Smash hit

Nothing he has produced since has quite matched the majestic, wide-screen sweep of this romantic epic, and “Come on, Wendy” remains one of the most electrifying exhortations in rock. The ambition of it still takes the breath away.

5 Darkness on the Edge of Town

The title track of his fourth release epitomises the bleakness of the album as a whole. The romanticism has

vanished: a weary sense of defeat imbues Springsteen’s vocal here, as he sings about “lives on the line where dreams are found and lost / I'll be there on time and I'll pay the cost”.

6 Racing in the Street

This Darkness track is, for many, Springsteen’s finest song. A story of souring relationships and dying dreams, it snares the listener with the contrast between its in-denial lyrics and the poignancy of its music. The moment when Bittan’s piano and Danny Federici’s organ kick in for the fade is possibly the most beautiful in the entire Springsteen canon.

7 Jackson Cage

The River album’s mix of partying, politics and personal still deters even some diehard fans, who were already confused by Darkness. This furious rocker saw Springsteen expand and develop his socially-conscious storytelling, the urgency of the music intensifying the desolation of his account of a couple watching their hopes die and their love fade.

8 Independence Day

Springsteen’s father would often turn all the lights out in the family house in the evening and sit in darkness, nursing a beer and his resentments, and shouting at his teenage son. This key song turns the microscope on that relationship, establishing with brutal clarity the hierarchical handover when Springsteen sings, “Well, papa, go to bed now, it’s getting late.”

9 Stolen Car

A clear warning of the direction he would take on his next album is provided here, on this stripped-bare River track. “I ride by night and I travel in fear,”

Explore Music

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

• Classical

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010