Bruce Springsteen ESSENTIALS

[Tjazz]

Another Springsteen compilation will be released Tuesday, but there's also a bonus CD included that has new tracks.

Booklet has lyrics and some pictures.

Best Buy $15.99

Target $15.99

Track List

DISC 1

1. Blinded by the Light 5:02

2. For You 4:39

3. Spirit in the Night 4:58

4. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) 5:35

5. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) 7:02

6. Thunder Road 4:50

7. Born to Run 4:30

8. Jungleland 9:33

9. Badlands 4:01

10. Darkness on the Edge of Town 4:28

11. The Promised Land 4:33

12. The River 4:59

13. Hungry Heart 3:19

14. Nebraska 4:27

15. Atlantic City 3:54

DISC 2

1. Born in the U.S.A. 4:39

2. Glory Days 4:15

3. Dancing in the Dark 4:01

4. Tunnel of Love 5:10

5. Brilliant Disguise 4:15

6. Human Touch 6:28

7. Living Proof 4:44

8. Lucky Town 3:24

9. Streets of Philadelphia 3:16

10. The Ghost of Tom Joad 4:21

11. The Rising 4:47

12. Mary's Place 5:59

13. Lonesome Day 4:05

14. American Skin (41 Shots) (Live at Madison Square Garden) 7:45

15. Land of Hope and Dreams (Live at Madison Square Garden) 9:30

DISC 3

1. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) 2:40

2. The Big Payback 1:57 (wasn't this a b-side of a 45?)

3. Held Up Without a Gun 1:18 (live version of b-side of 45)

Live

4. Trapped 5:08 (this was on WE ARE THE WORLD album/CD or this is different live version?)

Live

5. None But the Brave 5:35 (new)

6. Missing 5:06 (from the movie THE CROSSING GUARD)

7. Lift Me Up 5:15 (from LIMBO soundtrack CD)

8. Viva Las Vegas 3:13 (from compilation Elvis LP, previous released)

9. County Fair 4:49

10. Code of Silence 4:31 (from Live in NY album)

Live

11. Dead Man Walkin' 2:43 (from soundtrack CD)

12. Countin' on a Miracle 5:01

Acoustic Version

Most of the bonus disc has been previously released tracks, but they were on other albums or singles or soundtracks.

Guess I'll be spending some money.

Edited November 12, 2003 by Tjazz

[GregK]

Once again Bruce screws his fans by making them buy a 3-disc set just to get some rarities. I will buy this too because I want to hear disc 3, but as usual with compilations I have problems with the songs chosen for the first 2 discs. Where is Better Days? And why did he pick 2 of the lesser songs from The Rising when that record is full of some of his best material, only one of which (the Rising) is on this set? I just never understand the logic behind these things. Don't even get me started on his Greatest Hits (where were the first 2 records on that one??)

[jmjk]

Once again Bruce screws his fans by making them buy a 3-disc set just to get some rarities.

Are we sure Bruce is to blame? Or should we blame Columbia Records?

Some artists have little control over what their record company does with their catalog. I'm not sure of Bruce's deal, but I've seen nearly a half-dozen comps each from some artists and bands when one would suffice---all so the record company could sell a remastering or a few live/rare tracks with each new comp.

[Claude]

... making them buy a 3-disc set just to get some rarities.

Or today´s alternative: Making them pass on this 3CD set and download the rarities illegally from the web (if they don't care about CD sound)

At least this set has an attractive price, so those who get it for CD3 alone must not feel screwed.

Edited November 10, 2003 by Claude

[Man with the Golden Arm]

i guess $16 ain't a bad price for one disc, considering disc two is a toss and how can one listen to jungleland w/o meeting across the river as prelude? and one would think the 'boss' might have some say so in what's handed out to the public.

maybe you can find this for the essential version of small things!

[Tjazz]

Hey,

Bruce went commercial with BORN IN THE USA.

Remember his disco versions...

(Cover Me, Dancing in the Dark)

He's got a right to make some extra bucks too.

It's all about the money.

Edited November 12, 2003 by Tjazz

[GregK]

Hey,

Bruce went commercial with BORN IN THE USA.

Remember his disco versions...

(Cover Me, Dancing in the Dark)

He's got a right to make some extra bucks too.

It's all about the money.

Commercial with a conscience though. I don't agree with his politics but I respect him for not just writing the same old jingos over and over. Although I could do without Cover Me and Dancing in the Dark. Ouch

[Tjazz]

Hey,

Bruce went commercial with BORN IN THE USA.

Remember his disco versions...

(Cover Me,  Dancing in the Dark)

He's got a right to make some extra bucks too. 

It's all about the money.

Commercial with a conscience though. I don't agree with his politics but I respect him for not just writing the same old jingos over and over. Although I could do without Cover Me and Dancing in the Dark. Ouch

I like the 12" Dancing In The Dark remix

[Tjazz]

If you haven't purchased ESSENTIALS yet, you can buy it at Circuit City along with Bruce's latest DVD for $25. (both the CD set and DVD for $25)

Starting Tuesday 11/18 - 11/22.

Edited November 16, 2003 by Tjazz

[kulu se mama]

that's quite a deal at circuit city.

i paid $15.99 for the 3 cd's.

unfortunately i've already opened it.

Edited November 16, 2003 by kulu se mama

[Guest che]

Another Springsteen compilation will be released Tuesday, but there's also a bonus CD included that has new tracks.

Booklet has lyrics and some pictures.

Best Buy $15.99

Target $15.99

Track List

DISC 1

1. Blinded by the Light 5:02

2. For You 4:39

3. Spirit in the Night 4:58

4. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) 5:35

5. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) 7:02

6. Thunder Road 4:50

7. Born to Run 4:30

8. Jungleland 9:33

9. Badlands 4:01

10. Darkness on the Edge of Town 4:28

11. The Promised Land 4:33

12. The River 4:59

13. Hungry Heart 3:19

14. Nebraska 4:27

15. Atlantic City 3:54

DISC 2

1. Born in the U.S.A. 4:39

2. Glory Days 4:15

3. Dancing in the Dark 4:01

4. Tunnel of Love 5:10

5. Brilliant Disguise 4:15

6. Human Touch 6:28

7. Living Proof 4:44

8. Lucky Town 3:24

9. Streets of Philadelphia 3:16

10. The Ghost of Tom Joad 4:21

11. The Rising 4:47

12. Mary's Place 5:59

13. Lonesome Day 4:05

14. American Skin (41 Shots) (Live at Madison Square Garden) 7:45

15. Land of Hope and Dreams (Live at Madison Square Garden) 9:30

DISC 3

1. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) 2:40

2. The Big Payback 1:57 (wasn't this a b-side of a 45?)

3. Held Up Without a Gun 1:18 (live version of b-side of 45)

Live

4. Trapped 5:08 (this was on WE ARE THE WORLD album/CD or this is different live version?)

Live

5. None But the Brave 5:35 (new)

6. Missing 5:06 (from the movie THE CROSSING GUARD)

7. Lift Me Up 5:15 (from LIMBO soundtrack CD)

8. Viva Las Vegas 3:13 (from compilation Elvis LP, previous released)

9. County Fair 4:49

10. Code of Silence 4:31 (from Live in NY album)

Live

11. Dead Man Walkin' 2:43 (from soundtrack CD)

12. Countin' on a Miracle 5:01

Acoustic Version

Most of the bonus disc has been previously released tracks, but they were on other albums or singles or soundtracks.

Guess I'll be spending some money.

I am a great fan of Bruce and his music, and I saw him in concert for the second time last year.

What he seems to articulate is a different side of the American dream. So what do you think is his best album?

For me it is Nebraska.

Any thoughts?

Che.

[Jazz Kat]

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.

[Eric]

What he seems to articulate is a different side of the American dream. So what do you think is his best album?

Funny, I was just thinking about that the other day.

I think it really depends on your mood and what you want from the guy on any given moment. So, in some particular order ...

1. Darkness - I think/hope that deep inside most Bruce fans is a desire to ROCK. Here you get that (Badlands, Candy's Room, Adam) and much more. Mood wise, this one is classic Bruce, with grit, survival, hope, disappointment and redemption all over the place. I do love the guitar solo on Badlands and fortunately he still plays this one live pretty regularly.

2. Wild, Innocent - Those two words pretty much sum it up and that is why I like it, plus it sounds great I doubt he could have "gotten away" with many of these songs later on (too long, too unusual), but he really pulls it all together here. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but this record always evokes a steamy summer, somewhere in (the swamps of) NJ!

3. Born to Run - Too many great songs for this one to go below 3. 'Nuff said

I think all those records are darn near perfect and after that, you have to accept some flaws or limitations Springsteen otherwise placed on the music (with Nebraska being a great example fo the latter). So, to continue:

These I rank on how freely the human drama seems to flow, versus when it seems a little calculated and forced.

4. Nebraska - great album, great closer in Reason to Believe. I have also heard a couple of bootlegs from this record that are as good if not better than anything on here. Great songwriting, very engaging album.

5. Rising - very hard to judge out of context - I also think it is too long - knock off 2-3 songs and you have a gem. But it is the best songs - City of Ruins, Rising, Mary's Place, Lonesome Day - that connects you to his very best.

6 - 8. River/Born in the USA/Tunnel of Love - three very different albums. Frankly River is a little too one dimensional for me - it would have been a great single album. The best song off Born is No Surrender, which nobody knows. And Tunnel has a lot of great moments, but no momentum. Still, all three of these are nice records, very enjoyable.

9 - 12. Greetings/Human/Tom Joad/Lucky Town - sure the songs are the strongest on Greetings, but the production misses. Human and Lucky have one pretty good album between them (and one horrible album). And Tom Joad ... well try as I may, I just cannot listen to it straight through.

The huge missing link in all this is Tracks. Technically these are out-takes, but you can pull 10-15 extremely solid songs out of it (and another 10-15 that are darn good). So I am not quite sure where it fits. On the basis of the best stuff, probably top three.

Not sure if we have many Boss fans on the board - would love to hear the opinion of others!

[GregK]

Leave out Human Touch and he's had a pretty consistently excellent recorded career. The Rising is the strongest thing he's done since Nebraska-would have been better without Mary's Place. I'm really looking forward to his new one, Devils and Dust, in April. Supposedly it's a little more country-ish, without the full band on any song. What we really need from Bruce is some vintage live shows to be released-like from the Darkness tour (actually, anything from the 70s)

[Dan Gould]

maybe you can find this for the essential version of small things!

I was going to post about this, great album from my high school days!

[RDK]

What we really need from Bruce is some vintage live shows to be released-like from the Darkness tour (actually, anything from the 70s)

Agreed, but they're so readily available via bootlegs/downloads.

Looking over the tracklisting again, I gotta say that "Held Up With a Gun" (1:18) may be the greatest shortest song ever. B-)

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Agreed, but they're so readily available via bootlegs/downloads.

Any clean issues of the '78 (?) shows from the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland(played the heck out of those cassette FM dupes) available. Missed going to that one as it was a "draw" lottery but stayed up many nights or drove down to the post office right next to the Cleveland Colliseum for Springsteen shows in the late seventies. Them tickets were like $7.50 and the shows were, what, FOUR HOURS! You can't get a kid to shovel the drive for that and guaranteed he won't finish it off with CC Rider and Devil in a Blue Dress!

... and, yes, "Held Up without a Gun" is a great B-side.... that needle used to fly across that one. Changing 45s... how inconvenient.

[GregK]

the guitar he played on that Darkness tour---if he wasn't such a good songwriter or showman, he may have had a great career as just a guitar player. He's no Hendrix or anyone like that, but very talented for the material he concentrated on. Check out Prove it All Night and Promised Land from those 78 shows. Incredible. Most people don't know how good of a guitar player he is.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

fer certain!

I remember he opened up those '78 summer shows w/ "Summertime Blues" and then did an extra work out on the Stones "Not Fade Away" right into "G L O R I A" and that Bo Diddley jungle version of "She's the One" Burning it down all the way!

It wasn't ever like he was pushing goods during the old tours, just playing like no tomorrow.

[Eric]

the guitar he played on that Darkness tour---if he wasn't such a good songwriter or showman, he may have had a great career as just a guitar player. He's no Hendrix or anyone like that, but very talented for the material he concentrated on. Check out Prove it All Night and Promised Land from those 78 shows. Incredible. Most people don't know how good of a guitar player he is.

oh yeah!!!

isn't it the same Telecaster he still plays?

then (from 1976):

Edited March 15, 2005 by Eric

[Eric]

now:

[GregK]

yep, same one. I've always wondered how it "earned" that chip off the top of it, close to where his right arm goes. Never heard anything about that. He's got a great tone though. The performance he did on SNL in 92 on 57 channels and Living Proof was an eye opener- I'd never heard him lay down such distortion before. Fit right in to the grunge movement of the time, only with so much more to say (who else was singing about their children crying?)

[kulu se mama]

"tunnel of love" is the most underrated album in bruce's career.

the production is a little dated now, but the songs are incrdible.

it never gets mentioned in any list of bruce's best.

[GregK]

"tunnel of love" is the most underrated album in bruce's career.

the production is a little dated now, but the songs are incrdible.

it never gets mentioned in any list of bruce's best.

I think Bruce has been so careful in what he releases (up until the 90s) that he never released anything not at least excellent. Tunnel Of Love is just generally assumed as one of his best, like all the others until Human Touch/Lucky Town. It certianly has some of his best songs. Such a departure from Born in the USA though- I'm sure he whittled away some of the fans with it (probably part of his intention). I'd like to hear it with different production. And the outtakes are great- the song for his mother makes my wife cry every time she hears it. There's gotta be some other outtakes from this record. Divorce (or at least marital troubles) and Republican administrations always make for the best music!

[MomsMobley]

some interesting Bruce covers-- sung in English-- by Japanese Joe Ozaki