Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen album)

Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Bruce Springsteen
Released	February 27, 1995
Recorded	1974 - 1995
Genre	Rock
Length	76:35
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bruce Springsteen, Mike Appel, Jon Landau, Steven Van Zandt, Chuck Plotkin, Roy Bittan
Bruce Springsteen chronology
In Concert/MTV Plugged (1993) Greatest Hits (1995) The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995)
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band chronology
Chimes of Freedom (1988) Greatest Hits (1995) Blood Brothers (1996)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)
Rolling Stone	(Unfavorable)

Greatest Hits is Bruce Springsteen's first compilation album, released February 27, 1995 on Columbia Records. It is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years and four extra numbers at the end, mostly recorded with the E Street Band in 1995. The latter constituted Springsteen's first (albeit very partial) release with his backing band since the late 1980s. Some of the songs are shorter versions of the original album releases.

The incorporation of the "new" tracks was portrayed in the 1996 documentary Blood Brothers. "Murder Incorporated" and "This Hard Land" were, in fact, unused 1982 songs from the Born in the U.S.A. sessions, with the latter being re-recorded here more than a decade later, and both subsequently became Springsteen concert staples. "Blood Brothers", on the other hand, was played only as the final closing song of both the 1999-2000 Reunion Tour and 2002-2003 Rising Tour, both times with an extra verse added. "Secret Garden" achieved notoriety via the soundtrack of the 1996 film Jerry Maguire. Alternate versions of several of these new tracks were released on the 1996 Blood Brothers EP.

The compilation was commercially successful, hitting the peaks of the U.S. album chart and UK Album Chart and selling more than four million copies in the U.S.

Critical reception

The reception by music critics of Greatest Hits were rather negative upon the album's release, as were more contemporary reviews. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly felt that the album was released when it was because the Grammy Awards were coming up and "Streets of Philadelphia" was up for five awards and that the songs on the album were selected because of charting success which means that several important songs were overlooked. He also felt that "Murder Incorporated" was the only good new song on the album and that overall the album felt as if Bruce did not believe in himself any more. The Rolling Stone review of the album by Parke Puterbaugh was rather unfavorable, which is surprising as most of Springsteen's albums were praised by the magazine. Parke felt that the songs on the collection belonged on their original LP releases, that songs from before Born to Run should have been included and that the new songs weren't that good. A more contemporary review by Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was also unfavorable, saying that a lot of Bruce's hits and popular album tracks were missing, that "Murder Incorporated" was better than the other new songs, and that The Essential Bruce Springsteen was much better than Greatest Hits.

Track listing

1. "Born to Run" – 4:30
   • (Originally released on the album Born to Run in 1975.)
2. "Thunder Road" – 4:48
   • (Originally released on the album Born to Run in 1975.)
3. "Badlands" – 4:03
   • (Originally released on the album Darkness on the Edge of Town in 1978.)
4. "The River" – 5:00
   • (Originally released on the album The River in 1980.)
5. "Hungry Heart" – 3:20
   • (Originally released on the album The River in 1980.)
6. "Atlantic City" – 3:56
   • (Originally released on the album Nebraska in 1982.)
7. "Dancing in the Dark" – 4:03
   • (Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
8. "Born in the U.S.A." – 4:41
   • (Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
9. "My Hometown" (early fade edit) – 4:12
   • (Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
10. "Glory Days" (early fade edit) – 3:49
    • (Originally released on the album Born in the U.S.A. in 1984.)
11. "Brilliant Disguise" – 4:15
    • (Originally released on the album Tunnel of Love in 1987.)
12. "Human Touch" (edit) – 5:10
    • (Originally released on the album Human Touch in 1992.)
13. "Better Days" – 3:44
    • (Originally released on the album Lucky Town in 1992.)
14. "Streets of Philadelphia" (single edit) – 3:16
    • (Originally released on the soundtrack to Philadelphia in 1994.)
15. "Secret Garden" – 4:27
    • Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City
16. "Murder Incorporated" – 3:57
    • Recorded at The Power Station in April/May 1982
17. "Blood Brothers" – 4:34
    • Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City
18. "This Hard Land" – 4:50
    • Recorded in January 1995 at The Hit Factory, New York City

Personnel (Tracks 15–18)

The E Street Band

• Roy Bittan – piano, synthesizer
• Clarence Clemons – saxophone (15-17), percussion
• Danny Federici – organ, synthesizer, accordion
• Bruce Springsteen – guitar, vocals (harmonica on "This Hard Land" and "Blood Brothers")
• Garry Tallent – bass guitar
• Max Weinberg – drums
• Steven Van Zandt – guitar on "Murder Incorporated," mandolin on "This Hard Land"
• Nils Lofgren - guitar (15, 17, 18)
• Patti Scialfa - vocals on "Secret Garden"
• backing vocals ("Murder Incorporated") - all of the above except Nils Lofgren and Patti Scialfa

Additional musicians

• Frank Pagano — percussion on "Blood Brothers" and "This Hard Land"

Production

• Produced by: Bruce Springsteen, Jon Landau & Chuck Plotkin (and by Steven Van Zandt on "Murder Incorporated")
• Recorded by: Toby Scott
• Mixed by: Bob Clearmountain
• Mastered by: Bob Ludwig
• Assistant Engineers: Carl Glanville, Pete Keppler, Ryan Freeland, Jay Militscher & Tony Duino-Black
• Sequence Editing: Brian Lee
• Recorded at The Hit Factory

Chart positions

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australian Top 50 Albums	1
Austrian Top 75 Albums	1
Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums	1
Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums	2
French Compilations	1
Canadian Top Albums	1
German Albums Chart	1
Hungarian Top 40 Albums	7
Netherlands Top 100 Albums	2
New Zealand Top 40 Albums	1
Norwegian Top 40 Albums	1
Swedish Top 60 Albums	1
Swiss Top 100 Albums	1
UK Albums Chart	1
US Billboard 200	1

Chart (2007)	Peak position
Spanish Top 100 Albums	27

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Finnish Top 50 Albums	25

Preceded by II by Boyz II Men	Billboard 200 number-one album March 18, 1995 – March 31, 1995	Succeeded by Me Against the World by 2Pac
Preceded by The Colour of My Love by Celine Dion Wake Up! by Boo Radleys	UK number one album March 11, 1995 – March 17, 1995 April 15, 1995 – April 21, 1995	Succeeded by Medusa by Annie Lennox Picture This by Wet Wet Wet
Preceded by Hi Fi Way by You Am I	Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album March 12, 1995 – March 18, 1995	Succeeded by Dookie by Green Day

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)	2× Platinum	140,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)	2× Platinum	100,000x
Canada (Music Canada)	4× Platinum	400,000^
France (SNEP)	Platinum	300,000*
Germany (BVMI)	2× Platinum	1,000,000^
Norway (IFPI Norway)	2× Platinum	100,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)	Platinum	50,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)	2× Platinum	600,000^
United States (RIAA)	4× Platinum	4,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)	5× Platinum	5,000,000*
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone