2008 Woodie Awards
Bruce Springsteen makes "Magic"
Daniel Wisniewski '08
Issue date: 10/10/07 Section: Entertainment
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Does Bruce Springsteen owe the music world anything anymore? The 58-year-old Americana rocker is responsible for arguably one of the greatest record outputs in American rock music history in the '70s and early '80s with the E Street Band, including pop music classics "Born to Run" and "Born in the U.S.A."
His solo output has been equally as diverse, ranging from 1982's stark four-track "Nebraska" to last year's reinterpretation of Pete Seeger's folk music on "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions." His live shows are legendary, his image nearly undeniable, and his nickname well-earned. The possibility of new material tarnishing his classic rock status is unlikely, but rock legends have been called out many times in the past for cashing in on their name with works far below their talent level. Any aging music icon hobbling onward with an album of new material should be subjected to criticism in light of their past work, and The Boss is no exception.
To be fair, "Magic," "Springsteen's" first album with the E Street Band since 2002s "The Rising," has little in common with the breathless lyrical folk rock The Boss churned out on "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." back in the early '70s. It too lacks the urgent anthemic quality of his most popular works on "Born To Run" and "Born in the U.S.A." Instead, "Magic" displays Springsteen's most mature record to date, an album of accessible yet subtly political material that offers up good if not at times great additions to Springsteen's catalogue.
The most noticeable difference from "The Rising" is "Magic's" frequency of high-spirited rockers. Album highlight "Livin' In The Future" finds the E Street Band back in their early '70s Jersey strut, with Clarence Clemons laying down his up-front sax over xylophone and low-end guitar that wouldn't be out of place spilling from the open doors of an Asbury Park bar during the Nixon era. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a welcome mid-album break for its simplistic music and lyrical, nostalgia and "I'll Work For Your Love" finds Bruce deftly comparing a love to a female saint over a strategically descending melody. At the same time, though, songs such as the bland "You'll Be Coming Down," a musically sleepy and lyrically dull early album track, find Springsteen and the Band going through the motions.
His solo output has been equally as diverse, ranging from 1982's stark four-track "Nebraska" to last year's reinterpretation of Pete Seeger's folk music on "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions." His live shows are legendary, his image nearly undeniable, and his nickname well-earned. The possibility of new material tarnishing his classic rock status is unlikely, but rock legends have been called out many times in the past for cashing in on their name with works far below their talent level. Any aging music icon hobbling onward with an album of new material should be subjected to criticism in light of their past work, and The Boss is no exception.
To be fair, "Magic," "Springsteen's" first album with the E Street Band since 2002s "The Rising," has little in common with the breathless lyrical folk rock The Boss churned out on "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." back in the early '70s. It too lacks the urgent anthemic quality of his most popular works on "Born To Run" and "Born in the U.S.A." Instead, "Magic" displays Springsteen's most mature record to date, an album of accessible yet subtly political material that offers up good if not at times great additions to Springsteen's catalogue.
The most noticeable difference from "The Rising" is "Magic's" frequency of high-spirited rockers. Album highlight "Livin' In The Future" finds the E Street Band back in their early '70s Jersey strut, with Clarence Clemons laying down his up-front sax over xylophone and low-end guitar that wouldn't be out of place spilling from the open doors of an Asbury Park bar during the Nixon era. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a welcome mid-album break for its simplistic music and lyrical, nostalgia and "I'll Work For Your Love" finds Bruce deftly comparing a love to a female saint over a strategically descending melody. At the same time, though, songs such as the bland "You'll Be Coming Down," a musically sleepy and lyrically dull early album track, find Springsteen and the Band going through the motions.
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