Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band album)

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Greatest Hits

Cover of the American edition
Greatest hits album by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Released January 13, 2009 (American edition)
June 1, 2009 (European edition)
Recorded 1972–1984, 2002–2007
Genre Rock
Length 53:08 (American edition)
79:03 (European edition)
Label Columbia
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band chronology
Magic Tour Highlights
(2008)		 Greatest Hits
(2009)		 Working on a Dream
(2009)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic (American) 3.5/5 stars[1]
Allmusic (European) 3.5/5 stars[2]

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Greatest Hits is Bruce Springsteen's fifth compilation album, released as a limited edition first in the United States, Canada and Australia on January 13, 2009 exclusively through Wal-Mart retailers.[3]

On June 1, 2009, a limited edition, with an alternative tracklisting, was released in Europe, to capitalize on his ongoing Working on a Dream Tour.[4]

Contents

[edit] History

The album is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years. Springsteen released a similar Greatest Hits album in 1995. Unlike the previous release, this album is billed to "Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band," the first time Springsteen's backing band has been credited with a compilation release. As such, it contains no Springsteen material from after 1984 and before 2002, the period in which he did virtually no studio recording with the E Street Band.[5] It contained only one song not found on the artist's 2003 compilation, The Essential Bruce Springsteen,[6] which is Radio Nowhere as the song was not yet released at that time.

Priced at only $10, the album was intended to capitalize on, and appeal to the many viewers of, Springsteen's performance at the half-time show for Super Bowl XLIII on February 1, 2009.[6] Greatest Hits was also released two weeks before Springsteen's 16th studio album, Working on a Dream.[5] It was also intended to help defray Sony Music's large investment in Springsteen dating back to a 2005 record contract.[6] In its first week the album managed to reach #86 on the Billboard 200, ultimately reaching a still mediocre #43 in the wake of the Super Bowl performance.

Springsteen's association with Wal-Mart drew puzzled reactions from the media, given the singer's longtime support for labor causes and the company's longtime anti-union actions.[7] Huffington Post writer Tony Sachs pronounced the release one of the "top five boneheaded music industry moves of 2008,"[8] while The Wall Street Journal wrote that it reflected the duality of "the liberal singer-songwriter and the commercial juggernaut recording artist."[6] Longtime Springsteen writer Charles R. Cross said that fans were now more accepting of such blatant commercial strategies given the overall slump in the music business.[6] Nevertheless, the release did draw criticism from some fans as well as from labor union activists and independent record store owners.[6][9] In response, Springsteen manager Jon Landau said, "[L]et's start with the premise that Bruce is already in Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has been 15% of our sales in recent years. It's not a question of going into Wal-Mart; we're there. They, and other retailers, are all looking for some way to differentiate themselves, and we try to accommodate each one. We're not doing any advertising for Wal-Mart. We haven't endorsed Wal-Mart or anybody else."[9] But then Springsteen himself, during publicity for his appearance at Super Bowl XLIII, admitted that they "dropped the ball" with the association with Wal-Mart, and attributed it to insufficient vetting due to too many activities going on.[10]

[edit] Track listings

[edit] American edition

  1. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" – 7:05
  2. "Born to Run" – 4:30
  3. "Thunder Road" – 4:48
    • (From the album Born to Run)
  4. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" – 4:29
  5. "Badlands" – 4:03
    • (From the album Darkness on the Edge of Town)
  6. "Hungry Heart" – 3:20
    • (From the album The River)
  7. "Glory Days" – 3:49
    • (From the album Born in the U.S.A.)
  8. "Dancing in the Dark" – 4:03
  9. "Born in the U.S.A." – 4:41
    • (From the album Born in the U.S.A.)
  10. "The Rising" – 4:50
  11. "Lonesome Day" – 4:08
  12. "Radio Nowhere" – 3:19

[edit] European edition

Cover of the European alternate edition
  1. "Blinded by the Light – 5:03
  2. "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)" – 7:05
  3. "Born to Run" – 4:30
  4. "Thunder Road" – 4:48
    • (From the album Born to Run)
  5. "Badlands" – 4:03
  6. "Darkness on the Edge of Town" – 4:29
    • (From the album Darkness on the Edge of Town)
  7. "Hungry Heart" – 3:20
  8. "The River" – 5:01
    • (From the album The River.)
  9. "Born in the U.S.A." – 4:41
  10. "I'm on Fire" – 2:35
    • (From the album Born in the U.S.A.)
  11. "Glory Days" – 4:15
    • (From the album Born in the U.S.A.)
  12. "Dancing in the Dark" – 4:03
    • (From the album Born in the U.S.A.)
  13. "The Rising" – 4:50
  14. "Lonesome Day" – 4:08
    • (From the album The Rising.)
  15. "Radio Nowhere" – 3:19
  16. "Long Walk Home" – 4:32
    • (From the album Magic)
  17. "Because the Night" – 5:20
  18. "Fire" – 2:52
    • (From the album Live/1975–85)

[edit] Chart performance

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australia[11] 17
Austria[12] 7
Belgium[13] 6
Canada[14] 21
Denmark[15] 3
Finland[16] 5
Germany[17] 25
Ireland[18] 2
Italy[19] 17
Netherlands[20] 4
Norway[21] 3
Spain[22] 6
Sweden[23] 1
Switzerland[24] 12
U.K.[25] 3
U.S. Billboard 200[26] 43

[edit] Personnel

[edit] The E Street Band

[edit] References

  1. ^ Allmusic (American) review
  2. ^ Allmusic (European) review
  3. ^ "Greatest Hits (Wal-Mart Exclusive), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band", Wal-Mart. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
  4. ^ BruceSpringsteen.net News; "GREATEST HITS IN EUROPE"
  5. ^ a b "Bruce Springsteen Plans Wal-Mart Only 'Greatest Hits'", Rolling Stone, December 22, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Ethan (2009-01-16). "Born to Run – and Promote". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB123204420598786423-lMyQjAxMDI5MzEyNjAxNDY0Wj.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
  7. ^ Gottlieb, Jed (2009-01-13). "Non-union label: Bruce Springsteen silent on his Wal-Mart exclusive". Boston Herald. http://bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?&articleid=1144901. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
  8. ^ Sachs, Tony (2009-01-03). "The Top Five Boneheaded Music Industry Moves Of 2008". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-sachs/the-top-five-boneheaded-m_b_155010.html. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
  9. ^ a b Waddell, Ray (2009-01-23). "Bruce Springsteen Prepping 'Darkness' Reissue". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/bruce-springsteen-prepping-darkness-reissue-1003933970.story. Retrieved 2009-01-23. 
  10. ^ Pareles, Jon (2009-02-01). "The Rock Laureate". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/arts/music/01pare.html. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  11. ^ australian-charts.com - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. Accessed on August 22, 2010.
  12. ^ Austria Albums Top 75
  13. ^ Belgium Albums Top 50
  14. ^ CANOE-JAM! Music; Albums Top 100
  15. ^ Denmark Album Top 40
  16. ^ Suomen virallinen lista - Albumit
  17. ^ Die offiziellen deutschen Album-Charts
  18. ^ Ireland Top 100 Individual Artist Albums
  19. ^ FIMI Italy Albums Top 100
  20. ^ Dutch Album Top 100
  21. ^ Topp 40 Album
  22. ^ Promusicae Spain Top 100 Albums
  23. ^ Swedish Album Chart
  24. ^ Swiss Chart - Albums Top 100
  25. ^ UK Top 40 Albums
  26. ^ Billboard Top 200 Albums
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