The Essential Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: November 1, 2003
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: Columbia
• Copyright: (P) 1973, 1995 Sony Music Entertainment, Inc., 1975, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 Bruce Springsteen
• Total Length: 3:20:50
• Genres:
• ASIN: B00138KLDY
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (173 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,076 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

115 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Essential Bruce Springsteen...Almost, December 12, 2003

By 

E. P. Schafer (Sai Gon, Viet Nam) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Audio CD)

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.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Long Time Comin'...., August 3, 2005

By 

PJM "PJM" (Knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Audio CD)

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.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great collection of Springsteen songs... just not complete, October 16, 2007

By 

R. Gorham "RCG2" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Essential Bruce Springsteen (Audio CD)

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).