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Springsteen Recaptures That Old E Street 'Magic'

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By CURTIS ROSS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 5, 2007

For some time now, Bruce Springsteen has made albums that are more admirable than enjoyable. His lyrical gift never left. If anything, it grew, allowing him to create vivid and realistic characters and scenarios far removed from his Jersey shore home.

But the music started feeling like an afterthought. The mighty E Street Band was muted or dispensed with entirely. His melodies and arrangements became merely functional, as if any deviation from four plain chords would somehow render him less serious.

Well, Springsteen either has regressed or grown out of that sort of thinking, because 'Magic' is the most exciting, visceral and just plain alive-sounding album he's made since 1980's 'The River.'

The E Street Band has finally been allowed to shine in the studio again. Listen to 'I'll Work for Your Love' - Max Weinberg pounds the drums, pianist Roy Bittan colors the melody in a deeper shade of soul, the guitars chime and jangle and, well, it just plain feels good in a way Springsteen records haven't in a long time.

'Girls in Their Summer Clothes' rekindles his fascination with Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound' dynamics, while the lyrics view The Kinks' 'Waterloo Sunset' through shades swiped from an Asbury Park stall.

Lyrically, Springsteen is as sharp as ever. The Iraq War's continuing legacy of blood and bitterness is evident in many of the songs, made even more powerful by the unlikely musical settings - 'Last to Die' is a bracing road anthem while 'Livin' in the Future' is jaunty R&B along the lines of 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,' but contains some of the most chilling lyrics Springsteen has written.

But it's the sound that seduces you and ensures you'll listen again and again until the lyrics sink in. There are touches of sheer magic here: The strings-and-piano intro to 'Your Own Worst Enemy' is worthy of the Left Banke; a bed of synthesized strings, Nils Lofgren's guitar squalls and Weinberg's John-Bonham-with-a-broken-heart pounding rides 'Devil's Arcade' into a stormy heaven.

Download this: 'Your Own Worst Enemy'

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