Article summary

Thirty-five years as a justifiable rock musician allows Bruce Springsteen an opinion on the state of over-the-air radio, and he takes it--and takes the medium to the woodshed on the ruthless "Radio Nowhere." The opening smash sets the tone, with the ageless Boss wondering, "Is there anybody out there?" before imploring, "I just want to hear some rhythm." Then, with E Street Band in tow, Springsteen goes on to retrace every step between here and Greetings from Asbury Park, hand-delivering more could-be, would-be hits than anything he's done since Born in the USA. Credit producer Brendan O'Brien for the wall of sound that backs "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," which sets the atmosphere for one of the great vocal performances by Springsteen, who plays the misfit "in the cool of the evening light" watching the girls "pass me by." With piano, glockenspiel, and infinite guitars, the rocker "I'll Work for Your Love" recalls The River, with Springsteen even settling for blue-collar hero in matters of the heart. "Livin' in the Future" could be an out-take from Darkness on the Edge of Town, with shades of Election Day blasting away with the boastful sax of Clarence Clemons and Little Steven's relentless backing vocals. There's even a hint of Nebraska on "Terry's Song," an earnest (and mostly solo) accolade with Springsteen acknowledging the death of a friend: "When they built you, brother/They broke the mold." The hidden track closes this unforeseen comeback, and for 48 minutes the nearly 60-year-old Bruce Springsteen sounds 35 again. --Scott Holter

Customer's review

A Phenomenal Album!

Rarely do I listen to an album and think, "There isn't a single dud in the bunch", but that's what I thought as I listened to the final (hidden) cut. After listening to the entire album many times over, I'm now convinced it's one of his best, perhaps topped only by [according to my taste, of course] Tunnel of Love. There's a great mixture of musical styles, reflective lyrics for the poetry types, and - best of all - fantastic, memorable melodies. While most songwriters run out of melodies after 10 or 15 years at most, Springsteen has written one of his best collections after 30+ years in the business. Highlights for me include Gypsy Biker, Magic, I'll Work for Your Love, Livin' in the Future and, of course, Radio Nowhere (which may be my favourite Springsteen song after Atlantic City). And to think I had almost given up on album music!

Awesome! A Rockin' Collection!

The Boss is back - and bringing the E Street Band with him. This new album is an excellent rock album. "Radio Nowhere" is a great driving rock tune and brings back the wall of sound of the E Street Band. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a wonderful singalong type rock song and will be sure to be played when I'm driving this summer with the top down. And who else would add a nonsense lyric that's just as singable. The rest of the songs are a great mix of great rock tunes and ballads and shows how the Boss has grown through his forays into folk and Irish music and brought that to his classic rock-and-roll. Any rock fan should give this album a good listen, and any Springsteen fan should immediately add this to their collection.

Bruce Springsteen / Magic

With all the respect I'm capable of for Mr. Springsteen as an artist / composer / musician, I have to say this was the biggest disappointment since I started to appreciate music and became an audiophile more than 30 years ago.
The sound quality is absolutely despicable. I wasn't able to listen to more than one minute of the first track, so I cannot comment on how good or bad the actual music is, but I can tell one thing: Bruce Springsteen has associated his name with a very poor quality product and with some very unprofessional people in the recording studio.

His best since Tunnel of Love

Let's just say the production is what keeps this from being a five star album. The songs are there, as is the passion and the energy. Something that no one has mentioned is that Bruce's singing is much improved, he's almost totally lost the fake twang thats been present since Born in the USA. He's also singing with PASSION, something that was missing on some tracks on the Rising. The highest point is Gypsy Biker but all the songs but Your Own Worst Enemy are really really good. This is definitely is not on par with Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town but you know, age.

very very very good

Re: all the notes on the production. I found the production to be different but certainly not deficient. It's not your usual top 40 mix with everything nicely separated for you; it's good old Spectoresque" wall of sound" approach. When working with the E street band Springsteen has always been a welcome return to the wall of sound approach. If you don't like that style you won't like this album. The intent is impressionistic not literal and IMO it succeeds brilliantly.

If you have problems with the production you need to turn up the volume.

Great CD depending on what you like - I love it.

Magic

Article summary

Customer's review

A Phenomenal Album!

Awesome! A Rockin' Collection!

Bruce Springsteen / Magic

His best since Tunnel of Love

very very very good

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