The Essential Bruce Springsteen [Limited Edition] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
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

Tracks:

Blinded By the Light
For You
Spirit In the Night
4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Thunder Road
Born To Run
Jungleland
Badlands
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
The Promised Land
The River
Hungry Heart
Nebraska
Atlantic City

Tracks:

Born In The U.S.A.
Glory Days
Dancing In The Dark
Tunnel Of Love
Brilliant Disguise
Human Touch
Living Proof
Lucky Town
Streets Of Philadelphia
The Ghost Of Tom Joad
The Rising
Mary's Place
Lonesome Day
American Skin (41 Shots) (Live)
Land Of Hope and Dreams (Live)

Tracks:

From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
Big Payback
Held Up Without A Gun (Live)
Trapped (Live)
None But The Brave
Missing
Lift Me Up
Viva Las Vegas
County Fair
Code Of Silence (Live)
Dead Man Walkin'
Countin' On a Miracle (Acoustic)

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:

Please.......2007-07-15

It has several B-side tracks yet no 'I'm on fire' or 'my hometown'

ridiculus.

A great collection of Bruce's "best" songs.......2007-05-30

This is a great collection of songs by The Boss for those who haven't bought Springsteen CDs/records before. I bought it for my 11-year old son who is getting interested in rock music. Maybe this collection missed a hidden diamond along the way, but overall all the great Springsteen songs going back to the 70's are included.

Honey, I want the heart/I want the soul/I want control right now.......2007-03-04

(Those're Mr. Springsteen's words up there, not mine, but I wholeheartedly agree.)

I know that Springsteen fans will argue over and over about what should be included in an "essential" collection of the artist's work, but this collection is, in my opinion, absolutely superb. It's also a great introduction to his work for those people who don't know much about his style or range. It's impossible to release a collection that contains all the heart and soul, but this is a good start.

I know that many people will think it's kind of an extended greatest hits collection, but with Springsteen--oh, man. It doesn't matter if his songs are popular hits; that shouldn't turn you off of his music. His songs become hits because people connect fully with what he wrote and crafted, as well as with the man himself. Take "Born in the USA," for example. You can look at the song as something people mistakenly turned into an anthem (and therefore something that doesn't belong in this collection), or you can look at it as the catalyst for many fan's snickers and disdain aimed at politicians who tried to do the anthem thing and put Springsteen squarely on their side. Springsteen crafted a satirical song, and he always treated it that way in concert. So, stop thinking of a Springsteen "hit" as in any way similar to, say, a Backstreet Boys "hit," and you'll be okay. If that were all this collection contained--just the hits, ma'am--this would still be superb.

But it contains more. It contains songs from albums that weren't so wildly popular, and previously unreleased songs that give you glimpses into other sides of the man and his influences (there's a third bonus disc that provides us with some stuff we likely have never heard before).

Buy this collection; hear this man sing of 70's gang fights, of what it means to be truly free when your world seems to be nothing but limitation, of faith in the human spirit, of learning how to be a partner in a relationship. Read (and reread, as I do) the lyrics. Remember that this man performs with all his heart and soul up on stage, just like in the studio recordings, and be amazed by how damn much this guy LOVES to sing, record, and perform. Then, if you don't already own the rest of his stuff, buy all the other cd's so you can see the depth of his emotional range. Then, with all that wonderful music playing in your head, you'll have the heart, the soul. Or at least, you'll have Mr. Springsteen's, since he's singularly eager to expose those parts of himself to you in his music.

Enjoy!

Not quite.......2007-02-02

Before purchasing this, you might want to compare the record company's "essentials" with a true fan's list and see if songs you forgot about (and want to own) are missing. And I'm not talking about the list from the guy who complained for three paragraphs about which obscure songs weren't included. The title is "the ESSENTIAL Bruce Springsteen," not "Some Guy's Personal Favorites."

So, I've included a list of what would be considered ESSENTIAL songs. These are not necessarily my favorites, but HIT singles, significant cuts, and the obvious best songs from each album.

NOT FOR: If you have most of these songs in your music collection, you don't need this CD or the Essentials, for sure.

RECOMMENDED FOR: ...those who don't care that they're missing the many great songs I've listed here that aren't on the actual CDs (compare my list with theirs-- if they left out a lot of songs you like, buy "Born to Run" and wait for the inevitable "Very, Very Best of Bruce Springsteen!")

Disc: 1
1. Blinded By the Light
2. Spirit In the Night
3. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
4. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
5. Thunder Road
6. Born To Run
7. Jungleland
8. Badlands
9. Because the Night (live or studio) -- NOT ON THIS CD
10.Prove It All Night -- NOT ON THIS CD
11.Darkness On The Edge Of Town
12.The Promised Land
13.The River
14.Hungry Heart
15.Atlantic City
16.Reason to Believe -- NOT ON THIS CD

Disc: 2 Here's where the problems really start. Disc 2 is almost a disaster. Ex.: "Born in the USA" features a whopping SEVEN top ten singles, only three of which are on these CDs. I think most people buying this collection would consider at LEAST 4 or 5 of them among the songs they'd buy this for, so where the hell are they? I've reinstated them on my list.

1. Born In The U.S.A.
2. Glory Days
3. Dancing In The Dark
4. I'm On Fire -- NOT ON THIS CD
5. Cover Me -- NOT ON THIS CD
6. I'm Goin' Down -- NOT ON THIS CD
7. My Hometown -- NOT ON THIS CD
8. Pink Cadillac -- NOT ON THIS CD*
9. Tunnel Of Love
10.Brilliant Disguise
11.Human Touch
12.Streets Of Philadelphia
13.The Ghost Of Tom Joad
14.American Skin (41 Shots) (Live)
15.The Rising
16.Lonesome Day

*You'll also note that I cut 8 or so songs I deemed "inessential" to make room for the good stuff!

Stones.......2006-12-07

A master's work.

The best song on all three disks is definitively Born To Run.
There is none other.

However, I think that Springsteen's live work is much
more spectacular.

Average customer rating:

Solid collection
Reasonable Addition to "Essential" Series
A Bigger, Better Greatest Hits Package
ESSENTIAL MATERIAL FOR TRUE ROCKERS ONLY
I don't understand

Essential

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000E65V9
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Album Description

2003 career retrospective from the boss! This strictly limited Australian exclusive edition comes with a bonus disc of rarities, live and previously unreleased tracks on 3 CDs. Columbia.

Customer Reviews:

Solid collection.......2004-12-27

Although not comprehensive, this 3-disc set is a very good introduction to the magic of Springsteen, one of the few timeless and authentic rock legends of the last three decades. Springsteen rarely disappoints musically but I suppose his image of blue-collar champion is a bit tainted after his involvement in partisan politics in 2004.

Disc One takes the listener from his promising early excursions like 1973s Blinded By The Light and 4th Of July through 1975s brilliant rock anthem Born To Run and 1978s awesome rocker Badlands, the gloomy ballad Darkness On The Edge Of Town and the defiant Promised Land through to 1980s majestic song The River (I really miss Wreck On The Highway here) and 1982s melancholy and brooding Nebraska.

Highlights on Disc Two include the powerful rockers Born In The USA and Glory Days, great hits like Dancing In The Dark, Tunnel Of Love and Brilliant Disguise. For me the most impressive songs here are the introspective numbers like Streets Of Philadelphia and The Ghost Of Tom Joad. Lonesome Day with its country feel, Mary's Place with its horns, and The Rising are beautiful and moving too.

On Disc Three, the live tracks include Held Up Without A Gun, a stirring uptempo rocker and Trapped, a grand brooding ballad. None But The Brave is also grand and beautiful, whilst Lift Me Up is a sensitive ballad with Bruce in falsetto mood. His version of Viva Las Vegas proves he's no Elvis but County Fair is one of those sad ballads that he does so well. This disc concludes with Counting On A Miracle, a beautiful acoustic ballad in folk style.

The chronological sequence was a good idea as one can follow the development of Springsteen's career through the changing sound, the varying themes and the ever more serious approach. Obviously not compiled for completists who will have all the albums and box sets anyway, The Essential Bruce Springsteen is perfect for those who wish to have the most of his best in one place. It's a winner through and through.

Reasonable Addition to "Essential" Series.......2003-10-30

Good lord, people- not everyone approaches Springsteen's music with the level of obsession and sense of entitlement that his self-proclaimed "diehard" fans do. This release is geared towards people interested in his music but who only want/need a sampling of his hits and a few essential album tracks. I can't possibly own and listen to every album from every artist I've ever had an interest in, and for some of them, these Essential packages are very nice. They're certainly better than a one disc greatest hits package, since they give a broader view of the artist's catalog beyond the obvious radio hits. The third disc is clearly an enticement for those of us who own all of these tracks- taken for what it's worth, it's not a bad "bonus disc". Sure, I already have "Dead Man Walking" and "Missing". Sure, there are tons of outtakes that I'd love to have. But to believe that a release like this should be geared towards the fan who has every conceivable released track and is familiar with numerous outtakes through bootlegs is just unreasonable. There aren't THAT many fans like that- I have to believe that most fans don't own bootlegs, and most don't have access to every rare track ever released on soundtracks, b-sides, comilations, etc. The only legitimate complaint, I think, is that the 3rd disc likely has considerable unused space. Who knows- it could always be tinkered with before the final release. Or maybe this is a sign that another multi-disc "Tracks" set is on the way and that Bruce didn't want to use up all of his prime unreleased material on a bonus disc. I don't REALLY believe that, but it's nice to dream...

The Essential set itself is interesting- I would have chosen different tracks, but it's impossible with an artist like Springsteen to pick a definitive list of songs that will please fans and newcomers alike. I have no real complaints, and will look forward to hearing more remastered songs. Springsteen's CD catalog falls far behind that of other artists in terms of sonic quality, and hopefully this is a step towards remastering all of the albums.

A Bigger, Better Greatest Hits Package.......2003-10-24

No doubt designed for music fans who don't own many Springsteen albums, this double CD has selections from every studio album of his 30 year carreer. There are many great tracks that weren't on his 1995 "Greatest Hits" CD: Rosalita, Jungleland, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, Tunnel of Love, The Ghost of Tom Joad, The Rising, American Skin (41 Shots), and others.

As a big Springsteen fan, I of course recommend buying the albums themselves, but if you just want the "essentials" from 3 decades of music, this is it.

The BONUS Disc is pretty cool too. It has tracks from his whole career. "None But the Brave" & "County Fair" are 2 'Born in the USA' outtakes could have been hits if they'd made the cut. These 2 songs I highly recommend. Anyone who digs Springsteen will love these tunes!

There's also some rare tracks Springsteen wrote for movies directed by friends Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, & John Sales. These songs are not like his usual music but are very good.

ESSENTIAL MATERIAL FOR TRUE ROCKERS ONLY.......2003-10-23

First of all, let me make myself clear, all you cry babies complaining on what should be on this CD or shouldn't: please stop crying.

If you bought lousy soundtracks and compilations why is it a problem to fork out 35 bucks for 3 disc of Springsteen material including 12 never in this form released tracks. people always want more more more. It's a bonus, it's "essentially" FREE (...)

And you get all this stuff in excellent quality so what's the problem.

NOw back to this masterpiece. All tracks are digitally remastered and sound PERFECT, way better than the originals so that makes it a guaranteed buy for me, that is.

The bonus disc is a feast for every TRUE ROCKER, Held Up Without A Gun (NYC 31/12/1980) is a true gem. Trapped is jaw dropping, allthoughthis is not a 1981 version but the Band Aid Compilation 1984 BITUSA version. County Fair is a great version (surpasses the Lost MAsters Version for all you bootleggers, obviously some touch up, re-recording!). None But The Brave is a long lost original and is stunning, a true masterpiece this track already makes this purchase worth the bucks. The Springsteen Joe Grushecky penned Code Of Silence from the 2000 NYC MSG shows is great and another masterpiece that should had found its way onto The Rising. Counting on a Miracle is a great acoustic rendetion of this Rising hit. Many of you will recognize it from hearing it while you left a stadium this past summer as it was played after each concert accompanied by a black and white, Brilliant Disguise style video. Dead Man Walking is an amazing Tom Joad outtake used for Sean Penn's movie, Viva Las Veags is a treu rocker that was done on several occassions during the Rising tour and was not recorded with the E-street band. Missing is not my thing and should not be mixed up with the excellent You're Missing from Bruce's multi platinum platter THE RISING!

Well, this is a short summary of the contents of especially disc 3 and there's more on it, just wait and see.

Don't be disturbed by bootleggers who just always want that OTHER rare thing but enjoy what's here, as it's good!!!

I don't understand.......2003-10-23

Basically I want to say that I'm tired of hearing the whining from the "die-hard" fans. I am a die-hard fan as well, but it seems most can't figure out that the Essentials isn't for the die-hard. One day maybe they will

Average customer rating:

The Essential Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000E4N56
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Tracks:

Blinded by the Light
For You
Spirit in the Night
4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Thunder Road
Born to Run
Jungleland
Badlands
Darkness on the Edge of Town
Promised Land
River
Hungry Heart
Nebraska
Atlantic City

Tracks:

Born in the U.S.A.
Glory Days
Dancing in the Dark
Tunnel of Love
Brilliant Disguise
Human Touch
Living Proof
Lucky Town
Streets of Philadelphia
Ghost of Tom Joad
Rising
Mary's Place
Lonesome Day
American Skin (41 Shots) [Live] - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Land of Hope and Dreams [Live] - Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

Tracks:

From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)
Big Payback
Held Up Without a Gun [Live] - Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Trapped [Live] - Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
None But the Brave
Missing
Lift Me Up
Viva Las Vegas
County Fair
Code of Silence [Live] - Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band
Dead Man Walkin'
Countin' on a Miracle [Acoustic]

The Essential Bruce Springsteen HIGH DEFINITION 24bit/96KHz 2CD Set

Average customer rating:

The Essential Bruce Springsteen HIGH DEFINITION 24bit/96KHz 2CD Set
Bruce Springsteen
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000NTTHUC

Product Description

The Essential Bruce Springsteen HIGH DEFINITION 24bit/96KHz 2CD Set. The Tracks Are .....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)

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