Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream (Deluxe Version with bonus DVD)
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Free Music Notes for Working on a Dream (Deluxe Version with bonus DVD)
Free Music Review: Great Bruce as usual - music is fantastic
Hit: 5 Stars
Great Bruce as usual - Music is wonderful. A most needed item for any Springsteen fan.Free Music Review: Great music
Hit: 5 Stars
Bruce can never do wrong. Any Springsteen fan needs to add this to their collection.Free Music Review: "Time" to diversify.
Hit: 4 Stars
Having been indoctrinated into the fold in '84 after seeing them live for the first time (I've been to many, many shows since), I'm pretty psyched that they're playing the Superbowl. Here's my song by song synopsis of the new album, "Working on a Dream".
'Outlaw Pete'-Always a master of the epic story song, Bruce doesn't dissapoint here at all. We've been to circuses, carnivals, city streets and back alleys, front porches, and boardwalks with Bruce, but, this is the first 'old west' themed storyline I can recall. Being from Kentucky, I find it cool that Pete comes from the "Appalachian Trail". This one's a little cornball at first, with Pete robbing the bank in his diaper and all, but, that just helps set up the story. The theme of this whole album, whether intentional or not, it 'time'. Here in this song, boys and girls, the lesson is: No matter what you do, you can't escape your past. You can't run from it. Instead you must find way to deal with it before you move on because like it or not, it becomes a part of who you are forever. Great song. Ranks among his best.
'My Lucky Day'-A great upbeat rocker. Wouldn't have sounded out of place on "Born in the USA".
'Working on a Dream'-Nice song. Used on a couple of late stops on the campaign trail.
'Queen of the Supermarket'-Lyrically, this one's a departure. Seems there may be more going on at the local Kroger than milk, cereal, and meat purchases. This'll be some folks' favorite. Not mine. I haven't really 'gotten' it yet. The surprisingly blatant "F" bomb he throws at the end is an intentional surprise. I'll have to skip this one when the kiddies are present.
'What Love Can Do'-Catchy hook. Some nice guitar work. Other than the "sunny" lyrics, this wouldn't have sounded out of place on 'Magic', musically.
'This Life'-Some critics will say this one's overproduced. I disagree. If anything, more of the Beach Boys type harmonies would have been welcomed. Wait'll you here this intro. It takes the layered sound that they were shooting for on 'Girls in their Summer Clothes' to a whole other level. In fact, the music on this is so much like the Beach Boys, it ain't even funny. Great song, and something different.
'Good Eye'-Now I know why Bruce counts Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters as some of his all time favorite singers. Bruce does the Delta Blues here. He's found a place for that fuzzbox vocal that first showed up on the D&D tour for "Reason to Believe". This one's awesome, and another musical departure.
'Tomorrow Never Knows'-Steve Earle doesn't sound this much like Steve Earle anymore.
'Life Itself'-I've been playing this one over and over for the past couple of weeks now. I love the jingle jangle Byrds sound they're getting out of the guitars on the breaks. Yet another musical stretch.
'Kingdom of Days'-Another one about 'time', and it's effect on our lives. Use it wisely. This one sounds like a lot of the stuff on 'Magic' as well.
'Surprise, Surprise'-This might be my least favorite so far. Nice hook, though.
'Last Carnival'-This one had to have been written with Danny Federici in mind. If you're a long time E Street Band fan, this one'll put a lump in your throat.
'The Wrestler'-Thanks to Mickey Rourke for asking for a song for "The Wrestler". Otherwise, we might never have gotten this one. Great. Very somber. But, danged if I ain't ever seen a one legged dog making it's way down the street. Maybe two legs, or three, yeah, but, a one legged dog? I'm going to youtube now.
"WOAD", in my opinion, is yet another sonic and lyrical masterpiece from the Earth Shakin', Soul Stirrin', Tongues a Waggin', Tail's a Rockin', mighty Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I might add that you can hear Federici all over the place on this whole album. I've loved most all of Bruce's stuff over the years, and the "Tunnel of Love" album was no exception, but, I remember when it came out, I searched frantically for any sign of "the band" in there, and it just wasn't happening for me. Little did we know back then...
Free Music Review: Bruce's Magic carries over
Hit: 4 Stars
Perhaps America's premier rock performer and songwriter, Bruce Springsteen released his 2009 album "Working on a Dream" newly energized by Barack Obama's election and supported by well-received performances at the presidential inauguration and Super Bowl halftime show. The thirteen track effort is another strong record of wide-eyed rock songs with the E-Street Band. "Working on a Dream" does not immediately hit as the band's previous efforts The Rising and Magic did, but further listens prove that it is more than a worthy companion to its predecessors.
Along with saxophonist Clarence Clemons, guitarists Steven Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren, drummer Max Weinberg, bassist Gary Tallent, pianist Roy Bittan, violinist Soozie Tyrell, and Bruce's versatile wife Patti Scialfa, producer Brendan O'Brian is back at the helm with his "wall of sound" approach that proved divisive among longtime fans on Magic. However, I find that once again his techniques are well-suited to the Boss' songwriting and the result is a compilation of clean, full-sounding tracks. While similar in substance and style to Magic, the latent heaviness of the Bush era is abandoned in favor of a lighthearted optimism at the dawn of Obama's presidency. Bruce is poetic and philosophical as his fans have come to expect, especially in his new millennium recordings, and the songwriting is often excellent.
Opener "Outlaw Pete" is an 8-minute epic the likes of which Bruce has not approached before: an Old West tale of crime and death that is wildly entertaining. "My Lucky Day" and the title track are both upbeat winners, but "Queen of the Supermarket" almost seems like a parody, chronicling an infatuation with a check-out girl. "What Love Can Do" is an obvious standout, opening like a Springsteen classic ("There's a pillar in the temple where I carved your name / There's a soul sitting sad and blue / Now the remedies you've taken are all in vain / Let me show you what love can do..."). Bruce's songwriting and the band shine on this gem. "Good Eye," a solid folk song that sounds like a leftover from We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, and the light, charming "Tomorrow Never Knows" precede another standout, "Life Itself," which is lyrically the album's finest. The ballad "Kingdom of Days" and the heartfelt ode to former band member Danny Federici "The Last Carnival" are excellent, and the album closes with a real highlight, the bonus track and theme song to Mickey Rourke's film "The Wrestler," a wonderful song the likes of which only Springsteen could concoct and execute.
"Working on a Dream" may not be remembered as fondly as The Rising and Magic, but I am confident that fans will find more than enough to like about it to hold it in esteem with its wonderful predecessors. In a very short window, Bruce again put together another strong set that sounds great both on record and in concert. I highly recommend "Working on a Dream" to anyone who has been affected by Bruce's brilliance over his career now spanning four decades.
Free Music Review: Springsteen and the E Street Band are still the best but...
Hit: 4 Stars
Hi,
I appreciate this new release which seep notes that remind me the music of genius like Beach Boys, Byrds, Beatles, Roy Orbison and Phil Spector, notwithstanding it seems to be the first album where melodies and sounds are so overwhelming as regards to the lyrics which sometimes simply express a generic optimistic hope that people will make a U-bolt and take complete different roads concerning main issues which currently concern USA and the whole world.
But also personal relationships and the passage of time are not neglected here and permeate some majestic songs like Kingdom of Days, This life, What love can do and Life itself.
Anyway anytime I come near to the end I feel a pang in my heart, and Surprise surprise is not sweet enough for me to bear the sadly, gloomy and haunting The Last Carnival, sang fondly like the last bittersweet tribute to magic E Street organist Danny Federici. Never forget him and all dreams he gave (and still donate) me. Thanks Danny for all you have done !
Presumably the Boss is at his very best on the album-closing, Golden Globe-winning "The Wrestler," great lyrics on a touching sound carpet where acoustic guitar and piano chords wonderfully interlace.
Springsteen powerful, raw voice during Outlaw Pete blow me away, it reminds me past masterpieces where he used to shout out his rage and disillusion, also great are follower My lucky day and Working on a dream. In the complex a strong album, the sound is a little bit better than Magic but still not completely satisfactory, hope next E Street release will bring back the Big Man, his terrific sax solo are nearly absent here. Also hope to breath soon some of the old fire, in the meanwhile I'll go and see them live. See you there.
Greetings from Italy, ciao Raffaello