Best of Bruce Springsteen

In late 2021, Sony Music announced the acquisition of Bruce Springsteen's entire recorded music and songwriting catalogues in a deal valued by The New York Times as an estimated $550 million.  Since then, The Boss has released one new studio album (2022's Only the Strong Survive, reported to be the first volume in a series of R&B covers albums) but no archival projects have emerged.  On April 19, Sony will release the first domestic "best-of" compilation for the artist since 2009's Greatest Hits.  (A separate project, Collection: 1973-2012, was issued in 2013 for Europe and Australia only while 2023's 2CD/2DVD Japanese Singles Collection focused on his catalogue of singles as released in that country.)  The simply-titled Best of Bruce Springsteen will arrive on April 19.

The collection will be available in an 18-track format on CD and 2LP vinyl, while an expanded 31-track version will be released to digital platforms.  The concept is straightforward, bringing together hits and favorites from 1973's Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ through 2020's Letter to You.  Each of The Boss' studio albums from that span is represented on the CD/LP other than 1992's Lucky Town, 2005's Devils and Dust, 2006's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, 2009's Working on a Dream, 2012's Wrecking Ball, and 2014's High Hopes.  Springsteen signature songs "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)," "Born to Run," "Thunder Road," "Badlands," "Hungry Heart," "Born in the USA," and "Dancing in the Dark" are all present.

Presumably in order to keep the track listing at one disc's worth and to avoid repeating most of Born in the USA, a number of Springsteen's top ten hits are absent from the physical versions, including "Cover Me" (No. 7), "I'm on Fire" (No. 6), "Glory Days" (No. 5), "I'm Goin' Down" (No. 9), and "My Hometown" (No. 6).  Other missing top ten entries include "Tunnel of Love" and a live cover of Edwin Starr's "War."  The digital version adds "Glory Days" but otherwise fills out the track list with such perennial favorites as "Spirit in the Night," "4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy)," "Tenth Avenue Freezeout," "Prove It All Night," and "The River."

Best of Bruce Springsteen is adorned with a cover shot from the Born to Run photo shoot by Eric Meola, while Eric Flannigan has penned new liner notes.  Springsteen returns to the road one month before the album release, kicking off his 2024 dates on March 19 in Phoenix, Arizona.  The tour will take him and The E Street Band to Europe and back to the U.S. before wrapping up in Canada on November 22 in Vancouver.  You'll find the track listing and pre-order links for Best of Bruce Springsteen below.  Amazon is offering an exclusive red-vinyl pressing of the 2LP set.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Bruce Springsteen, Best of Bruce Springsteen (Sony, 2024)

CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP Black Vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP Red Vinyl: Amazon U.S.

1. Growin' Up
2. Spirit In The Night
3. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
4. 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)
5. Born To Run
6. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out (*)
7. Thunder Road
8. Badlands
9. Prove It All Night (*)
10. The River (*)
11. Hungry Heart
12. Atlantic City
13. Glory Days (*)
14. Dancing in the Dark
15. Born in the U.S.A
16. Brilliant Disguise
17. Tougher Than The Rest (*)
18. Human Touch
19. If I Should Fall Behind (*)
20. Living Proof (*)
21. Streets of Philadelphia
22. The Ghost of Tom Joad
23. Secret Garden
24. The Rising
25. Long Time Comin' (*)
26. Girls In Their Summer Clothes
27. The Wrestler (*)
28. We Take Care Of Our Own (*)
29. Hello Sunshine
30. Ghosts (*)
31. Letter To You

(*) denotes digital-only track

Tracks 1-2 from Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ, Columbia KC 31903, 1973
Tracks 3-4 from The Wild, The Innocent, and The E Street Shuffle, Columbia KC 32432, 1973
Tracks 5-7 from Born to Run, Columbia PC 33795, 1975
Tracks 8-9 from Darkness on the Edge of Town, Columbia JC 35318, 1978
Tracks 10-11 from The River, Columbia PC2 36854, 1980
Track 12 from Nebraska, Columbia TC 38358, 1982
Tracks 13-15 from Born in the USA, Columbia QC 38653, 1984
Tracks 16-17 from Tunnel of Love, Columbia OC 40999, 1987
Track 18 from Human Touch, Columbia CK 53000, 1992
Tracks 19-20 from Lucky Town, Columbia CK 53001, 1992
Track 21 from Columbia single 38K 77384, 1994
Track 22 from The Ghost of Tom Joad, Columbia CK 67484, 1995
Track 23 from Greatest Hits, Columbia CK 67060, 1995
Track 24 from The Rising, Columbia CK 86820, 2002
Track 25 from Devils and Dust, Columbia CK 91960, 2005
Track 26 from Magic, Columbia 88697 17060 2, 2007
Track 27 from Working on a Dream, Columbia 88697 41355 2, 2009
Track 28 from Wrecking Ball, Columbia 88691 94836 2, 2012
Track 29 from Western Stars, Columbia 19075937511, 2019
Tracks 30-31 from Letter to You, Columbia 19439811582. 2020