2008 Woodie Awards
Bruce Springsteen's latest not quite "Magic"
Rating: 7.8/10.0
Matt Pflaum
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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From my senior year of high school through the beginning of my sophomore year of college, I was a Bruce Springsteen fanatic. I bought most of his albums, collected dozens of bootlegs, and saw him live three times.
However, I've found myself losing interest in The Boss over the past few years. "Devils and Dust" in 2005 had some great songs, but also some incredibly boring ones.
And last year's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" was an enjoyable take on traditional folk songs, yet my iTunes library tells me that I haven't listened to it since the month after it came out.
So, when I heard Springsteen was releasing "Magic" -- his first album with the E Street Band since 2002's "The Rising" -- I was not particularly excited.
My pessimistic outlook on the album appeared to be justified when "Radio Nowhere," the album's first track, was released as the leadoff single.
The song reminds me of "Vertigo" by U2, which is not a good thing. That is to say it's built around a catchy riff and simple lyrics -- "This is Radio Nowhere/Is there anybody alive out there?" -- and becomes increasingly monotonous over repeated listens.
Much to my surprise, the rest of "Magic" is fairly solid. The biggest problem with "The Rising" was its length, and Springsteen mostly eliminates that problem here. At 11 songs and 43 minutes, the album moves at a relatively brisk pace.
"Magic" also finds Springsteen effectively utilizing the tremendous musicians that make up the E Street Band. "Gypsy Biker" features a scorching guitar solo from Nils Lofgren, while the orchestration on "Your Own Worst Enemy" and "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" adds just the right amount of bombast without sounding too over the top.
The album also finds Springsteen effectively balancing his playful and political sides. "Livin' In the Future" is a throwback to his "Born in the U.S.A." style, except it happens to be a lot better than most of the songs on that album.
However, I've found myself losing interest in The Boss over the past few years. "Devils and Dust" in 2005 had some great songs, but also some incredibly boring ones.
And last year's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" was an enjoyable take on traditional folk songs, yet my iTunes library tells me that I haven't listened to it since the month after it came out.
So, when I heard Springsteen was releasing "Magic" -- his first album with the E Street Band since 2002's "The Rising" -- I was not particularly excited.
My pessimistic outlook on the album appeared to be justified when "Radio Nowhere," the album's first track, was released as the leadoff single.
The song reminds me of "Vertigo" by U2, which is not a good thing. That is to say it's built around a catchy riff and simple lyrics -- "This is Radio Nowhere/Is there anybody alive out there?" -- and becomes increasingly monotonous over repeated listens.
Much to my surprise, the rest of "Magic" is fairly solid. The biggest problem with "The Rising" was its length, and Springsteen mostly eliminates that problem here. At 11 songs and 43 minutes, the album moves at a relatively brisk pace.
"Magic" also finds Springsteen effectively utilizing the tremendous musicians that make up the E Street Band. "Gypsy Biker" features a scorching guitar solo from Nils Lofgren, while the orchestration on "Your Own Worst Enemy" and "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" adds just the right amount of bombast without sounding too over the top.
The album also finds Springsteen effectively balancing his playful and political sides. "Livin' In the Future" is a throwback to his "Born in the U.S.A." style, except it happens to be a lot better than most of the songs on that album.
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