Album Review. Oh yeah, Hello World!
I probably should have done this earlier, but I’d like to
point out some of the things I think I’m going to be doing here. There will be a heavy selection bias in the
things I choose to review. It will
rarely be the case that I purchase a record or go to a show that I’m
predisposed to dislike. So, when I review something, the focus will
likely be on why I like it, what it means to me.
Music is a big part of my life, like it is for most people,
I think. I’ve almost always got
something playing unless it would be considered rude. Often, a particular song will come to mind
when I witness or participate in some major event – elections, professional
football games, family road trips, the first of the month. Over the last year or so, I’ve taken a major
cooldad step and finally decided to learn the guitar; so if I’m not listening
to music in my free time, I’m attempting to play it. And, while I may be guilty of a bit of
“rockism,” I try to keep an open mind about the things I hear. Even the auto-tuned, corporate stuff the cooldaughters
so enjoy.
So there will probably be few if any “bad” reviews
here. Most will probably be of the “if
you like this sort of thing, then this is the sort of thing you’ll like”
category. But I’ll tell you how
something made me feel or what it made me think about; and if you think you
think like me, then maybe that will give you some insight.
Bruce Springsteen is a great artist for my first
review. I don’t think it’s possible for
me to write a bad review of a Springsteen record. I will never tire of his first four albums,
and I consider Darkness on the Edge of
Town his masterpiece. That’s the
album where he started to morph from “Urban Springsteen” – the kid from Jersey
who sang about his state and the big city across the river – to “Americana
Springsteen,” or something else that conveys his widening focus. On Darkness
he blended both of those superbly in a series of angry, beautiful songs. The cover of that album is an example of how
Springsteen has always made himself part of the current conversation. He’s leaning against that wall wearing his
leather jacket like a 1970’s punk, with an expression on his face that calls to
mind Patti Smith on the cover of Horses.
When I mentioned that I don’t think that Wrecking Ball is close to Springsteen’s best, this is what I meant. I don’t
think there are many records that, for me, approach Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born
to Run, or even The Wild The Innocent
and the E Street Shuffle. But this
is the best album Springsteen has made in a long time. There are some great songs on The Rising (“My City in Ruins” comes
immediately to mind) and Magic (“Long
Walk Home,” “Magic,” “Gypsy Biker”), but as whole albums they were weighed down
a bit by Springsteen’s new approach to universal themes.
Wrecking Ball
deals with issues of the same scale.
America’s Great Recession is as heavy a topic as September 11th
or war. He just gets the balance right
this time, I think.
The album is sequenced wonderfully, and you should really
listen to it in one sitting to appreciate the care that Springsteen took
here. The first half is angry about the
fact that America, both its politicians and its people, has brought itself to
this point. The second half of the
album, starting with the fantastic title track, is more hopeful and a call to
fight for something if you want it.
This could be really corny, but Springsteen has taken what
he learned during his sojourn through the American Songbook and from some of
the recent acts upon whom he’s an obvious influence to make it work. You can hear the Seeger Sessions in songs like “Death to my Hometown” and “Shackled
and Drawn.” Wrecking Ball contains the most overt use of religious imagery that
I’ve ever heard on a Springsteen album, calling to mind Craig Finn and the Hold
Steady. The female voices, strings, and
the army of musicians in the credits draw on the approach taken by Arcade
Fire. Finally, the tool that Springsteen
best uses to overcome the bombast and the corn-factor of his other “Big Issue”
records is humor: musical humor like the Johnny Cash riff in “We Are Alive,”
and lyrical humor like telling us all that things that appear to have outlived
their usefulness still have a lot to give from the point of view of an
anthropomorphic football stadium.
And I can be a corny guy.
Wrecking Ball more than once
gives me a lump in my throat. It’s Bruce
Springsteen again making himself part of the conversation, and he’s trying some
new things. Most of them work. I don’t even think the rap break is that bad.
If you’re a casual fan, and you haven’t paid much attention
to his last several albums, then give this a try. You’ll find that, like an old structure out
in the swamps of Jersey, even though he’s grown older, he’s just as tough as he ever was.
No comments :
Post a Comment