All songs written by Bruce Springsteen. Rosalita (7:02) Thunder Road (4:48) Born to Run (4:30) Badlands (4:02) Promised Land (4:33) Hungry Heart (3:18) Atlantic City (3:57) Born in the U.S.A. (4:39) Dancing in the Dark (6:41) Brilliant Disguise (4:15) Human Touch (5:09) Streets of Philadelphia (3:16) Ghost of Tom Joad (4:21) Rising (7:27) Radio Nowhere (3:18) Working on a Dream (3:28) We Take Care of Our Own (3:53) Wrecking Ball (5:47) Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter and musician best known for his work with the E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Boss", Springsteen is widely known for his brand of heartland rock, poetic lyrics, Americana sentiments centered on his native New Jersey and his lengthy and energetic stage performances, with concerts from the 1970s to the present decade running up to an uninterrupted 250 minutes in length. Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born in the U.S.A. and Born to Run, showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life; he has sold more than 65 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million worldwide[3] and he has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award as well as being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him as the 23rd Greatest Artist of all time, the 96th Greatest Guitarist of all time on their latest list and the 36th Greatest Singer of all time in 2008. If you're a Springsteen fan, you'll be pleased to see that all of his favorites are on this album; songs that don't even need mentioning. This 'Collection' is every Springsteen song you could want in one place for, say, entertaining guests, or anthems to singalong to on a road trip. I'm sure plenty of people will be jumping at the chance to hear the latest from The Boss, but before you run off to buy the CD, might I just point out a few things? Our mate Bruce has put out a 'Best Of' collection before, hasn't he? In fact, he has put two compilation albums out under the title Greatest Hits. Pair that with an Essential Bruce Springsteen, and it's no wonder why they've simply named this one Collection. They've used up all the other options! This seminal collection has been released to coincide with the Australian leg of Springsteen's world tour, so I've no doubt that this record will sell tremendously well. But another 'Hits' album to boost record sales is not going to fool this reviewer -- don't let it fool you either. If you're itching for some Springsteen, Born In The USA is still a best seller at almost any music store around the country. Head to your nearest and start from there. Alternatively, wait until the next album of new material comes out. He's still writing good stuff. Bruce Springsteen draws on many musical influences from the reservoir of traditional American popular music, folk, blues and country. From the beginning, rock and roll has been a dominant influence and Springsteen's musical and lyrical evocations, as well as public tributes, of artists such as Dylan, Presley, Roy Orbison, Gary "U.S." Bonds, and many others helped to rekindle interest in their music. Springsteen's other preferred musical style is American folk, evident on his debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey, and more strongly on Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad. Springsteen songs such as "This Hard Land" demonstrate the lyrical and musical influence of Woody Guthrie. Elements of Latin American music, jazz, soul, and funk influences can be heard on Springsteen's second album, The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle the song "New York City Serenade" is even reminiscent of the music of George Gershwin. These two records prominently featured pianist David Sancious, who left the band shortly into the recording of Springsteen's third album, Born To Run. This album, however, also emphasized the piano, the responsibility now of Roy Bittan. Subsequently in his career, Springsteen focused more on the rock elements of his music. He initially compressed the sound and developed Darkness on the Edge of Town just as straightforward as concise musical idiom, for the simple riffs, hard rock guitar solos and clearly recognizable song structures are dominant. He also drew upon a few influences from punk rock on the album, as can be heard on the heavy rhythm following the bridge solo on 'Candy's Room'.[citation needed] His music has been categorized as heartland rock, a style typified by Springsteen, John Fogerty, Tom Petty, Bob Seger, and John Mellencamp. This music has a lyrical reference to the U.S. everyday and the music is kept rather simple and straightforward.

• published: 21 Oct 2013
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