18 Tracks - Springsteen, Bruce (CD 1999)

I just really got back into the Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street band after a long time of not really listening to him. I went to the Buffalo and Rochester, NY concerts on the recent "Rising" tour. I felt kind of reborn and suddenly remembered why I liked him in the first place. As a kid in the early 1980's I loved his piano player Roy Bittan's work. I am a musician too and he was someone I connected with. This CD has been out for a few years and contains 18 highlights from the excellent boxed set "Tracks". I am not sure why the other posters did not like it? This is not supposed to be a flawless album so I do not know what the problem was. They are assorted studio cuts, unfinshed tracks or rare releases. There are 18 tracks with a CD booklet that describes the musicians on the tracks. It also gives the year and where each song is recorded. In some cases like "Hearts of Stone" and "Lion's Den" the Miami horns appear.
My favorites on this album are "Janey don't you loose heart, Loose Ends, Rendezvous, I wanna be with you, and My love will not let you down". Most of the songs on here are excellent although he could have gotten rid of "Pink Cadillac" and the "The Fever". Those songs are not that rare to hear and most of them can be found on countless bootlegs as it is. The E-Street band is excellent on this album there are loud guitars, excellent piano playing and Hammond organ galore. Clarence Clemons does some excellent soling as well. For most Springsteen fans this is a must have and really exemplifies the work from the 1970's and 1980's that really made Springsteen and the E-Street band so relevant as a live band.