Bruce Springsteen has one of the fiercest cadres — okay, let’s call it a cult — of enthusiasts of any baby boomer icon. That should be the case. For thirty-five years he’s been burning down the road of rock stardom and unlike every one of his contemporaries, with the possible exception of Neil Young, he’s avoided burnout and remains as relevant as ever.
But that fervent following also produces a myopic kind of tunnel vision - call it Bruceopia. While there are obvious exceptions, this manifests collectively in refusing to accept anything that doesn’t immediately recall the glory years of Springsteen’s pre-Born in the USA as sub-standard in his catalog.Those who feel everything Springsteen’s done since 1984 is crap have missed a great deal of triumphant music; anyone who missed his Seeger Sessions tour (and there were many; while European venues sold-out, many U.S. venues reported dismal sales) because he wasn’t backed by the E Street Band and because he was doing mostly covers, missed one of the great live concerts of our time.
But there seems to be a near unanimity among the Springsteen faithful — and we’ll include all those middle-aged codgers who cover rock music for mainstream publications — that Magic, Springsteen’s first record with the E Streeters since 2002, marks a return to the rock and roll roots of both the Boss and his trusted cohorts. It's difficult to find a negative review of this record (All Music gives it three out of five stars, mostly because it sounds like a collection of songs rather than a unified whole).
On Monday, the day before its release on CD, Newsday reported that not only is it Springsteen’s most accessible album, but that the more pressing concerns of Springsteen’s most recent albums have been aside for “more leisurely pursuits.”
While I count myself firmly within the cult of Springsteen, and love the sound of Magic, a deeper listen shows that while it may echo the sound of some of Springsteen’s greatest albums, this is anything but a tuneful walk down memory lane.
The music is undeniably a throwback, with Springsteen’s best harp since The River, the best Clarence sax solos since Darkness, and maybe the band’s crunchiest rhythm guitars ever. It’s almost like Springsteen has finally realized he’s got two of the best guitarists in the world in his band and it’s finally time to let them loose.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
nice review joel. i really like the mixing of the dark themes with the (mostly) light-hearted music.
seek out the one paragraph dismissal of Magic in the new yorker. it might be a cliche, but i really doubt they listened to the same record that i've been enjoying.
2 - JC Mosquito
Haven't listened to the album from this angle yet, but I certainly appreciate your perspective - you've done a good job of clearly expressing yourself and opening some dialogue for discussion.
Thank you!
Skeeter.
3 - joel beers
interesting that you used the word "angle" in your comment.Because you're absolutely right. We all have angles when we experience something, whether it's a sundown, film, symphony or traffic jam. I guess the trick, if one is sincerely interested in participating in a dialogue rather than imposing one's iron-clad opinion, is to be aware of one's own angle, but but equally receptive of others'.
Of course, that it no way implies that my angle is anything but the one-and-only-holy irrevocable truth!
4 - JC Mosquito
There's a number of different threads here on bc in regards to Magic - I wonder if there isn't some way everyone can get onto the same (web) page - or just let the comments fall where ever they do as per usual.
I played it when I gt up this AM - and I got seriously spooked. Not ready to talk about it yet - if ever. But I think as he approaches 60, Bruce has started to face his own mortality. I had said elsewhere it reminds me of the Beach Boys' Caoline, No, but parts of it are starting to call to mind BOC's Don't Fear the Reaper, and even Bruce's own woek, particularly Darkness, The River and Nebraska.
But don't let me dampen everyone's celebratory experience - ther'll be time to discuss this in the days ahead.
5 - Miami reader
Thanks for your review. I am a long time Boss fan. I have been listening to Magic most of the day, came home to see what different critics were writing, and found your take thoughtrul and closest to my experience. For a while now I have been thinking about that contradiction in Springsteen's music, the soaring, inspiring, running away feeling vs. the lyrical darkness. I was really taken by the "Girls in their Summer Clothes" because it seems like a case where the lyrics match the melody, summer/pop joy/sentimentality + maybe down and out but things are turning around point of view of the narrator. The Rising had optimism but its optimism was so much a part of a narrative of the whole cd that I don't remember it as particularly sincere, or stand alone in any songs. I also like about the "Girls in Summer Clothes" song that it is believable that it is from the same person who wrote Sandy, Thunder Road. It works from the point of view of an older man, or, a younger man on the boardwalk, either way. I'm almost ready to say in my dream set concert of Springsteen and the E Street band, they should open with "Girls in Summer Clothes," then Thunder Road, Born to Run, Brothers Under the Bridges...
It is inspiring that Springsteen, Dylan, these guys can really write so wonderfully after so many years and albums.
6 - joel beers
i didn't include Dylan in my admittedly cursory round-up of Springsteen's "contemporaries," because Dylan exists on an entirely different plane thatmost songwriters, if not most people. His voice may be shot, his decisions suspect (shilling for Victoria's Secret, etc) but he remains firmly in the game as far as a writer and lyricist. Thanks for reminding me of that.
7 - thomas
I think you have really articulated here the emotional force of the album in a way that a great number of other reviewers have missed. Other than the fact that the comparative form of "murky" ought to be "murkier" rather than "more murky," it is right on the money. I am amazed at the number of reviews that overlook the political ferocity of the songs entirely, forget Springsteen's involvement in the last presidential election entirely, or natter on endlessly about his age, his wealth or his celebrity as though these are the universal indicators of musical artistry. Springsteen has made a heavily conflicted, genuinely complicated, emotionally knotted album that is both gratifying and awkward to listen to. Considering the absolutely shocking betrayals of the Bush Years, it is hard to imagine how it could be otherwise. But it is pitch-perfect. Thanks for taking the time to write such a nice piece.