Springsteen's Magic
Bruce Springsteen's latest album will be released tomorrow, but you can stream all the tracks here (if you don't mind the anti-piracy message that pops up during the songs). The album has already been hailed (by Entertainment Weekly and the NY Times) as a return to form by Springsteen and the reunited E Street Band, and it certainly has all the earmarks of his classic work. The songs contain the kind of pop hooks that haven't been heard on a Springsteen album for a while, but like all his greatest songs, the pop sheen masks some dark and foreboding lyrics.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is an excellent example of a song that wouldn't be out of place on one of Springsteen's early 80's albums. Bright and upbeat, the song could easily be a radio hit, but the singer's perspective comes straight out of the roster of characters from "Glory Days." This is a guy who has seen his better days come and go, and he can now only watch the girls with longing for his past.
"Livin' in the Future" ups the ante, with its faint trace of bitterness submerged beneath the chiming chords of another poppy tune. The singer's thoughts seem melancholy until the song's chorus reveals that what might be taken for complacent shit-shooting is really the singer's projection of scenarios that will never come to pass. These scenarios include hints not only of the singer's dim future, but our country's as well.
And here is where the album takes its masterful turn. The themes submerged in "Livin' in the Future" come to full fruition in the album's final trio of songs, where our country's squandered legacy is lamented and Bush's exploitative war is given the contempt it deserves. "Who will be the last to die for a mistake?" is the chorus of "Last to Die" and, again, the singer is talking about more than his own failed relationship. "Long Walk Home" casts a sad eye at the singer's hometown, which stands in for America (shades of "My Hometown" from Springsteen's "Born in the USA" album, the closest album in his catalogue in tone and style to his latest release). But this time the singer is confronted not with the racism and economic deprivation of the mid 1980's, but the death and disillusionment engendered by Bush's illegal war. "Devil's Arcade" is the sad summation of these times and, together, these three songs comprise a long-needed major artistic statement against Bush and the Iraq War.
This is not only Springsteen's strongest, best-sounding album in some time; it is not just a return to Springsteen's masterful combination of appealing music and haunting lyrics; it is a major statement for and of our times from a man who has charted our nation's troubled course for over 30 years through the actions of his hungry, flawed, hopeful and tragic characters.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is an excellent example of a song that wouldn't be out of place on one of Springsteen's early 80's albums. Bright and upbeat, the song could easily be a radio hit, but the singer's perspective comes straight out of the roster of characters from "Glory Days." This is a guy who has seen his better days come and go, and he can now only watch the girls with longing for his past.
"Livin' in the Future" ups the ante, with its faint trace of bitterness submerged beneath the chiming chords of another poppy tune. The singer's thoughts seem melancholy until the song's chorus reveals that what might be taken for complacent shit-shooting is really the singer's projection of scenarios that will never come to pass. These scenarios include hints not only of the singer's dim future, but our country's as well.
And here is where the album takes its masterful turn. The themes submerged in "Livin' in the Future" come to full fruition in the album's final trio of songs, where our country's squandered legacy is lamented and Bush's exploitative war is given the contempt it deserves. "Who will be the last to die for a mistake?" is the chorus of "Last to Die" and, again, the singer is talking about more than his own failed relationship. "Long Walk Home" casts a sad eye at the singer's hometown, which stands in for America (shades of "My Hometown" from Springsteen's "Born in the USA" album, the closest album in his catalogue in tone and style to his latest release). But this time the singer is confronted not with the racism and economic deprivation of the mid 1980's, but the death and disillusionment engendered by Bush's illegal war. "Devil's Arcade" is the sad summation of these times and, together, these three songs comprise a long-needed major artistic statement against Bush and the Iraq War.
This is not only Springsteen's strongest, best-sounding album in some time; it is not just a return to Springsteen's masterful combination of appealing music and haunting lyrics; it is a major statement for and of our times from a man who has charted our nation's troubled course for over 30 years through the actions of his hungry, flawed, hopeful and tragic characters.
posted by Chazzbot at 11:53 AM
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