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From the Vault...
08/10/2003
#850 |
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info
Bruce Springsteen
"Greatest Hits"
© Columbia Records
Rating:
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track listing
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Born To Run
Thunder Road
Badlands
The River
Hungry Heart
Atlantic City
Dancing In The Dark
Born In The U.S.A.
My Hometown
Glory Days
Brilliant Disguise
Human Touch
Better Days
Streets Of Philadelphia
Secret Garden
Murder Incorporated
Blood Brothers
This Hard Land
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Bruce Springsteen
"Greatest Hits"
For the die-hard Springsteen fan, like myself, a Greatest Hits
package brings a very unpleasant feeling. One, the die-hard Bruce fans has
every major original studio album. Second, Bruce Springsteen had recorded so
many (great) tunes that were not released on the original releases, because he
felt they didn't fit with the album. ("The Fever" didn't fit? Which
album?!?) Third, Greatest Hits packages forces die-hard fans to buy it,
because it will contain songs that were not on original albums. Arguably so,
13 songs contained here were from the original releases, where the remaining
were unreleased.
Surprisingly, songs from Bruce's most earliest albums are not included here.
Songs from his first two albums, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. and
The Wild, The Innocent And The E Street Shuffle could easily have been
included, such as "Spirit In The Night" or "Blinded By The Light"
from the first album, and even the classic "Rosalita" from the second
album would have made this Greatest Hits package more complete, for those
fans who were just getting their first glimpse of Springsteen's most popular
music.
"Born To Run" is truly one song that any Bruce Greatest Hits
compilation cannot be without. Only two songs were chosen from the Born To
Run release, and "Thunder Road" being the great song that it is,
I would have chosen "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out". On that note, (arguing)
only one song was chosen from Bruce's next album, Darkness On The Edge Of
Town. The song "Badlands" is another great tune, yet there are
many other songs they could have included, to even out the rest of this
compilation's various songs (preferably more than one) from each studio release.
Two songs from The River album are on this compilation. The
title track, and another must-have "Hungry Heart." The title track
could easily been contained here, or substituted by other great songs, such
as "Cadillac Ranch." The Nebraska release was a 180 degree turn
for Bruce fans, where songs from this release would be labeled as folk, and
later be referenced as Unplugged acoustic recordings, featuring just
guitar and/or harmonica. "Atlantic City" is a good choice, and again,
it's the only song from Nebraska. My personal favorite from
Nebraska is "My Father's House," where others may argue that
songs such as "Reason To Believe" or even "Johnny 99" should
have been included here.
Now we enter the Born In The U.S.A. album: What song would NOT be
included here from that album? 4 songs are contained here, the first big hit
from it, "Dancing In The Dark" should have been a #1 hit for him, had
it not been for Michael Jackson stepping in his way on the charts. Of course,
the title track is another song no Bruce Greatest could not be without,
enough said on that one. "My Hometown" is another great choice, as it
was a personal favorite of mine, where I had sang this song in a band I was in.
"Glory Days" is another great choice as well. Some may argue that songs
such as "I'm On Fire" and "Cover Me" should easily have been
included, but 4 songs from one album on this compilation was really stretching
it.
Again, we argue the fact that only one song was included here from the
Tunnel Of Love album. The runner-up album to U.S.A., this album
may not have been as outstanding as it's predecessor, yet it contains some
great songs. This compilation's choice, "Brilliant Disguise" was quite
obvious, yet the title track should easily have been included.
Bruce's next two albums, Human Touch and Lucky Town were rated
as two of his not-so-popular albums. I disagree -- Human Touch is one
of his best, where it was much better than the Lucky Town release.
The title track of Human Touch is on this compilation, and I would have
to disagree with this choice for a single Greatest Hits compilation.
Songs such as "57 Channels And Nothing On" and "Cross My Heart"
should be included, along with the title track. There are other songs from
Human Touch that could be included, but we're narrowing it down to just
a few songs, for a Greatest Hits single cd. The Lucky Town may
have been a forgotten album for many, and the only song from this release (and
the only one that really stood out in my mind), was "Better Days."
The remaining songs are where Bruce fans begin to wring their hands, in
hearing these songs, and seeing if they could agree with Bruce that they were
just left on the shelf. The first two songs are exceptions: "Streets Of
Philadelphia" is a soundtrack cut from the movie "Philadelphia."
Okay, I can understand most songs from soundtracks are only movie selections,
and very rare are they included on an artist's original studio release.
The next song, "Secret Garden" is another slow and moody tune, like
the "Philadelphia" tune, and would also be included in the soundtrack
of Tom Cruise's movie, Jerry MaGuire."
"Murder Incorporated" is a true Bruce rocker. It also has the
John Mellencamp sound, and wouldn't it have been great if both Bruce and
Mellencamp shared vocals on this one... Two Americana artists shining bright.
The unreleased "Blood Brothers" is another slow and moody tune, as
it could have been a song included on his next album, The Ghost Of Tom
Joad, having a slow-paced feel, as many songs on the Nebraska
release. The last song, "This Hard Land" is a medium-paced tune,
featuring the harmonica, and another possible candidate for the Tom
Joad release, as the last two songs on this compilation shows Bruce in
a more mellow fashion, than that of his common rocking songs.
Arguing again, showcasing Bruce Springsteen's music on a
single disc greatest hits compilation is truly not enough. This collection
does have a good taste for those who are just discovering his music. But
for the die-hard fan, there are far more other great songs to consider.
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