In addition to a bunch of Springsteen albums on LP and CD, I used to have a Greatest Hits CD which I sometimes listened on on my car CD player. Later I swapped it for The Essential Bruce Springsteen, as it came with an extra rarities disc. The latter was re-released in 2015 in an expanded and updated edition, albeit without the rarities. With such available choices, was there any need for another Bruce Springsteen "Best Of" in 2016? Officially, Chapter and Verse was released as a companion piece to the artist's autobiography, Born to Run. Springsteen compiled the songs humself, with the book's readers in mind, meaning this isn't a straight up Greatest Hits-kind thing - although he usually does pick the most popular tune from each album. One would nevertheless guess that anyone taking the trouble to read the 500-page autobiography of a singer must be familiar with their songs, and wouldn't need a reminder in the form of a CD. Which brings us to the real selling point of this, which is the 5 early, previously unreleased, recordings - starting with a typical 1966 garage rocker in the Byrds/Yardbirds vein called "Baby I", followed by a second track by the same band (The Castiles), a wild live cover of "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" featuring loud guitar and farfisa organ. The sound quality isn't the best, but aren't garage rock and hi-fi supposedly mutually exclusive anyway? Forward to 1970, Springsteen was fronting a band called Steel Mill, which included future E-Street Band mainstays Danny Federici and Steve Van Zandt; "He's Guilty (The Judge Song)" is a hard rocker with soul tones reminiscent of Grand Funk. 1972's "The Ballad of Jesse James" (credited to The Bruce Springsteen Band) is a country/Southern rock ballad. Bruce employs a fake Southern accent here; later, he'd write many similar songs but always sing them in his normal voice. Last among the previously unheard tracks, the solo acoustic "Henry Boy" is the first one where he's immediately recognizable as himself. "Growin' Up" (1972) is another pre-fame song, but this one had been anthologized before, on 18 Tracks. From here on, we get a parade of classics including mega-rockers "Born to Run" and "Born in the U.S.A." and deep cuts like "My Father's House" (Nebraska, 1982), "Living Proof" (Lucky Town, 1992), and "Long Time Comin'" (Devils & Dust, 2005). Only one track per album is included, but that stills leaves a lot of albums unrepresented here. The CD continues with latter-day highlights "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (1995) and "The Rising" (2002), and ends with the title track from Wrecking Ball (2012), seemingly about the demolition of the old Giants stadium but, typically for Springsteen, really an ode to the struggles and resilience of working class America. If one is new to Springsteen and looking for a single volume compilation, they'd be better served by the more conventional Best of Bruce Springsteen. Chapter & Verse is a better proposition for old fans who'd like to add the 5 rare early tracks to their collection, or for anyone wishing to track the Boss' evolution from teenage rebel to elder statesman. Preferably while reading Born to Run.
***** for Born to Run, Badlands, The River, Born in the U.S.A., Brilliant Disguise, The Ghost of Tom Joad, The Rising
**** for Baby I (The Castiles), You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover (The Castiles), He's Guilty (The Judge Song) (Steel Mill), Growin' Up, 4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy), Wrecking Ball
*** for The Ballad of Jesse James (The Bruce Springsteen Band), Henry Boy, My Father's House, Living Proof, Long Time Comin'
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