The Essential Bruce Springsteen - Springsteen, Bruce (CD 2003)

In the liner notes of The Essential Bruce Springsteen, Springsteen makes clear the obvious problem in compiling such a collection. Granted, there are some tracks that are universally accepted essentials, such as Born to Run, and Thunder Road, , but the necessity of other tracks can be debated.
For example, many Springsteen fans would cite the notable exceptions of such standards as Racing in the Street and Backstreets as weaknesses in the collection. However, as Springsteen also said in the liner notes, this collection was not compiled with those die-hard fans in mind.
We saw a lot of new faces on our recent tour and we put this collection together with them in mind....The idea was to present a little bit of what each album has to offer, said Springsteen.
Keeping this in mind, The Essential Bruce Springsteen excels. Terrific tracks are offered from every facet of Springsteen s celebrated career. From the lyrically challenging, nostalgic celebrations of youth exhibited in his early albums ( Blinded by the Light, and Jungleland ), through the working-class anthems exhibited in later albums ( Dancing in the Dark, and Born in the U.S.A. ), the listener is given a surprisingly accurate overview of Springsteen s work.
There s even something for the die-hards. The bonus disc contains rare or previously unreleased tracks ranging as far back as 1979s From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come), through an alternate take of, Countin On A Miracle, from the critically acclaimed album, The Rising.
Though it undoubtedly leaves out important tracks, as any hits compilation would, you never notice they re missing. And that is the strength of The Essential Bruce Springsteen. Without owning ALL of Springsteen's albums or until a career-spanning box set is released, this is the closest thing to a complete overview availabe. A perfect place for a first time listener to begin.