The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen, released on November 11, 2003. The collection is part of a series of Essential sets released by Sony Music. It includes songs from various Springsteen albums and concerts up to the year 2003. A limited-edition third disc includes previously unreleased cuts, B-sides, contributions to soundtracks and benefit albums, covers, and an alternate, "country-blues" acoustic version of "Countin' on a Miracle" from The Rising (2002).

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 albums chart on November 29, 2003, at No. 14, with sales of 90,000 copies. The album was awarded gold and platinum records on December 16, 2003, by the RIAA. As of August 2013, the album has sold over 1,079,000 copies in the United States. It reached No. 15 on the UK Albums Chart in 2013. The album was re-released with an updated track listing in October 2015.

Critical reception

The album received general acclaim from music critics, who appreciated its inclusion of Springsteen's most recognizable hits throughout his career. AllMusic calls it a better compilation album than 1995's "misguided, haphazardly selected" Greatest Hits. In a Uncut magazine review, writer Chris Roberts writes that, while it does try to represent each of Springsteen's albums up until the release of the compilation, it does " too much communal air-punching, too little gentle introspection. Too much c'mon everybody, not enough leave me alone everybody.", noting that "this [compilation] obviously contains many absolutely storming songs, while begging you to question the omissions.", although he does believe it would have been "braver" to include one of the songs from his second album The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle, highlighting "Candy's Room" and "Secret Garden" as options, Roberts concludes his review by noting that "The wordy babbling beatnik became The Boss then became understandably cautious, but when he loses himself and lets rip, to this day, thunder and lightning back off warily. Looking again at the track listing, this is a crazily great thing."

Track listing The Essential Bruce Springsteen track listing 2003 track order Title Original album Length 2015 track order — "Growin' Up" Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ (1973) 3:05 disc 1, track 01 disc 1, track 01 "Blinded by the Light" Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ 5:04 — disc 1, track 02 "For You" Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ 4:40 — disc 1, track 03 "Spirit in the Night" Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ 5:00 — disc 1, track 04 "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle (1973) 5:37 disc 1, track 03 disc 1, track 05 "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle 7:04 disc 1, track 02 disc 1, track 06 "Thunder Road" Born to Run (1975) 4:51 disc 1, track 04 disc 1, track 07 "Born to Run" Born to Run 4:33 disc 1, track 05 disc 1, track 08 "Jungleland" Born to Run 9:36 — — "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" Born to Run 3:11 disc 1, track 06 disc 1, track 09 "Badlands" Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) 4:05 disc 1, track 07 disc 1, track 10 "Darkness on the Edge of Town" Darkness on the Edge of Town 4:31 — disc 1, track 11 "The Promised Land" Darkness on the Edge of Town 4:31 disc 1, track 08 — "Prove It All Night" Darkness on the Edge of Town 3:56 disc 1, track 09 disc 1, track 12 "The River" The River (1980) 5:01 disc 1, track 10 disc 1, track 13 "Hungry Heart" The River 3:21 disc 1, track 11 — "The Ties That Bind" The River 3:34 disc 1, track 12 — "Out in the Street" The River 4:20 disc 1, track 13 disc 1, track 14 "Nebraska" Nebraska (1982) 4:30 — disc 1, track 15 "Atlantic City" Nebraska 3:57 disc 1, track 14 — "Johnny 99" Nebraska 3:41 disc 1, track 15 disc 2, track 01 "Born in the U.S.A." Born in the U.S.A. (1984) 4:42 disc 1, track 17 disc 2, track 02 "Glory Days" Born in the U.S.A. 4:17 disc 1, track 16 disc 2, track 03 "Dancing in the Dark" Born in the U.S.A. 4:04 disc 1, track 18 disc 2, track 04 "Tunnel of Love" Tunnel of Love (1987) 5:13 — — "Tougher Than the Rest" Tunnel of Love 4:37 disc 2, track 01 disc 2, track 05 "Brilliant Disguise" Tunnel of Love 4:16 disc 2, track 02 — "One Step Up" Tunnel of Love 4:22 disc 2, track 03 disc 2, track 06 "Human Touch" Human Touch (1992) 6:31 (2003) / 5:11 (2015) disc 2, track 04 disc 2, track 07 "Living Proof" Lucky Town (1992) 4:48 — disc 2, track 08 "Lucky Town" Lucky Town 3:29 — — "Better Days" Lucky Town 3:48 disc 2, track 05 — "If I Should Fall Behind" Lucky Town 2:58 disc 2, track 06 disc 2, track 09 "Streets of Philadelphia" Philadelphia soundtrack (1994) 3:18 disc 2, track 07 — "Murder Incorporated" Greatest Hits (1995) 3:59 disc 2, track 08 disc 2, track 10 "The Ghost of Tom Joad" The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) 4:24 disc 2, track 09 disc 2, track 11 "The Rising" The Rising (2002) 4:48 disc 2, track 10 disc 2, track 12 "Mary's Place" The Rising 6:01 — disc 2, track 13 "Lonesome Day" The Rising 4:08 disc 2, track 11 disc 2, track 14 "American Skin (41 Shots)" Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City (2001) 7:53 — disc 2, track 15 "Land of Hope and Dreams" Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band: Live in New York City 9:22 — - "Devils & Dust" Devils & Dust (2005) 5:03 disc 2, track 12 - "Long Time Comin'" Devils & Dust 4:17 disc 2, track 13 - "Radio Nowhere" Magic (2007) 3:21 disc 2, track 14 - "Working on a Dream" Working on a Dream (2009) 3:30 disc 2, track 15 - "My Lucky Day" Working on a Dream 4:02 disc 2, track 16 - "The Wrestler" Working on a Dream 3:51 disc 2, track 17 - "We Take Care of Our Own" Wrecking Ball (2012) 3:57 disc 2, track 18 - "Hunter of Invisible Game" High Hopes (2014) 4:42 disc 2, track 19

2003 bonus disc edition – disc three

Charts Chart (2003)PeakpositionAustralian Top 50 Albums43Austrian Top 75 Albums12Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums19Finnish Top 50 Albums14French Compilations Search for "Bruce SPRINGSTEEN" on the drop-down menu to see results.21Irish Top 75 Albums5Italian Albums8Netherlands Top 100 Albums22Norwegian Top 40 Albums4Portuguese Top 30 Albums13Swedish Top 60 Albums2Swiss Top 100 Albums35UK Albums Chart28US Billboard 20014 Chart (2004)PeakpositionBelgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums84Danish Top 40 Albums17 Chart (2008)PeakpositionSpanish Top 100 Albums77 Chart (2009)PeakpositionUS Catalog Albums13 Chart (2013)PeakpositionUK Albums Chart15 Chart (2017)PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)41

Certifications

References

External links Album contents Album credits