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Bruce Reaches Back For His Romantic Roots

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By CURTIS ROSS

cross@tampatrib.com

Published: January 29, 2009

Updated: 01/29/2009 03:04 pm

As Bruce Springsteen's lyrics began moving into the grim grown-up world, musical asceticism began to set in. The bold, brash arrangements of "Born to Run" were jettisoned for populist four-chord rock, and it made sense that Springsteen began alternating E Street albums with stark, acoustic-based solo efforts such as "Nebraska."

There were hints on 2007's "Magic" that Springsteen was back in love with The Beach Boys and The Raspberries. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was glorious, the sound of a rock stoic indulging his pop sweet tooth.

"Working on a Dream" shows how pivotal "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" was. It's rich, melodic, even ornate. But "Working" is more than that. It's Springsteen rediscovering the romantic streak that fueled his early work, as well as rewriting the rule book of what constitutes a Bruce Springsteen album.

Proof comes fast with opening track "Outlaw Pete," an 8-minute ballad about a mythical outlaw that is unlike anything he's done before and unlike anything else on the album and seems to have been placed at the start because no one could figure where else to put it.

The next track, "Lucky Day," sets the tone for the rest of the disc, with melodies reinforced throughout, and Springsteen and producer Brendan O'Brien giving themselves free rein to apply any bell or whistle - horns, strings, backwards guitar and, er, bells and whistles - necessary to make the track soar.

Springsteen's not denying his age: "We laugh beneath the covers and count the wrinkles and the grays" he sings on "Kingdom of Days." But "Working on a Dream" abounds with lyrical and musical joy Springsteen hasn't allowed himself in years.

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