Ever since ‘Jungleland’ way back in 1975, when Bruce Springsteen proclaimed that “the poets down here don’t write nothing at all they just stand back and let it all be”, each new album has seen him in danger of being hoist on his own petard. In one camp are the critics who see Springsteen’s proselytising as over the top from a man who should be able to rest on his former glories, now that the pensionable end of the rock spectrum has arrived. Others are still waiting for the words of wisdom and yearning which fired their teenage imaginations, berating the Boss for no longer taking them back there.

After 40 years it’s a tough call to please all of the people all of the time and ‘Wrecking Ball’ was never going to do it.

However, while the new album finds Springsteen at his most directly polemical and angry since ’The Rising’, much of the musical potpourri owes as much to ’The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle’, even sharing some of the exuberance of that early album. The lines are shorter, the phrases more clipped and the production more dense, that is for sure. Yet Springsteen’s tendency to throw the kitchen sink at an arrangement, pitching in any instrument over and above the standard guitar, drums and bass that he thinks might work, is still intact.

In addition the credits read like a litany of Springsteen musical influences, with samples and steals from Johnny Cash to Curtis Mayfield and backing vocals from as diverse a source as the Victorious Gospel Choir. ’Wrecking Ball’ may already be sounding a bit mad so, is it any good? Surprising as it may seem, it is.

‘We Take Care of Our Own’ kicks off the set and sets the tone of cynical rage at the shady underbelly of the American Dream; will the rhetoric ever match the reality? You cannot rely on it so, we take care of our own. ‘Easy Money’ and ‘Shackled and Drawn’ plough the same furrow, targeting the “fat cats” and railing against “a world gone wrong”, in which the workers pick up the bills for the banker’s ills to find “I woke up this morning shackled and drawn”.

'Death to My Hometown' inevitably carries an echo of the blue collar concerns of “Born in the USA” but this time the enemy is less visible. No army to fight, no factory owners to berate, just the silent buying and selling of the markets that leads to uncertainty and impoverishment.

If ‘Wrecking Ball’ has a significant weakness it is the increasing tendency of Springsteen’s lyrics to drift towards religious answers to the issues he identifies. ‘Rocky Ground’ is suffused with religious imagery, while ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ proclaims ‘faith will be rewarded’ and 'We are Alive' , while celebrating forgotten protests, dwells upon the imagery of redemption. This is not new, ’The Rising’ is rife with such images, but it is frustrating that while Springsteen can still have his finger on the social pulsebeat his offer of hope can be so mystic.

Inevitably the longest shadow cast over this album is that of Clarence Clemons. The sax solos on 'Wrecking Ball' and 'Land of Hope and Dreams' are a reminder that wherever Springsteen goes next, it will not feature the rush and exhilaration of the Big Man’s sax sound.

On the whole, after the disappointing ’Working On A Dream’, the new album is something of a return to form for Springsteen and much of it feels as though it will fit seamlessly into the forthcoming live shows. If nothing else, it good to hear that “the poets down here” still have something to say, after all these years.

For those that care, Bruce Springsteen's new single 'We Take Care of Our Own' is being released tomorrow. Guess he's embracing the modern era by getting it out there before its leaked. He should release the record at the same time.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-releasing-new-s...

According to Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau, the new record continues the recent downward spiral in Bruce's recording career but that "he has to put something out to please the suits and generate interest in a tour with a band that barely feature on the record". Ah no, he doesn't say that. He says it extends and deepens the vision in Bruce's work and that it "rocks and is very fresh". Let's see.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-returns-with-wi...

The one thing it doesn't sound like is an E Street Band record. Which, after Working on a Dream, might not be a bad thing.

Anyway, hurrah if you're interested and forget I said anything if you think he's a denim wearing, lefty chancer who hasn't written a decent song since 1978.

Steve Van Zandt says of the Big Man and The E Street Band, "We will continue to make music and perform. Let's face it, that's all we really know how to do. But it will be very different without him.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2011/06/steven_van_zandt...

A few years ago there was a Word of Mouth Cd that had a cover of Bruce's I'm On Fire...I think it was Susanna someone...can anyone help?...it was a great version.

I don’t know if there’s any fans of Little Steven’s Underground Garage show around here but I’m sure someone would be interested in listening to the last couple of episodes. As the show is celebrating its 9th anniversary, Steve Van Zandt has recorded three special shows with his old friend (and employer) Bruce Springsteen.

The show is essentially the two of them sitting around with a laptop full of music and a guitar (because Bruce Springsteen clearly goes nowhere without a guitar!) talking about there influences and favourite records. There's even an interesting (although hardly surprising) segment where Springsteen demonstrates how he ripped off/paid tribute to the intro to 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' for his own 'Badlands'.

It’s thoroughly entertaining and quite refreshing to hear the Boss talking about himself in a way that sounds like it hasn’t been prepared and nuanced for yet another one of those ‘rare exclusive' interviews that he does every six months. And the music is mostly all great.

Anyway, two of the shows are up on Little Steen’s site and the 3rd will be available early next week.

http://undergroundgarage.com/shows-479-470/show-471-the-bruce-and-stevie...

Hope it finds some welcome listeners around here. If listening to two old duffers sitting around talking about the old days is your thing, then you’ll love this!

Watching the Bruce Springsteen documentary ‘The Promise’ the other night, I got to wondering how the members of the E Street Band would have been paid during the recording of ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’ and other albums.

The thing is, unlike a regular band, where all the members are signed to a record label, in Bruce’s case (unless I’m mistaken) it’s always been just him who has a contract with Columbia/Sony. Then it’s up to him to use whichever musicians he likes on his records.

So would the members of the E Street Band be on an annual salary, or paid by the day, or even on an hourly rate? The bit that got me thinking was the section about how they spent three months (probably an exaggeration, but still) in the studio just trying to get the drum sound right. So does that mean that only Max Weinberg got paid during those three months, as the others weren’t needed in the studio? Or were the rest of the band effectively being paid for doing nothing during that time?

Now that I’ve started thinking about this, I’m irrationally curious to know the answer. Anyone got any idea how these things tend to be arranged?

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;0;-1;-1;-1&sku=38...

I bought this yesterday. It's Bruce Springsteen's first seven albums for £14, which I found to be surprisingly good, even though I already have Nebraska.

It's one of the best deals I've seen for both quantity and quality of the material. Although I suppose me recommending it is a bit futile as I'd imagine the majority of The Massive will have them all anyway. On Vinyl. And CD. And Casette.

http://www1.rollingstone.com/hearitnow/player/bruce.html

http://www.directcurrentmusic.com/music-news-new-music/2010/8/30/bruce-s...

I was putting together a Springsteen mix tape (CD?) last night for going on holiday. The experience reminded me how much I love the music but wouldn't be fussed on seeing Bruce with the E Street Band again. They played the Odyssey in Belfast three years ago and it was good, but that was it...maybe it was an "era" thing as I'm only 29 but hey.

I don't mean only going to see band once to tick them off your must-see list, but seeing them once was just well, enough. It may also be due to the well-worn live music routines that we're all used to now: travel problems, booking fees, bad crowd, support acts etc.

Any other readers out there who continue to love a band/performer's recorded output but just aren't that fussed about seeing them in concert again?

I've mentioned this on Twitter already, so no cheating; but what do the following Springsteen songs all have in common?

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

MANSION ON THE HILL

BROTHERS UNDER THE BRIDGES ('83)

STOLEN CAR

GIRLS IN THEIR SUMMER CLOTHES

DRIVE ALL NIGHT

BRILLIANT DISGUISE

Now I'm no fan, yet he has never bugged me, in fact I can name a few ditties of his I rather dig: Candy's Room, Jungleland, Murder Incorporated. This afternoon tho' I was subjected to not one but two performances by him that really offended me: Planet Rock played some abortion called 'The Ties that Bind'. A more strangulated and overwrought piece of vocalising to a non-tune that I have ever heard. Next up on local Real Rock Radio: in my car, on the my way to mass with my aging mother in tow, an awful live version of 'Born in the USA'.
I had to make it stop, luckily my iPod was at hand with some Entombed, so Clandestine took a battering.

Must we throw this pop filth at our infirm(ed)?

I am not mad

Just enjoyed watching this and thought I'd share it, The Boss on stage with REM in 2006. He takes the 2nd and 3rd verse and the solo:

It must be quite the effort keeping a white suit clean for a whole tour.

Any other nice guest-spots you've witnessed or found footage of?

I'm putting foward the case that this is the best (by some distance) Bruce Springsteen album ever.

Coming so early on, it really showed off the dynamics of the E Street band and had a real diversity which his later albums lacked (Funk, Shanties, Broadway...etc.)

Just the most joyful thing he ever produced. So why does it not get mentioned more? And does the Boss ever play any of it live anymore?