Unheralded Springsteen Songs Worth A Second Listen

When new Springsteen albums come out I tend to revisit his older albums to compare. I always seem to find songs that I somehow missed when they first came out.

For example

"What Love Can Do" off Working on A Dream.

 

"Tougher Than The Rest" off of "Tunnel Of Love."

 

Boom, I love "Kingdom of Days" off WOAD. I think it's the perfect first-dance song for a wedding. Right now I'm loving the "American Land" on Wrecking Ball.

 

"Pilgrim in the Temple of Love."

 

Along with the entire Seeger Sessions recordings, "Kitty's Back," "Mansion on the Hill" and "Where the Bands Are."

 

NYC Serenade, Price You Pay, Walk Like a Man, My Beautiful Reward, With Every Wish, Counting on a Miracle, This Life, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

"Leap of Faith" off Lucky Town is a favorite of mine that doesn't get a ton of play.

I could write pages upon pages about how disappointing I found Working on a Dream as an album, but "The Last Carnival" is absolutely lovely. It's the song that was written as a tribute to Danny Federici after he passed.

I think The Seeger Sessions as a whole doesn't get nearly the love it deserves, but the release of Wrecking Ball has unearthed more affection for it than I thought was out there.

ETA: "Paradise" is a bit of a sleeper but on repeated listens it's one of my favorites. Really haunting. "Countin' on a Miracle," which was mentioned above, narrowly beats it out for the song off The Rising I like the most.

 

Larry Kerwin plays "American Land" frequently on his Sirius/XM show and I love it. He also plays Steve Earles "Galway Girl" a lot which seems like the perfect 1-2 punch.

 

I must say, I may be one of those who might try a trip on the Seeger Sessions train now. I've never listened to that album, and was thinking about it while listening to "Wrecking Ball." It comes recommended, I take it?

 

"Bobby Jean" from "Born in the USA"

 

I'd say among the non-hardcore fans, I'd go with these five:

Incident on 57th Street
Highway Patrolman
Shut Out the Light
This Hard Land
Long Time Comin'

 

Piotr, got to hear an amazing Lost in the Flood and Restless Nights in Buffalo. If you don't have it, it's an amazing boot. Let me know if you need it.