The Boss

I was listening to Bruce Springsteen's most recent release Wrecking Ball, released in early March, and was amazed at the fact he continues to produce such quality music in such a distinctive way. Nobody sounds like The Boss. The Boss doesn't sound like anyone else. Yes, he has a dash of Dylan, a touch of Young, a hint of Seger and a pinch of Petty. But he is uniquely his own man.

He is Americana at it's best. Patriotic without being a flag-waving fanatic. His words are golden, nostalgic, painful, earthy, beautiful. Take We Take Care Of Our Own, the lead single from Wrecking Ball. It's just as strong as some of his greatest singles like Born In The USA, Glory Days etc.

I have attempted to compile a rough list of a Springsteen Top 10. It's rather hard and there are some songs that perhaps aren't as well-known but they are quintessential Boss.

10. Hungry Heart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lYpokhq_-w
Upbeat and sunny with great backing harmonies.
Best line: "Like a river that don't know where it's going, I took a wrong turn and I just kept flowing"

9. Girls In Their Summer Clothes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8PB1a1c9zA&ob=av2n
Springsteen's best pop song. Small-town summer romances, tinged in warm nostalgia.
Best line: "Had a beautiful thing, maybe you just saved my life"

8. We Take Care Of Our Own
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x8zBzxCwsM&ob=av2n
A lament on the sense of despair and doom in America. The sadness of seeing good people suffer.
Best line: "I've been stumbling on good hearts turned to stone"

7. Born To Run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxuThNgl3YA&ob=av2e
His first hit. First sign of greatness. An all-or-nothing cry of desperation.
Best line: "The highways jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive"

6. The River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utVR3EgQkHs&ob=av2n
The fervent optimism of youth in a harsh, cruel world. A timeless classic.
Best line: "That sends me down to the river, though I know the river is dry"

5. Human Touch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85cNRQo1m3A&ob=av2e
Definitely the high point of one of his weakest albums. A story of the need to follow human desires and urges and not be constrained by the world around us.
Best line: "Do you think what I'm askin's too much"

4. Glory Days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vQpW9XRiyM&ob=av2e
Great exploration of the human condition.
Best line: "We went back inside sat down had a few drinks, but he all kept talking about was Glory Days"

3. Terry's Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avi4ucNc4FY
An ode to a lost friend. Beautiful.
Best line: "When they built you brother, they broke the mold"

2. I'm On Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrpXArn3hII&ob=av2n
Sexy Springsteen. A brooding, haunting slow burner.
Best line: "At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet and a freight train running through the middle of my head"

1. Born In The USA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4.
Perhaps the most predictable choice. It is Springsteen at his best though. A lyrical masterpiece of the state of America following the Vietnam War.
Best line "He said 'Son, don't you understand?'"