Bruce Springsteen: Magic
Wednesday, 03 Oct 2007 13:52
Born to run
Columbia, out now.
In a nutshell…
The boss is back, again
What's it all about?
Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen teams up with the E Street Band after five years apart to present Magic. Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited album from the Born to Run singer, Magic features 11 new tracks and is produced by Brendan O'Brien.
Springsteen's long-term manager Jon Landau, said that Magic celebrates the "very productive creative relationship" between the Boss and O'Brien.
"Magic is a high-energy rock CD. It's light on its feet, incredibly well played by Bruce and the members of the E Street Band, and, as always, has plenty to say," he added.
The new album is a follow-up to last year's We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, Springsteen's first - and only - record of non-original material which featured the Boss' interpretations of folk musician Pete Seeger.
It catches Springsteen in a contemplative mood, reflecting on the average man and his relationship to the wider world of modern America.
Who's it by?
Springsteen and the E Street Band first hit the headlines back in the 1970s as plucky upstarts looking to address the state of the nation through song.
The backing band has worked with Springsteen on the majority of his solo albums, intermittently collaborating with Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris and Aretha Franklin.
Rock legend dictates that the E Street Band took their name as a homage to their native New Jersey and the road where original keyboard player David Sancious grew up.
Springsteen's brand of Americana heartland rock has gained a cult following since 1973's Greetings From Astbury Park, with mainstream chart success coming with Born to Run in 1975 and 1984's Born in the USA.
Throughout his 30 year career Springsteen has won 15 Grammy Awards, while most notable picking up an Academy Award for Streets of Philadelphia from the soundtrack of Tom Hank's seminal 1993 film Philadelphia.
As an example…
"A kid's rubber ball smacks/Off the gutter 'neath the lamp light/Big bang clock chimes/Off go the sleepy front porch lights" - Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Come on, it's the boss. Americana's golden boy can do no wrong, even as a gravely-voiced grown-up.
What the others say
"You could bite these songs as though you were testing a coin – not one feels counterfeit," the Times.
"Springsteen's songwriting continues to suffer from a difficulty in locating a decent tune, as well as from a lack of freshness in the subject matter, but there is plenty to enjoy in the nasty guitar riff of Radio Nowhere," the Guardian.
So is it any good?
This is a fine return to form for Springsteen and the rest of the band.
Not as raw as earlier stuff, this is a mature record with Springsteen relaxing into his second wind as a 50-something musician. Reflective and slightly melancholic, Magic mixes just the right amount of humdrum American life with bittersweet considerations of past regrets.
Springsteen doesn't pretend to be a 20-something upstart and appears more than comfortable easing into a more developed sound, still trading on the E Street sound of saxophones, scorching riffs, strong beats and very 80s crescendos.
It's kitchen sink stuff, but from an older perspective. Girls In Their Summer Clothes has got a distinct Cat Stevens vibe, as does Your Own Worse Enemy. Considered and measured, the songs still have that Springsteen edge of a small town rebel looking to champion the everyday man.
Magic is a beautiful track, showcasing the Guinness-like quality of Springsteen's voice, while You'll Be Coming Down opens with the same kind of inescapably epic chords of Born in the USA.
Other tracks to look out for include Gypsy Biker, screeching in with Cowboy and Indian-style harmonic before launching into a subtle and decidedly rhythmic song about (what could be) fallen soldiers.
The production is almost effortless, O'Brien knows how to get the best out of Springsteen and the Band; while sounding very much like a sleek, studio album, the CD also has an intimate quality with the listener feeling privy to the secrets of a tight-knit friendship group.
One word of warning: don't turn off the CD after Devil's Arcade finishes. Hidden behind a wall of silence is a heartfelt tribute from the Boss to close friend and fellow musician Terry Magovern who died this summer. Springsteen is gravely, melancholic and plays harmonic with more soul than on anywhere else on the CD. This last-minute track perfectly sums up Magic and Springsteen, showcasing a man experiencing the perils of growing older, but still carrying the rock and roll spirit.
When they built you, Bruce, they did indeed break the mould.
9/10
Rebecca Amir
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