He made another promotional deal he now bluntly calls a mistake. On Jan. 13 a $10 collection of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's "Greatest Hits" — 11 songs from a 1995 hits anthology, as well as "Radio Nowhere" from "Magic" -- went on sale exclusively at Wal-Mart. Since Wal-Mart has been accused of anti-union practices by Human Rights Watch, among others, and has paid large fines for violating labor laws, the announcement prompted online criticisms like the one from asroma on the fan site backstreets.com: "Bruce is doing biz with Wal-Mart? Kind of goes against everything he stands for."

In an interview with Billboard, Mr. Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, defended the release, saying Mr. Springsteen's albums were already in Wal-Mart, which accounts for 15 percent of his sales. He also said: "We're not doing any advertising for Wal-Mart. We haven't endorsed Wal-Mart or anybody else. We're letting Sony do its job."

But Mr. Springsteen said the decision was made too hastily. "We were in the middle of doing a lot of things, it kind of came down and, really, we didn't vet it the way we usually do," he said. "We just dropped the ball on it." Instead of offering the exclusive collection to Wal-Mart, "given its labor history, it was something that if we'd thought about it a little longer, we'd have done something different." He added, "It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be."

Hoping to cash in on Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band's Super Bowl appearance, Wal-Mart will exclusively release the group's Greatest Hits at a low price on January 13th. As opposed to Springsteen's 1995 collection Hits, the comp's 12 tracks will focus on Bruce's work with the E Street Band, thus iconic albums like Nebraska and Lucky Town aren't represented, nor does the LP feature any unreleased material.

Fans clamoring for new Springsteen songs will get their wish two weeks later on January 27th, as his new album Working on a Dream hits stores.

16 witches, cast 16 spells
Make me guitar outta skin and human skull
Sing you a song like the wind in the sandy loam
Bring you baby out'cha your happy home

The Super Bowl halftime show is annually the most-watched musical performance. More than 148 million viewers in the U.S. watched last year's show. The Super Bowl and halftime show will be broadcast worldwide in more than 230 countries and territories.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band join an esteemed list of recent halftime acts that includes the Rolling Stones, U2, Paul McCartney, Prince and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show is an NFL Network Production and will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment and by Don Mischer Productions. Don Mischer also will serve as director.