First thoughts on the early vinyl release.
It's been a long time. How many years? Oh, 23 or so. 1984. That was the year that Born In The U.S.A. came out. That was the year that I got out of school, felt lonely, spent too much money on records and beer, got a job, got married.…
Article comments
26 - jo boo!
favorite song at them moment: I'll work for your love.
Springsteen has never been the most gifted wordsmith in the rock god pantheon. For every thunder road, there's a factory.
But dammit if there aren't some exceptional--albeit, dark--lyrics on this album.
He's a great example of an artist who is only getting better. And that's rare in the pop music universe.
27 - Daniel
Yeah, this album is already a "classic". With terrific songs like "I´ll work for your love" and "Long walk home" how can do you go wrong?
Great record indeed.
28 - Mitch
I've listened to the album all the way through twice now, and it keeps on growing.
I was very impressed by the album from the very start, although not all of the songs grabbed me. They all seemed to be solid... but I thought that none of them were exceptionally unique except for "Radio Nowhere," "Livin' in the Future" and "Long Walk Home."
But now, less than twenty-four hours after buying it, the other songs are already reaching out. I can't get enough of "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" and "I'll Work For Your Love."
Like most Springsteen products, this album is deepr than it appears on the surface, and it's not for people wanting an easy-to-swallow does of shallow pop music with nothing to offer but catchy choruses.
This is very good rock music with enough thought and depth to make it great.
29 - sarah ireland
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!
Girls In Their Summer Clothes..Is a suprize,its great,cant stop playing it.living in the future,good ole e street band stuff.
love bruces harm in gypsy biker..
CANT WAIT TO SEE HIM LIVE AGAIN,BEGINNING TO THINK IT WOULDNT HAPPEN AGAIN OVER HERE...IF I GET DOWN OR A BIT PISSED OFF..I JUST THINK OF THE GIG....HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY....MUST JUST ADD MY TOP 5, HARD BUT ILL TRY: IN NO PACTICULAR ORDER.. THE RIVER..
SECRET GARDEN..THUNDER ROAD..ADAM RAISED A CAIN..SOUL DRIVER..OH THIS CANT BE DONE I NEED TO ADD ANOTHER 10 OR MORE THE LIST JUST KEEPS GETTIN BIGGER..IF ANY ONE IS FROM OVER HERE I WOULD LOVE TO CHAT ABOUT BRUCE
30 - sarh ireland
give me a shout...just love springsteen ...the sad thing is i dont know anyone else who does...but of course i know best... dont i!
31 - DarkoV
The songs on the album are great.
I've listened to this album in the car, in various stereos in the house, on speakers, on headphones and....
did I say that I thought the songs were great!?
I think this album could also have been great, but I'd say it's only good.
Why?
Well, I mentioned that I listened to it on different stereos and locations and the same thing struck me each time. The production by Brendan O'Brien, IMHO, is a criminal offense. Perhaps there's a special statute in the NJ Criminal Code of Justice that stipulates if you screw up a Bruce album, you shall serve time. Yeah, yeah, O'Brien's a famous producer. Blah. Blah. Blah. But what he does to Bruce deserves an early Mischief Night's egging of his house. Muddy sounding cymbals. Garbled guitar solos (which are minimal, to boot). Clarence? Was Clarence sitting out most of the songs?
I'm sure that in concert Bruce & the E-Street boys will be doing "Magic" right, giving the songs from the album a clarity that O'Brien elected to leave out. A shame, since, have I already said it? The songs are great.
32 - JC Mosquito
Production... O'Brien, to my ears, has never been about pristine clarity - he's always been about muscle. No, Magic doesn't have the brighntess of The River, or the gloss of Born in the USA, or even the 21st century textures of O'Brien's own production of The Rising, but this album sounds more like a band effort than anything Bruce has done in years. Listen to the growling bass on Radio Nowhere - or is that some fret rattling Stratocaster echoing the bottom end? Not clean at all, and justifiably so. There's been lots said about the Phil Spector appropach on this album, but again, you don't marvel at the production, which isn't even a good imitation of the "Wall of Sound" technique, but you hear the sound of the E Street Band bringing a lifetime of experience to the songs that makes every note count, even if you don't think you're hearing it.
I'll take O'Brien over most other producers 9 times out 10, and number ten would likely have to be either Rick Rubin or even Little Steven himself.
33 - Mike
The songs are great; the production renders the album unlistenable. Most of the vocals and the cymbal crashes (never a part of Springsteen's sound) are virtually distorted. There's a high-pitched "scratch" sound under most of the tracks (I'm listening to "Living In The Future" as I type this and the vocal track IS distorted. This is not "Wall Of Sound" or "Pet Sounds"-like; it's just unprofessional producing--something that was rushed to market. It's a horrible record with great songs--and it's unlistenable (are those supposed to be sleigh bells on "Your Own Worst Enemy?" I honestly can't tell, it's just unnecessary noise.
34 - thomas
It seems to me that I've seen "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" cited everywhere as sounding like a Brian Wilson song, but it sounds all Magnetic Fields to me.
35 - hml
Listened to the CD 2 or 3 times now. It is growing on me and there are potentially some real "stand-out" tracks, but the production is truly awful with The Boss almost unintelligible at times. Also, my copy has two CDs but no album notes, lyrics etc so as the production is so poor, a lot of the time I have no idea what he is actually saying!
36 - tommygun
the producer did a good job on THE RISING . an a half good job on DEVILS AN DUST . but with this its like a 3rd of a good job .. This album however even with the poor production in alot of parts is one of his very best an it is an album i cant stop playing
maybe if the production (the overly distorted an reverb vocals on some of the tracks) was not done so badly this could be his very best album
I think its time to get another producer or produce themselfs .. what he does to bruces voice on some of these tracks is unforgiveble ..too much reverb an distortion to tell what he is saying in parts .. an the sad thing is .. you can tell he is singing clearly enuff . its just the shitty sound quality that makes it so hard to hear what he is singing on some of the songs ... He will do them live an everyone will hear all the words
the producer seems to turn bruces voice too low
just look at the seegar sessions .. his voice is better than ever on that ..his voice is still as great if not better than it ever was .. so why are producers messing with it .. its a great voice which everyone wants to hear CLEARLY
arrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhh
other than that what a damn good record
an the music is awesome/perfect . the vocals are awesome/perfect .. its just the way they were produced an sound like they been played on an out of tune shit sound quality old fashioned Wireless Radio .. like the ones the old folks used to play while working in the shops lol
37 - Mike
So, these comments then beg the question, "What was O'Brien thinking?" What sound was he going for? Did anyone in Bruce's camp listen to the finished master? How could anyone possibly think that muddied, mostly distorted vocals make this a standout pop record? Is anybody else today releasing work to the public that SOUNDS like this?
Yes, the songs are great; but if they're hard to listen to, what's the point? And I don't have a coupla hundred bucks to or the time to stand in line for tickets to a show--I depend on his album releases for my Bruce fix--and he's let me down severely with this one.
38 - Mike P.
I was on a forced visit to see my mother-in-law yesterday and was looking for a radio station to listen to. Picked up a rock station playing what I later found out was Girls In Their Summer Clothes. This song was all I could think of till I got home and downloaded it on itunes. And now this song is just looping on my ipod.
I haven't bought a Springsteen album since Born in the USA (I do have all the prior ones) but after Radio Nowhere and Girls..., I going out to buy the CD today, not buy the songs on itunes, I want the album experience, or at least what's left of it.
The man's a classic. No crap. No pretension. He just gives it to you as he sees it. I love that what I've heard so far harkens back to some of the better 60's stuff.
39 - bill
The one thig that vinyl delivers that CD's can never do, is that sense of sonic boom from the speakers Cd's are just too clinical. Magic, grows on me as i type, it may never surpass B to R but like bruce we are that much older now are we not
as Neil says .......... it is better to burn out than to fade way
40 - Chad
I have listened to this record many times now and as far as I am concerned it si great. There are many great hooks and then of course take the content of the songs. The lyrics are real and moving. This is what Bruce and the E Street Band are all about.
41 - Amanda
Bruce rocks, and always will! I have always been and will always be a huge fan of Bruce Springsteen! I was stoked when I found a station that plays Bruce along with a ton of other great classic rock, alternative country, and americana...suuuuch a good mix! I started working for Lone Star 92.5 because they play the best music outta Dallas! Check out http://www.lonestar925.com and scope the playlist...you'll be glad you did :)
42 - cleagora73
its not music its magic
43 - Jimmy Mundane
From the opening arpeggiated clang of the misfortunately titled “Radio Nowhere” to the implied intimacy of the “bonus track,” longtime Bruce fans will certainly believe that “The Boss” is back in form.
The new CD entitled Magic opens with the ironically accusing “Radio Nowhere” which sounds as if it is quoting the desk-side wastebasket of beloved 90s alternative rockers, The Smithereens. The doggerel “Drivin’ through the misty rain/searchin’ for a mystery train” provides the type of imagery and rhyme that earns an encouraging “B” in a high school creative writing class. The “scathing” commentary on the state of the airways falls flat as the second tune, “You’ll be Comin’ Down,” makes you want to not only change the station, but turn the radio off in favor of the mile-worn overhead cam of your Plymouth minivan, your mind desperately hoping that Bruce uses the profit from said album to buy “The Big Man” Clemmons a new riff.
Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not a hands-down Bruce-hater. I always reserve hope for that un-conscientious exuberant Jersey swang that adorned our ears with “Rosalita”, “Born to Run”, “The River” and even the lesser “Out in the Street” or “Dancin’ in the Dark”. In these examples, the character within the songs was believable, and you could even forgive him for stealing James Brown’s stage collapse routine (it will never be cool, regardless what your 12 pack brother-in-law thinks.)
The brilliance that the un-photographed Bruce Id is capable of is often restrained by the sturdy-safe musicianship of his E-Street cronies. Their idea of getting “down” is probably concurrent with the “down” of a Pat Sajak-centered universe. The prevailing thick arrangements and production values envision a crowded mix-down room, where hints at Jersey badness are rendered unconvincing as everyone is equally given short shrift. (How many guys does it take to have a band anyway?)
“Livin’ in the Future” should have been the opening cut on this project. The promise is briefly delivered on with a great intro, comparatively smokin’ groove and a rare simmering B3 solo at the forefront of the mix. Clarence again phones in the sample of his earlier work, but is forgiven because his haircut is no longer ridiculous.
The filler tunes (we need more songs) occur having melody lines so weak that they should be in a physician’s care" discover carnivalesque piano/organ fills better suited to intentionally misdirected Christmas carols and “AH, AH,” choruses and “La La” outros which under a crueler regime would be marched out in a field and shot. “Girls in Summer Clothes” is something Jackson Browne could have used to clean up a coffee spill in 1984, and in spite of the bitchin’ kick drum and sinister minor key, the nearly cool title cut sounds like Leonard Cohen’s voice mail.
Perhaps most disappointing is the fact that “The Bruce’s” lyricism reflects the Broadway shtick of his live enactments. This is most definitively illustrated by obvious efforts at sophistication in “I’ll Work for your Love” and the affected vocal of “Devil’s Arcade,” where “the man who saved rock ‘n roll” seems satisfied with being a convincing character actor (complements of Jon Landau). Bruce might even have stolen some of these tunes from his own ashbin.
As a peripheral Bruce fan, his best could make the hair on your neck stand, but his worst was always better than Journey. I remain hopeful that he will return someday.
P.S. The bonus track could have been swept up from Steve Earle’s jail cell circa 1996.
JS Mundane Zaibatsu Heavy MFG.