknowledging that you'll never please everyone and that there are always valid arguments for what to leave in and what to leave out. I think that he went overboard with 5 selections from the first two albums, and I think it was a mistake to leave off several well-known hits like "I'm On Fire", "Pink Cadillac" and "Secret Garden". If you're going to appeal to newcomers and so-called "casual" fans, then you need to have as much accessible and recognizable material as possible. For instance, "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is an essential song, but in its studio version it's not quite as listenable as it is live or in the context of the original album. "Prove It All Night" is a much more instantly accessible song and probably better known. And the two live songs at the end- I would have either used shorter studio versions or left off one to make room for other stuff. Both are again "essential", but not necessarily listenable on a collection of hits. Maybe they wanted to avoid a predictable hits collection. If so, I guess that's a good thing. Overall, all of these songs are "essential", and they did as good a job as possible compiling a decent sampling of Springsteen's work from the early days to the present. Unlike some Essential collections, at least they maximize the disc space to include as much music as possible.

Now we come to the bonus disc- the incentive for all of the fans who have owned the rest of this material for years. My initial complaint still stands- there's at least 30 minutes of unused space on this 3rd disc. Springsteen has so much unreleased studio and live material that it's a huge waste to not ultilize this disc to the fullest. Unless Bruce has another "Tracks" or "Live" collection coming out sometime soon, this would have been a great opportunity to make available some elusive unreleased cuts that his fans have long clamored for. I'm not going to get into the issue of whether or not this was a rip-off aimed at exploiting the dedication of his "hardcore" fans (after all, their obsessiveness is THEIR problem, not Bruce's), but lots of people are going to be spending $15-$20 for basically this third disc that consists of barely 45 minutes of material.

That was my complaint before even hearing the album. After my first listen in my car, I didn't pay much attention to the sound quality. At home on my stereo, though, it's evident that much of this material was either in poor shape or that little attention was paid to mastering it. I've heard bootlegs that sound better than "Held Up Without A Gun" and "County Fair". I realize that some of these are demos, but so was the Nebraska material, and it sounds much better. That might explain the spareseness of the renditions, but it shouldn't account for the outright poor quality. "County Fair" sounds like an old, slightly warped tape that's been sitting in your car for too long. Maybe the sound quality was intentional (clearly the acoustic "Countin' on a Miracle" was meant to sound like an amateur recording, and in that case I think the effect works quite well), but I doubt it. I think the spotty quality and brief running time of this third CD is pretty inexcusable, and not typical of the usual sonic quality of releases that expect from Bruce Springsteen over recent years.

The liner notes at least include the lyrics, but there are so many mistakes and omissions that anyone who knows or follows along can't help but notice them. The listing of musicians is pretty confusing too, although overall I'll give this one credit for having better documentation than most Essential or greatest hits CDs.

Overall, the music is great- the songs are indeed essential, and good introduction to Springsteen's music for the uninitiated or for those whose interest doesn't extend much beyond what you hear on the radio. It provides a look at all aspects of Springsteens- singer, songwriter, musician, storyteller, live performer, poet, hard rocker, etc. I'm not going to look down my nose at people who want no more than this- after all, you can't own every album by every possible artist, even if it's Bruce Springsteen. I own collections like this for plenty of artists, and if I like what I hear well enough, I'm usually motivated to look a little deeper. If not, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a collection of a few hits and a few album tracks. The third disc is OK- nice to have "Trapped" and "Missing" and "Viva Las Vegas" on CD- but overall a disappointment and arguably non-essential even for Bruce's biggest fans. The remastering is a nice improvement, although I don't know that it would be enough of an incentive by itself for those of us who already own this material. Bruce badly needs to remaster his entire catalog, and hopefully this is a project on the near horizon. Let's just hope he does it with a bit more thoroughness and thought than seems to have gone into this project. This clearly seems to have been a rushed project done in order to capitalize on the end of the recent tour and on the upcoming holiday season. Nothing wrong with that if it's done well, but a lot of fans have come to expect more from Springsteen and this release doesn't quite deliver.

What many of these reviews have failed to mention is the outstanding remastering and mixing these recordings have undergone!
The pre-Nebraska section is eye-opening. The improvements over the standard CD releases is startling. Whether you're listening in your car, your high-end stereo or your iPod, it's obvious.
The three "Greetings" tracks are cleaned up a bit, but the "Wild, Innocent" two are flat-out revelatory. Crisp, clean, balanced. Chuck Plotkin was thanked in the booklet, and I can see why.
The 'Born To Run' songs sound as if a layer of grime has literally been scrubbed off. The strings and piano sounds, as well as Clarence's clarion sax, have never sounded so sharp.
The 'Darkness' tracks benefit from an improved drum and vocal sound, and is just overall better mixed. Same goes for the 'River' tunes, of which there are only two.

The extras disc is gravy. Why quibble? It's just a great sampler of stuff for the rabid fans (like me) out here without access to bootlegs.

What excites me the most is that this is the first sign that Bruce and company are considering remastering the old albums. If this is any hint at the possibilities, the mind reels. I can't imagine whole original albums sounding this good...they would become mandatory purchases for even those only minimally interested in Springsteen.

...could "authorized" boots be next? We can only hope.

I could go on and on about Springsteen for pages, but this collection is fairly easy to review. "Essential' does everything right that "Greatest Hits" did wrong, while still managing to miss a few necessities. I had been smacking my head in disbelief for a long time at how Columbia can keep releasing Essential collections from even their most minimalist artists and we still didn't a definative Bruce collection, so when I heard they were finally releasing this - and it would be three discs long - I was salivating.

So, here it is at last!

We all knew it would put the sloppy and under-nurished "Greatest Hits" to shame but what I didn't count on was that disc 3 would be all rarities. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I like that disc and I'm all for having most of Bruce's rarities on a nicely mastered recording, but I'm more for having the definative hits/fan favorites set. If we are still going to be left without "Growin' Up," "Hard to Be A Saint...," "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out," "Backstreets," "Kitty's Back," "She's the One," "Prove It All Night," "Racing In the Street," "Out In the Street," "Cadillac Ranch," "I'm A Rocker," "Cover Me," "I'm On Fire," "I'm Goin' Down," "Bobby Jean," "Tougher Than the Rest," "One Step Up," "Better Days," and at least three other deserving tracks from "The Rising," then it is something of a slap in the face to have a third cd that could have eassily accomidated those songs and made this collection perhaps everything we were all hoping for, consumed by the least essential thing to any artist - rarities. RARITIES - That very name deems them UNESSENTIAL.

So its not three discs of hits, but the two discs do a pretty decent job of sellecting, I guess what you'd call, the major-most highlights of Springsteens career, but it is shy of being essential.

(Two of the biggest wrongs from "Greatest Hits" are corrected, at least in terms of tracks that should never be left off any Springsteen hits compilation and songs even non-Bruce fans have probably heard umpteen times blasting from the radio: "Rosalita" and "The Promissed Land," but by those same standards they still miss two others, again that even the uninitiated might be asking where they are: "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" and "I'm On Fire." Even if you disagree as to wether these are classic Springsteen songs, they are recognizable enough that it would seem a no brainer that they be included among his "hits." Again, if we were talking about personal and die-hard fan favorites I'd be mentioning "Backstreets," "Prove It All Night," "Adam Raised A Cain," etc. again; but in terms of pure essentials, radio hits, what-have-you; those two songs should have made the cut.)

What is also a little disapointing is there isn't much imagination in the selections. How about including some of the tracks that Springsteen made hits for other artists like "Fire," and "Because the Night." The Springsteen versions are seldom heard on radio, but are fan favorites and Bruce plays them often on tour. To that degree it might have been fun to include (live, or any version of) "Red Headed Woman;" and how about the piano-and-Bruce-only version of "Spirit In the Night" from Barcelona, which turned up as a B-Side on the "Lonesome Day" single? This performance completely reinvents that song, the audience participation ("ALL NIGHT!") drives the whole thing home, and even though Bruce flubs a line in the last verse, that only makes the whole thing more endearing. "Pink Cadillac" was a hit but homeless until it finaly showed up on "Tracks;" but putting it on this collection would have made a lot of people happy. All of these tracks would be appropriate on the rarities disc, if not mixed in with the true essentials. Personaly I love "Worlds Apart," but if you just want to be technical about it, "The Rising" had two other singles ("Waiting On a Suny Day" and "My City of Ruins" - or how about the 9/11 tribute version for variety - again something that would be nice for fans who didn't pony up for that compilation but would like to have this one song),although Bruce does address in the liner notes there will be songs that probably should have made the cut, but couldn't. Perfectly understandable given the amount of great material, but agian, if a whole disc is going to be contributed to rarities instead genuine classics... well, you know...

Well, shoulda, woulda, coulda... It's possible hardcore fans of any artist can never be satisfied when it comes to things like this, so for the uninitiated this will probably do the trick (while their hardcore fan friend stands around telling them that they also need this song and that song and this other song too). I would be 100 times more comfortable giving this to someone I wanted to introduce to the Boss than "Greatest Hits," but I wouldn't feel the intro. was complete.

All that said, I love the songs that are here, love the remastered sound. I just wish there were more of them.
I'm still giving this collection 5 stars because the material that is here is 5-star quality and because of the Springsteen collections available it is far and away the best.