When in 1974 music critic Jon Landau wrote: "I saw rock'n'roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen," few could have guessed just how prophetic this sentiment would prove to be. After a relatively slow start, by the time of the release of Born To Run in 1975, Springsteen's tales from the mean streets had landed him on Easy Street. In the years that have elapsed since, The Boss may have occasionally fallen out of fashion but never out of favour with his devoted fans. Cited as an influence by acts as diverse as Bon Jovi, The Killers, Arcade Fire and The Gaslight Anthem, and now reunited with the E Street Band, the 61-year-old currently finds himself back in vogue, thanks in no small part to a headline set at Glastonbury in 2009 and the recent release of The Promise, which featured previously unreleased tracks from the Darkness On The Edge Of Town sessions and highlighted the timeless quality of his songwriting. And in these troubled times the man's music seems more relevant than ever. Paul Brannigan
Essential
Born To Run
Columbia, 1975
The album that propelled Springsteen into the stratosphere, bursting with blue-collar rock'n'soul anthems. The aim was to craft a set that sounded like, "Roy Orbison singing Bob Dylan, produced by [Phil] Spector": the result was an American masterpiece.
Download: Thunder Road
Darkness On The Edge Of Town
Columbia, 1978
Lean, wired and reeking of frustration, desperation and anger, Springsteen's fourth album, its release delayed because of a long legal battle, warned of a hard rain soon to fall and sounded like the work of a man on the edge.
Download: Badlands
The River
The Columbia, 1980
A double album, The River gave Springsteen room to stretch musically: from the pure pop of Hungry Heart to the mournful, haunting Wreck On The Highway, it remains his most eclectic offering, rooted in recession-era fables of troubled times, stolen cars and jobless men.
Download: The River
Recommended
Born In The USA
Columbia, 1984
After the unrelentingly bleak Nebraska, Springsteen promised Columbia a smash hit album as its successor. Born In The USA was nothing less than a phenomenon, drawing in a mainstream audience not necessarily attuned to its lyrical themes of alienation and loss.
Download: Born In The USA
The Rising
Columbia, 2002
Days after the 9/11 attacks, as Springsteen was walking in Asbury Park, a stranger yelled, "We need you now". The Rising was his response. His first album with the E Street Band in 18 years, it's an expansive collection, from the rousing title track to sombre reflections such as You're Missing.
Download: My City Of Ruins
Magic
Columbia, 2007
Produced by Brendan O'Brien - a man who has worked with rock acts such as AC/DC and Pearl Jam - Magic is the sound of the E Street Band rediscovering volume, weight, crackle and pop. Songs of disenchantment and despair rarely zing with so much energy and life.
Download: Radio Nowhere
For the connoisseur
Nebraska
Columbia, 1982
Released the year after President Reagan's first inauguration, Nebraska is 10 snapshots from those on the losing end of the American Dream. Backed by just acoustic guitar and occasional harmonica, it remains Springsteen's most affecting album.
Download: Highway Patrolman
The Ghost Of Tom Joad
Columbia, 1995
The pensive, downbeat spiritual heir to Nebraska, ...Tom Joad may be the sound of a millionaire singing about people bereft of a pot to piss in, but the author's empathy for the dispossessed resonates from first note to last.
Download: The Ghost Of Tom Joad
11:02 AM | 20/12/2011
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