Greatest Hits

by Bruce Springsteen

Overview

Here's the challenge in putting together a Bruce Springsteen compilation: though he scored 18 Top 40 hits (12 of which made the Top Ten) through 1994, Springsteen is not a "singles artist." Some of his biggest hits have come with his slightest or least characteristic material; he has written numerous songs that were hits for other artists; and some of his most memorable songs were not released as singles. While a Springsteen "hits" collection logically would contain such Top Ten singles as "I'm on Fire" and his cover of Edwin Starr's "War," few Springsteen fans would miss their omission; on the other hand, many would support the inclusion of "Blinded by the Light" and "Pink Cadillac," Top Ten hits for Manfred Mann's Earth Band and Natalie Cole; and anyone even remotely familiar with Springsteen's albums and concerts would have trouble countenancing the absence of such non-singles as "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" and "Thunder Road." Facing this challenge, Springsteen has adopted his own set of criteria. First, he seems to have wanted to pack as much music onto a single disc as possible, the result being a CD-busting 76:47 running time. Second, he seems to have wanted to include as many tracks as possible, even if that means editing songs; as a result, 18 tracks are included, though five have been substantially shortened -- "My Hometown" (by 24 seconds), "Glory Days" (by 29 seconds), "Human Touch" (by 82 seconds), "Better Days" (by 23 seconds), and "Streets of Philadelphia" (by 60 seconds). Third, like many artists, he is more interested in including his recent material than his older material, so there is nothing from Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. or The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle -- no "Blinded by the Light," "Spirit in the Night," "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," or "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" -- but both sides of his 1992 single "Human Touch"/"Better Days" are included. Fourth, he has not felt bound to interpret the album's title to mean he must include his most successful singles: the Top 40 hits "Prove It All Night" and "One Step Up" and the Top Tens "Cover Me," "I'm on Fire," "I'm Goin' Down," "War," and "Tunnel of Love" are left off, while the album tracks "Thunder Road," "The River," and "Atlantic City" and the minor chart single "Badlands" are included. Fifth, he has opted to include both a couple of new songs ("Secret Garden" and "Blood Brothers"), a previously unreleased outtake ("Murder Incorporated"), and a new recording of a previously unreleased old song ("This Hard Land"). All of which is to say that Greatest Hits is a hodgepodge. Springsteen considered calling it something other than Greatest Hits (one idea: This Hard Land), and that might have been a better idea if he was going to fiddle with the concept this much. Nevertheless, some of Springsteen's best and best-known hit recordings are here -- "Born to Run," "Hungry Heart," "Dancing in the Dark," "Born in the U.S.A.," and the then-recent "Streets of Philadelphia," the success of which probably prompted the release of this compilation in the first place. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	02/28/1995
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0074646706022

Tracks

1. Born to Run
2. Thunder Road
3. Badlands
4. The River
5. Hungry Heart
6. Atlantic City
7. Dancing in the Dark
8. Born in the U.S.A.
9. My Hometown
10. Glory Days
11. Brilliant Disguise
12. Human Touch
13. Better Days
14. Streets of Philadelphia
15. Secret Garden
16. Murder Incorporated
17. Blood Brothers
18. This Hard Land

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bruce Springsteen   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Keyboards,Percussion,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Jeff Porcaro   Guest Artist,Drums,Percussion
Flo & Eddie   Guest Artist
The E Street Band   Vocals
Frank Pagano   Percussion
Garry Tallent   Bass,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
Ernest Carter   Drums
David Sancious   Keyboards
Roy Bittan   Piano,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Glockenspiel,Fender Rhodes,Vocals (Background)
Max Weinberg   Drums,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Nils Lofgren   Guitar
Mike Appel   Vocals (Background)
Soozie Tyrell   Vocals (Background)
Gary Mallaber   Drums
Patti Scialfa   Vocal Harmony,Vocals (Background)
Steven Van Zandt   Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic),Vocals (Background)
Clarence Clemons   Saxophone,Percussion,Vocals (Background)
Randy Jackson   Bass
Danny Federici   Organ,Piano,Keyboards,Glockenspiel
Ernest "Boom" Carter   Drums
Ruth Jackson   Vocals (Background)
Gary Mallabar   Drums
Lisa Lowell   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

The E Street Band   Group
Chuck Plotkin   Mixing,Producer,Mixing Engineer
Carl Glanville   Assistant Engineer
Jeff Hendrickson   Assistant Engineer
Greg Calbi   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Dennis King   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Ryan Freeland   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Jon Landau   Producer
Mike Reese   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Roy Bittan   Producer
Louis Lahav   Engineer
Peter Keppler   Assistant Engineer
Jimmy Iovine   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Mike Appel   Producer
Mike Batlin   Engineer
Thom Panunzio   Assistant Engineer
Brian Lee   Editing,Remastering Engineer
Bruce Springsteen   Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Stephen Marcussen   Mastering,Mastering Consultant
Bernie Grundman   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Toby Scott   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
David Rose   Photography
Steven Van Zandt   Producer
Neil Dorfsman   Engineer
Bruce Lampcov   Assistant Engineer
Zoe Yanakas   Assistant Engineer
Annie Leibovitz   Photography
Eric Meola   Cover Photo,Photography
Sandra Choron   Design
David Gahr   Photography
Pamela Springsteen   Photography
Jay Militscher   Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Frank Stefanko   Photography
Jim Marchese   Photography
Brian Andrew Lee   Sequencing Editor
Pete Keppler   Assistant Engineer
Tony Duino Black   Assistant Engineer
John Davenport   Assistant Engineer
Steve Marcussen   Mastering Engineer
Nico X. German   Assistant Engineer
Bob Clearmountain   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Bob Ludwig   Mastering,Remastering,Mastering Engineer,Mastering Consultant,Remastering Engineer
Ken Perry   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Billy Straus   Assistant Engineer