Americans Hate Tingle: The Rising was the first album to kickstart Springsteen's popularity in Ireland; otherwise, his previous albums barely charted at all there - no album of The '90s charted in Ireland, especially.
A good example is "Waitin' on a Sunny Day", from The Rising. It has become one of his most popular songs of his last 20 years in concerts, and while it wasn't released as a single in the US, it was a hit in several European countries. It is also one of Springsteen's most streamed songs on Spotify, and on the iTunes top 20 in the UK, and the official video is one of Springsteen's most popular Vevo videos. Still, while many fans like it, other ones think the song is, if not outright hideous, too optimistic and frivolous, and critics often don't consider the song as one of Springsteen's essentials, despite its popularity. In fact, surprisingly enough, it didn't even appear in 2003 on The Essential Bruce Springsteen, neither on the edited version of the compilation; instead, besides the US hits "The Rising" and "Lonesome Day", the other track from The Rising that appeared on the 2003 edition was "Mary's Place", an album track which is by far less popular than "Waitin' on a Sunny Day".
Another part of "Waitin' on a Sunny Day"'s divided popularity is Springsteen's habit of getting a kid in the audience onstage to sing the chorus acapella in live shows. Some see it as a sweet gesture that unites the whole stadium in support of the young fan, others see it as ruining the flow of the song, or worse as an opportunity for pushy parents to embarrass their children.
Germans Love David Hasselhoff: "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" wasn't even released as a single in America and isn't among Springsteen's most beloved tracks there, while in Europe it's one of his most popular songs and was a successful single in several countries.
Signature Song: the Title Track and "Waitin' on a Sunny Day" are the main contenders, and they'd respectively count as the best known song on the album in America and in Europe. "The Rising" is also extremely popular in concerts and generally regarded as the best song on the album by critics, while "Sunny Day" is very popular among the European fandom not only thanks to its hit status in European countries, but also thanks to streaming platforms and videos popularity, and he often lets kids sing the song live with him - which may annoy others on the other hand.
"Lonesome Day" and "My City of Ruins" are also reasonably well-known tracks, and the latter was also a defining track since it started out as a tribute to Springsteen's adopted hometown of Asbury Park before taking on renewed significance after the 9/11 attacks.
Values Resonance: "My City Of Ruins" was originally written as a tribute to Springsteen's adopted hometown of Asbury Park. However, the song took on new meanings and applicability in the subsequent years. Most notably, as a dedication to the victims of the 9/11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
