25 Springsteen Songs You Need to Know But Probably Don’t

Go beyond “Hungry Heart” and “Dancing in the Dark”

A few weeks ago, I published an entry in Fanfare’s Thunderdome competition defending “Born to Run” as the greatest summer jam. Sadly, it did not prevail, which is simply proof that I need to spread the word about The Greatest Song Ever more energetically. That’s a story for another day, however.

With Bruce’s 75th birthday exactly two weeks away, today I’m taking a look at the Jersey god’s lifetime body of work and choosing one song you need to know but probably don’t from all 21 studio albums he has released since 1973 and four of the compilation albums that include songs left off those albums that should have been included.

I did a similar story some time ago (at least I think it was on this site; it may well have been on the old Yahoo! Voices platform 20 years ago), but my picks change almost daily, so this story will bear little resemblance to that one. Bruce is the gift that just keeps on giving. Now, on to the songs.

1. “Lost in the Flood” (Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.). This has always been my favorite from Bruce’s debut album; the scorching version from the Live in New York City album is superior to the studio version, but we’re not talking about live albums here. The theme is…