The Best of Bruce Springsteen in the 21st Century

There is nothing like classic Bruce Springsteen.  Winterland, 1975.  No Nukes.  Classics like Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Rosalita, Born in the USA and solo efforts pre-2000 such as Human Touch, Luckytown, and The Ghost of Tom Joad are timeless testaments of Springsteen's greatness.  But when it comes to reworking old material and putting out new stuff in the 21st Century, Springsteen steps forth as both vibrant and relevant, not strung out and past his prime like other musicians limping along on borrowed time.  Maybe it is the apparent lack of drug abuse, but into his fifties the Boss looks great physically.  And more important, musically and lyrically, the material Springsteen has put out this decade will, in my opinion, someday sit proudly alongside his classics from the previous thirty years.  

In 2002, Springsteen responded to the events of September 11th with The Rising, a record as full of hope and optimism as it was a critical inspection of the national condition.  The tour that supported The Rising perfectly presented this balance with Springsteen, over the span of three hours, illustrating feelings of despair and rebirth alongside a disdain for the American government's response to terrorism.  An April 9, 2003 show in Sacramento nicely details this dichotomy.  On the day that coalition forces took Baghdad and toppled a statue of Saddam Hussein, the Boss made a relatively quiet political statement on this night in liberal Northern Califronia.