Gareth - 3/27/2012

The 5th March 2012 saw the release of Bruce Springsteen's 17th studio album and to be honest, even as a long time Springsteen fan, my expectations were reasonably low after the previous two albums.

Since the turn of the century and new millennium, in my opinion it's been a bit of a mixed bag for the Boss, a bit of a bumpy road if you will. 'The Rising' album released in 2002 focused heavily on America and the fall of the Twin Towers in New York City, I believe this to be one of Bruce Springsteen's best albums to date and reignited his career at that point. In 2005 Bruce released his third folk album named 'Devils & Dust', very stripped down but lyrically very strong and very evocative. In 2006 Springsteen released his first album of songs not written by himself in the form of 'We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions'. Seeger also did not write the songs but originally aimed to promoting the ethic of local and historical musical influences. This album was very different from anything previously done by Springsteen in the past but a great piece of work none the less, but unfortunately this is where we then hit rocky ground. The 2007 album 'Magic' and his first back with The E Street Band since 2002 'The Rising', in my opinion was a weaker and mainly due to the production sounded tiny. Then we hit the all-time low of 'Working on a Dream' or nightmare I prefer, released in 2009, Springsteen's vocals to me sounded flawed , and weak and the songs and lyrics sounded a little cheesy, this has to be the worse Springsteen album to the present day. Therefore this is why my expectations were low in the build-up to the new album 'Wrecking Ball'.

The title and the album art suggest a harder and grittier edge, a more stripped down sound was expected, and in places, yes this is what it is, but the album is very diverse containing element of folk and Irish folk melodies, retained from the Seeger Sessions and the introduction of samples, more modern sounding percussion instruments and even rapping on 'Rocky Ground' by Michelle Moore.

This album is also not an E Street Band album; it features Clarence Clemons on two tracks, the title track 'Wrecking Ball' and 'Land of Hope and Dreams', Steven Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, and Patti Scialfa on a few other tracks but by no means all. Other personnel include the introduction of Tom Morello on two tracks, Morello has played in bands such as Audioslave and Sound Garden.
This album is angry, passionate, patriotic and emotional, it's a real return to form and although sad to say I think these days Springsteen's more creative work comes when not working with The E Street Band.

If you're a fan of previous Springsteen works such as 'Darkness on the Edge of Town' you will like this album as its dark, dirty and real, however if you're a fan of albums such as 'Born in the USA', which other that the title track are more light hearted and commercial then maybe this is not the Springsteen for you.
The opening song and first single from the album 'We Take care of Our Own' has a very Springsteenesque riff running throughout the song and it's a patriotic number containing the lyrics "We take care of our own, wherever this flag's flown, we take care of our own". Throughout the album there are references to the bankers and the fat cats, such as in 'Easy Money', here Springsteen sings "when your whole world comes tumbling down and all them fat cats, they'll just think it's funny, I'm going on the town now, lookin' for easy money". The song 'Shackled and Drawn' is about the working man working hard for a living whilst still taking a shot at the bankers "gambling man rolls the dice, workingman pays the bill, it's still fat and easy up on bankers hill, up on bankers hill, the party's going strong, down here below we're shackled and drawn". The song contains many references of the working man "I always loved the feel of sweat on my shirt, stand back and let a man work, let a man work, is that so wrong" and "freedom son's a dirty shirt, the sun on my face and my shovel in the dirt, a shovel in the dirt keeps the Devil gone".

An early favourite from the album is 'Jack of All Trades', just a beautiful ballad mainly piano orientated with heart felt honest vocals. 'Death to My Home Town' is one of those songs that you just can't help but sing along. The song 'Wrecking Ball' was originally written in 2009 prior to The E Street Band performing the lasts concerts to be played at Meadowlands, home of the New York Giants, a song about memories, stories, youth and beauty, victories and glories and hopes and dreams as well as changing times and changing landscapes, bring on your wrecking ball!. 'Rocky Ground' is a beautiful song, which brings Springsteen's live preacher essence from the stage and commits it to record. Starts slowly with the refrain of "we've been travelling over rocky ground, rocky ground" sang by Michelle Moore, with Springsteen's opening lines of "rise up shepherd, rise up, your flock has roamed far from the hill", the "rap" by Michelle Moore also fits perfectly with the song, I know it sounds cringe worthy, rap in a Springsteen song but it works, it really works. Again another early favourite of mine is "Land of Hope and Dreams' I remember hearing this as long ago on a tour in 1999 when promoting the 'Tracks' compilation and thought, what a very touching song it was. However it has taken Bruce 13 years to record it and its just as amazing. Some of the most touching words Springsteen has written and coupled with the passing of lifelong friend Clarence Clemons (who plays saxophone on this track) this past year, makes the words to this song all the more potent, such as "you'll need a good companion now, for this part of the ride, leave behind your sorrows, let this day be the last, tomorrow there'll be sunshine and all this darkness past". I also love the final song "We Are Alive" about people shouting out from beyond their graves, who they are, and how they died and singing "we are alive" and "our spirits rise". In my opinion the weaker songs of this album are 'This Depression' and 'You've Got It'. The latter would seem more at home on Springsteen's 1987 album 'Tunnel of Love'.

I purchased the deluxe edition if this album which contains two additional tracks, 'Swallowed Up in the Belly of the Whale' and 'American Land'. Even as a long time Springsteen fan I would say neither of these songs really add anything to the album. In fact the former of these tracks, in my opinion is one of the poorer songs I have ever heard by Bruce Springsteen as it's a little boring, quiet and drawn out with very little content. 'American Land' is a lot better and sees Springsteen turn into the Pogues!

This is a must for Bruce Springsteen fans, a real return to form, his best work at least since 2002's 'The Rising'. If you're not a keen Springsteen fan but have dabbled with the idea of maybe purchasing some of his work, then this album wouldn't be a bad choice for you either. A strong Springsteen album of mainstream rock and roll but made all the more interesting with the new elements of rap, modern percussion and samples mixed with traditional folk melodies and instrumentation.