If you talk to your parents about the kind of music they listened to back in the mid-1970s and throughout the 1980s, Bruce Springsteen most likely will come up during the course of conversation. His heartfelt, personal songs about American life and his unbeatable live shows have made him a true blue, American rock ‘n’ roll legend. Springsteen, also known as The Boss, and the E Street Band have been touring and making records for decades, with many rock music experts considering Springsteen’s 1975 album, Born to Run, one of the single greatest records ever produced. The Boss recently put out his 16th studio album, Working on a Dream.
Working on a Dream sounds cheerier than Bruce Springsteen’s last album, 2007’s Magic. On that record, much of the lyrical content revolved around the mistakes and follies of the Bush administration and dwells on the negativities. Working on a Dream, on the other hand, sounds much more upbeat and positive, like much of his older material.
Much of Working on a Dream was written while The Boss was on tour for his previous album. Whenever Springsteen was not on stage, he and the rest of his band were recording or writing for Working on a Dream. He debuted the title track of the album at a campaign rally for President Barack Obama. The album also features contributions from the E Street Band’s late keyboardist Danny Federici, who died in April 2008.
The first song off the album, “Outlaw Pete”, is a sprawling epic that is surprisingly long for a Springsteen song, clocking in at eight minutes. The Boss manages to keep the song going without losing any thunder by telling the story of the title character. “Outlaw Pete” is definitely one of the more adventurous songs Springsteen has done in quite some time.
“My Lucky Day”, the second single from the album, is a classic E Street Band song, with a driving beat and an incredibly easy-to-sing chorus. If there is any song that defines the sound of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Working on a Dream, it is “My Lucky Day.”
The last track on the album, “The Wrestler”, stands as the most well-known track on the album thus far. Mickey Rourke, star of the film The Wrestler, personally requested that Springsteen write a song for his recently released movie. “The Wrestler” was the end result. The song, like the movie, is a cry of pain from a broken, burned-out soul. The Boss drives metaphors through lyrics like, “These things that have comforted me I drive away / This place that is my home I cannot stay / My only faith’s in the broken bones and bruises I display.” The song went on to win the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song, but was surprisingly snubbed in the nominations for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.
The Boss is keeping himself busy as of late. Along with his Golden Globe win, he performed at the Super Bowl halftime show Sunday. The next day, tickets went on sale for Bruce Springsteen’s May 5 visit to John Paul Jones Arena; if you can afford to go to this show, I highly recommend it.
Working on a Dream is the best album Bruce Springsteen has made since 1984’s Born in the USA. Though we are only through one month of 2009, this album may stand 11 months down the road as the best release of the year. 3
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