The Essential Bruce Springsteen

The Essential Bruce Springsteen
Greatest hits album by Bruce Springsteen
Released	November 11, 2003
Recorded	1972–2002
Genre	Rock and roll, heartland rock, album rock
Length	153:23
Label	Columbia/Legacy
Bruce Springsteen chronology
The Rising (2002) The Essential Bruce Springsteen (2003) Devils & Dust (2005)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
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The Essential Bruce Springsteen is a compilation album by Bruce Springsteen, released on 11 November 2003. The collection is part of a series of Essential sets released by Sony BMG (previously Sony Music Entertainment). Per liner notes comments by Springsteen, the collection was intended as an introduction to his music for new fans who attended shows on The Rising Tour; hence, it includes songs from every Springsteen album since his debut. The album was available as a 2-disc set and, later, as a limited edition 3-disc set; for the latter, the third disc contained a selection of rarities and previously unreleased recordings.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on November 29, 2003 at number 14, with sales of 90,000 copies. It spent 13 weeks on the chart. The album was awarded certified gold and platinum records on December 16, 2003 by the RIAA. The Essential Bruce Springsteen also reached #28 in UK albums chart.

Track listing

All tracks on discs 1 & 2 are in chronological order and usually the same sequence as their original albums; the original album is listed only for the first track from each.

All songs written and composed by Bruce Springsteen except as noted. 

Disc one
No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Blinded by the Light"	Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.	5:05
2.	"For You"		4:41
3.	"Spirit in the Night"		5:00
4.	"4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)"	The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle	5:38
5.	"Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"		7:04
6.	"Thunder Road"	Born to Run	4:51
7.	"Born to Run"		4:33
8.	"Jungleland"		9:37
9.	"Badlands"	Darkness on the Edge of Town	4:05
10.	"Darkness on the Edge of Town"		4:31
11.	"The Promised Land"		4:31
12.	"The River"	The River	5:01
13.	"Hungry Heart"		3:21
14.	"Nebraska"	Nebraska	4:30
15.	"Atlantic City"		3:57
Total length:			1:16:16

Disc two
No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Born in the U.S.A."	Born in the U.S.A.	4:42
2.	"Glory Days"		4:17
3.	"Dancing in the Dark"		4:04
4.	"Tunnel of Love"	Tunnel of Love	5:13
5.	"Brilliant Disguise"		4:16
6.	"Human Touch"	Human Touch	6:31
7.	"Living Proof"	Lucky Town	4:48
8.	"Lucky Town"		3:29
9.	"Streets of Philadelphia"	Philadelphia soundtrack and Greatest Hits	3:18
10.	"The Ghost of Tom Joad"	The Ghost of Tom Joad	4:24
11.	"The Rising"	The Rising	4:50
12.	"Mary's Place"		6:01
13.	"Lonesome Day"		4:07
14.	"American Skin (41 Shots)" (Live, Madison Square Garden, June 29 & July 1 2000)	Live in New York City	7:53
15.	"Land of Hope and Dreams" (Live, Madison Square Garden, June 29 & July 1 2000)		9:22
Total length:			1:17:08

Disc three (Limited edition only)
No.	Title	Notes	Length
1.	"From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)" (Previously unreleased)	Recorded 1979 at the Power Station recording studio. Given to Dave Edmunds for 1982 release D.E. 7th.	2:42
2.	"The Big Payback"	Home recording, circa early 1982. Released as a B-side in Europe only (CBS A2969).	1:59
3.	"Held Up Without a Gun" (Live) (Previously unreleased))	Recorded live December 31, 1980 at Nassau Coliseum during The River Tour	1:21
4.	"Trapped" (Live) (Jimmy Cliff cover)	Written by Jimmy Cliff. Recorded August 6, 1984, at Meadowlands Arena on the Born in the U.S.A. Tour. From We Are the World benefit album (1985).	5:10
5.	"None But the Brave" (Previously unreleased)	Recorded during Born in the U.S.A. sessions at The Hit Factory	5:35
6.	"Missing" (Previously unreleased)	From the Sean Penn film The Crossing Guard (1995)	5:04
7.	"Lift Me Up"	From Limbo soundtrack album (1999)	5:16
8.	"Viva Las Vegas" (Elvis cover)	Written by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman. From NME benefit album The Last Temptation of Elvis (1990). Also included on the Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack album (1992).	3:10
9.	"County Fair" (Previously unreleased)	Recorded in 1983 in California after Nebraska sessions	4:51
10.	"Code of Silence" ((Live) (Previously unreleased))	Written by Springsteen & Joe Grushecky in 1997. Recorded in NYC during the 1999/2000 Reunion Tour.	4:33
11.	"Dead Man Walkin'"	From Dead Man Walking soundtrack album (1995)	2:44
12.	"Countin' on a Miracle" (Acoustic) (Previously unreleased))	Audio portion of recorded video played at end of every show on The Rising Tour.	5:01
Total length:			47:23

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australian Top 50 Albums	43
Austrian Top 75 Albums	12
Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums	19
Finnish Top 50 Albums	14
French Compilations	21
Irish Top 75 Albums	5
Italian Top 20 Albums	8
Netherlands Top 100 Albums	22
Norwegian Top 40 Albums	4
Portuguese Top 30 Albums	13
Swedish Top 60 Albums	2
Swiss Top 100 Albums	35
UK Albums Chart	28
US Billboard 200	14

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums	84
Danish Top 40 Albums	17

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Spanish Top 100 Albums	77

Chart (2009)	Peak position
US Catalog Albums	13

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Norway (IFPI Norway)	Platinum	40,000*
Sweden (GLF)	Gold	30,000^
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	500,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

External links

• Album contents
• Album credits