How to celebrate the 64th birthday of Bruce Springsteen, “The Boss”, if you’re new to this curious American phenomenon:
- If you’re totally new to his music, start with Born to Run; there is no better album.
- If you’re a little familiar with his music, hit The River or The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle; there’s tons of great stuff hidden here.
- If you’re familiar with the Boss’ repetoire, you’ve gotta hit a live album; the compliation of performances from 1975–89 is my favorite right now.
You want to listen to at least one of these albums because there is no one who better combines the story of America with its music than Bruce Springsteen. If all you know of his work is “Born in the USA”, you got some educatin’ to do!