It seems like an eternity since Bruce Springsteen was the undisputed king of rock and roll. An argument could be made for Michael Jackson or Prince, back in 1984 - but neither of those artists could possibly have sold 12 million copies - of a 4 cassette LIVE effort. And Bruce's tours weren't cancelled because of lack of fans. He was, in every way, the star who would be worshipped - and later feel the backlash of such overexposure.
There was a departure from the E-Street band and Bruce went out on his own for a while. Sales for his last two albums reached the lowest level since 1982's Nebraska, and Springsteen's career was wobbling around like a punch-drunk boxer. But, the "Streets of Philadelphia" track righted his career, and was his last released song before this compilation.
Now, the E-Street band has returned - a little older, a little wiser, but still the same rockers that Bruce left nearly 5 years ago. The ironic part of the new tracks is that they don't necessarily sound in the period of when they were written. "Secret Garden" and "Blood Brothers" were both written in 1995, yet sound as if they were written around the time of Nebraska. The other tracks, "Murder Incorporated" and "This Hard Land" were written back in 1982 yet rock harder than any of the material from that time period.
The big drawback to this compilation is that Bruce's career is so extensive and varied (there are three periods to it) that every fan will find something missing from it. The early fans, who loved watching Springsteen sweat through a four hour show, will lament the exclusion of anything from his first two albums including "Rosalita". The middle period fans, from Nebraska, only get the track "Atlantic City" - but get similar tracks from the new songs. The pop fans of Springsteen could pick nearly 10 tracks from his last 4 albums that could have been included here.
A double disc might have served better for this compilation. Maybe Greatest Hits, Volume 2 can be issued after this revitalization of Bruce's career. There's no surprises here for Bruce's fans - and, after 20 years of his New Jersey rock and roll, that's probably for the best.
Track Listing: 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
