To say that Magic is Bruce Springsteen's best disk in 25 years isn't heaping excessive praise. Forgiving the commercial success cravings of 1984's Born In the USA is easier in retrospect after 25 years of largely dull and uninspired solo work.
An artist who earned his reputation on a fearless passion for the life-affirming power of rock 'n roll that verged on parody, Springsteen fell hard after the divorce. Not from his wife, but from that all encompassing power that had been his religion until then. Even the netherworld of broken promises and betrayals at the heart of his last great (and probably greatest) disk, Darkness On the Edge of Town, was shot through with electric shock rock that cleansed all the bitterness and dragged the sun back out, kicking and screaming,
I don't know what did it, maybe it was working out too much. It's pretty easy to see that the thin wiry Springsteen had his bearings, but once he started pumping iron and buffing up, he lost his way. His own version of the fat Elvis period.
Magic is being hyped as a true return to form, and the hype is thick. The former Boss does seem to be trying to find the magic again, as the songs on this newest disk try to metaphorically, and sometimes literally, capture the sounds of each of his distinct periods of greatness. When it works, it works quite nicely.
The driving first single, "Radio Nowhere" is not representative of what lies on Magic. "Livin' In the Future", sounds so Born To Run that it could be a first cousin of "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" but not in a bad way. When Miami Steve van Zandt plows in with his unrelenting back-up vocals any trespasses on ancient territory are forgiven. "Your Own Worst Enemy" recalls the melodic sweep of The River. Stand-out "You'll Be Coming to Town" is reminiscent of the songs he recorded for a planned 60s style rock disk that was meant follow Darkness. A great melody is married with a great vocal. Another great vocal drives "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" which might be described as Springsteen doing Brian Wilson.
In fact, the two best things about this record are the voice and the band. Springsteen has taken to singing in a fake, nasally southern affectation (unless its southern Jersey) he acquired with Nebraska. Mos of this disk is a return to singing in the deep baritone, inspired by Roy Orbison and others. A very welcome change.
The band is the other star here. It's largely down to the original E-Street most of the time, Springsteen and van Zandt on guitars on vocals, Danny Federici on organ, Gary Tallent on bass, and might Max Weinberg on drums. The talented Roy Bittan held in check, and Springsteen's own talented wife largely absent. It's a boy's club this time around, like it was and should be, with Clarence Clemmons' sax returning for some great solos and overall coloring.
It's too late for Bruce Springsteen to recapture what he had. But Magic is overall, with some exceptions, a true return to the essence of what made him who he was when he was who he was. 25 years late, with the great band he left by the musical road aging fast, but hey...better late than never.
Awesome review and post Bodie. As a long time die hard Springsteen fan I may have to buy this new release. Personnaly the guy and his politcs kind of dissapoint me just like his last two music releases.
Hopefully in this new album he gets back to his roots. The good old days of The Wild, The Innocent and Estreet Shuffle.
Great One
Posted by: The Great One | October 06, 2007 at 06:48 PM