Sony Music CMG Bruce Springsteen - The Essential Bruce Springsteen

For an artist with a career as long and stacked with worthwhile albums as Bruce Springsteen's, greatest hits compilations like The Essential Bruce Springsteen are always a difficult proposition. To pick the best moments from three decades, include all the hits, string them together into a cohesive whole and then cram them onto two CDs that hopefully tell the story of a lifetime's work is a near impossible task. For once though, these 30 tracks do just that. From the early Van Morrison-styled fumblings of "Blinded by the Light" and "Spirit of the Night" through to the small-town dreams of escape of "Born to Run" and disillusioned bar-room anthem of "Born in the USA", it chronologically charts the genesis, rise and crowning of the blue-collar hero from New Jersey. Meanwhile, the thick drawl of "Tunnel of Love" and "Streets of Philadelphia" and the quiet introspection of "The Ghost of Tom Joad" remind that as well as being the quintessential American rocker, Springsteen is a songwriter with a unique insight into the human condition. Those who harbour a longstanding devotion to Springsteen will probably feel that there are glaring omissions--other album tracks more essential than some of the ones included here. For everyone else though, The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a phenomenal place to start. --Dan Gennoe

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