Albums of the Year 2019: Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars

The Boss led a bumper year for veteran rockers

Now the first generation of real rock stars are finishing their fifth recording decade, the question presents itself: what should a rocker do when their career has gone on much longer than they'd planned? 2019 came up with some excellent answers. Some old-timers continued to play loud, others grew more mellow. But one thing they all had in common was that their music journeyed deep into the imagination. 

Blinded by the Light review – flawed but feelgood

★★★ BLINDED BY THE LIGHT Flawed but feelgood

Bruce Springsteen's blue collar anthems fuel a novel addition to the music biopic

Filmmakers have an obsession with the music world that is beginning to seem unhealthy. In quick succession we’ve had two Abba musicals, biopics of Freddie Mercury and Elton John, A Star is Born with Lady Gaga and the Beatles fantasy Yesterday, most of which feel pretty B-side. 

CD: Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars

★★★★ BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - WESTERN STARS The Boss shows his smooth side

The Boss shows his smooth side

Nothing can quite prepare you for Western Stars, Springsteen's homage to classic artists like Glen Cambell and Burt Bacharach. It's not just the presence of horns and strings. What really leaves you open-mouthed is the voice. Gone is the trademark sand and grit, and in its place, we get an effortless-yet-weary, country croon.

It's all a far cry from the Boss's work with the E Street Band. The musical arrangements hark straight back to a golden age of orchestral pop and songs like "Wichita Lineman". Melodies swoop, and strings rise. There are sad muted horns and tinkles of electric piano. When the strings recede, underneath are country guitars.

The whole album is soaked in the early Seventies. This is a world of long distances, loneliness and, above all, nostalgia. The songs are populated with broken-hearted drifters and worn-out has-beens. Like the faded actor in the title track reduced to boring strangers in motel bars. Or the physically broken stuntman on "Drive Fast" who reminds you of Springsteen's "The Wrestler" from 2008. The difference, of course, is in the delivery. Gliding strings make the stuntman's tale feel yearning rather than desolate. 

Other songs are simply sumptuous. The soaring vocals on "There Goes My Miracle" sound almost like the Walker Brothers. And yet, it still feels deceptively weighty. By locating the songs in a place just out of reach, Springsteen taps into universal feelings of ageing and longing. The album's climax, "Chasin' Wild Horses" is as powerful as anything he's ever done. 

What Springsteen purists will make of Western Stars remains to be seen. Some may consider it a curiosity. Others, no doubt, will be convinced that the Boss should spend his time alternating between albums that sound a bit like Nebraska and Born to Run. But even rock stars need to mellow out. Springsteen is now almost 70. Surely, projects like this and his recent Broadway residency are exactly the sort of thing he should be doing. 

@russcoffey

 

 Overleaf: find the lyric video for "Hello Sunshine"

Springsteen on Broadway, Netflix review - one-man band becomes one-man show

★★★★ SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY, NETFLIX The Boss hits the Great White Way

An emotional trip into the mind of New Jersey's patron saint

When Bruce Springsteen’s one-man show opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on New York’s West 48th Street in October last year it was only supposed to run for six weeks. This being Springsteen, however, demand proved almost limitless, so the season was extended twice, and the Boss (as he doesn't like being called) takes his last bow on 15 December.

Bruce Springsteen: In His Own Words, Channel 4

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: IN HIS OWN WORDS, CHANNEL 4 Bio-doc that revealed The Boss's creative influences

Bio-doc that revealed The Boss's creative influences

A 90-minute biographical documentary about Bruce Springsteen, you may think, is for Springsteen fans only. But really anyone who is interested in fame, friendship, family relationships and the creative process will have enjoyed this – a revealing mix of personal testimony, The Boss reading from his recently released autobiography of the same title, Springsteen family home movies, and rarely seen footage of his early career.

Bruce Springsteen - High Hopes

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - HIGH HOPES The Boss looks to his past for inspiration

The Boss looks to his past for inspiration

As fans of Dylan’s Bootleg series will testify, “odds and ends” albums may require a small modification of expectations. High Hopes falls into a similar category: it’s a collection of 12 re-recordings, outtakes and covers of material that the Boss couldn’t find a home for in his previous 17 albums. Listeners may not find the experience especially consistent, but, still, there are some real nuggets here.

Much of this is down to guitarist Tom Morello. Last year, Morello toured with the E Street Band whilst Steve Van Zant was off acting. Chemistry developed between the Rage Against The Machine axe man and his new band leader, the upshot being an invite to lend his skills to the new recordings planned for this album. And, to a large extent, his presence has resulted in something both familiar and yet unexpected. “Harry’s Place” and “Heaven’s Wall” walk a line just across the street from Springsteen’s more traditional sound: an Eighties vibe distinct from Springsteen’s own. “American Skin (41 Shots)”, about the police shooting of a young immigrant, sounds even sadder than the live version you might know.

But, if some songs make you wonder why they didn’t make it onto earlier studio albums, others decidedly don’t. The most noticeable offender is the sledgehammer-subtle lead single (surely the jaunty “Just Like Fire Would” – another cover – would have worked better?) Worst are the outtakes from earlier albums. “Frankie Fell in Love” sounds ballsy at first but becomes turgid on further listens. “This is your Sword” is simply a little dull.

Ultimately, though, all this doesn’t matter. Some have suggested that the most remarkable thing here is “The Ghost of Tom Joad” which sounds like a straight mash-up between Rage Against The Machine and the Boss. Personally, I prefer the pastoral strings of “Hunter of Invisible Game”: a wonderful, bittersweet, uplifting, all-American sound. Pure Springsteen you might say. Except, as the publicity material rightly claims, there really wouldn’t have been any place for it anywhere else.

Overleaf: Watch the video for Springsteen's "High Hopes"

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Hard Rock Calling, Olympic Park

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND, HARD ROCK CALLING, OLYMPIC PARK Springsteen leads supersized E Street Band through marathon performance

Springsteen leads supersized E Street Band through marathon performance

"Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park" is a wonderfully grand name for the venue for this summer's Hard Rock Calling festival, but the reality doesn't quite match up. Rather than basking in the glory (and shiny new stadium architecture) of Mo and Jessica's triumphs from last summer, music fans found themselves a few hundred yards away on a drab swathe of stony wasteland, temporarily covered with artificial grass. Still, at least the sun blazed down and they'd got the beer tent sorted, with thirsty punters bundled in and out, several banknotes lighter, at unprecedented speed.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Three hours plus of old and new favourites from the Boss - and not a little sentimentality

When Clarence “Big Man” Clemons, the E Street Band’s charismatic saxophone player, died of stroke-related complications this time last year, there were those among us who wondered if we’d ever see the band together again. His on-stage interplay with Bruce Springsteen seemed to have become even more central to the greatest rock'n'roll show on earth since the band reformed proper in 1999, even if the knees that supported that magnificent frame could no longer hold out the length of shows that regularly topped the three-hour mark. That this year’s Wrecking Ball tour proudly bore the E Street name was something of a relief in that respect; that the tour itself has not failed to pick up glowing reviews as it travelled mainland Europe even more so.

That isn’t to say that the spectre of the Big Man didn’t loom as heavy over the Etihad as the cloud cover - “My City of Ruins”, hometown lament turned post-9/11 tribute, became something else entirely as the crowd roared its agreement to Springsteen’s “are you missing anybody?” refrain. There was only ever one person who could step into Clemons’ shoes: as his nephew Jake stepped forward to perform his first sax solo of the night the "Wee Man" proved that the reason why had as much to do with skill as sentimentality.

Away from the politics, those looking to forget the hard times had plenty to dance about

Sentimentality, as anybody who has ever had the privilege of seeing the E-Street Band’s live show will tell you, is not something that the Boss has ever shied away from: 30 songs culled from a career spanning 40 years neatly demonstrated rock music at its most powerful and transformative but also at its most schmaltzy and sheer fun. There’s a reason these stadium shows continue to attract an audience that has been there since the beginning - as well as, increasingly, their children and grandchildren: the boy plucked from the crowd to count the band back in on “Waiting on a Sunny Day” kept the rain clouds at bay for at least another half hour, and will doubtless remember it for the rest of his life.

Both the bombast of “Badlands” and “No Surrender”, the night’s opening double-header, and great storytelling songs like “Atlantic City” and “The River”, showed how relevant Springsteen’s earlier material remains today. A devastating “Jack of All Trades”, the song from the new album that most closely parallels the latter in structure and message, received as rapturous a reception as any of the old favourites as its writer re-established the importance of the protest song for a whole new generation.

Away from the politics, though, those looking to forget the hard times that have tightly squeezed old industrial heartlands on both sides of the Atlantic had plenty to dance about.The addition of a four-piece horn section and Cindy Mizelle’s gospel vocals entreating a packed stadium to “stand up and be counted tonight” made the southern rock elements that have always been prominent in Springsteen’s work even more apparent. There was also a treat in store for hardcore devotees in the form of the full Darkness on the Edge of Town-era intro to “Prove it All Night”, complete with piano and squealing guitars. Before “Land of Hope and Dreams” rolled around to present a magnificent set closer, it was no wonder the 62-year-old performer was hamming up exhaustion flat on his back on stage, a mischievous Little Steven only too happy to revive him with his “magic” sponge soaked in water.

At least, that’s where anywhere else would have ended the night - but the E-Street Band had another hour left in them. Jumping on top of the piano Springsteen performed what can only be described as the world’s most ineffectual strip-tease (damn those sleeves!) to reveal a Born in the USA-era grey t-shirt and taunt the newly falling rain with a celebratory sing-along “Thunder Road”. “Dancing in the Dark” saw two female audience members pulled from the crowd to recreate their own Courtney Cox-style fantasies and a riotous, ridiculous cover of “Twist and Shout” provided a magnificent finale.

But just before the end, there was a proper memorial to a missing family member. After introducing the second verse of “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”, the song that mythologises the first meeting between Springsteen and Clemons, as the important part, the frontman silenced the band while the crowd went wild for a minute-long montage of the Big Man as they remembered him best. It was Springsteen at his most sentimental, sure, but in that moment it was the perfect tribute - and the perfect conclusion to an incredible night.

Overleaf: "Prove It All Night" gets the '78 treatment in Barcelona, earlier on this tour

CD: Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball

Meet the new Boss. Not quite the same as the old Boss...

It’s a sign of Bruce Springsteen’s contribution to the canon of American rock music that we no longer spend time comparing his music to others. Springsteen’s problem tends to be living up to different versions of himself. 

It seems like every new album is hailed as a return to somebody’s favourite Springsteen, whether it’s acoustic confessional, balls-out stadium rock or great American storyteller. From what had been trailed of Wrecking Ball I was anticipating the return of the angry man-of-the-people, which is probably my favourite. Wrecking Ball has been billed as Springsteen's response to the effects of the global financial crisis, the soundtrack to the gulf between Occupy Wall Street and the big banks. Titles like “Shackled and Drawn”, “Easy Money” and “This Depression” plainly state its case, much as The Rising was a response to 9/11.

Yet it could all have gone so horribly wrong. You’ve probably heard “We Take Care of Our Own”, the album’s singalong opening hymn of solidarity. As statements of intent go it’s lyrically simple. Backed with uplifting piano, it's a bit Springsteen-by-numbers but, taken in context, introducing a mix of stylistic elements that come together to serve the album’s central themes, it’s unforgettable.

Oh, make no mistake: with lines like “when your whole world comes tumbling down all those fat cats will just think it’s funny” this album certainly presents an anger and political awareness that – dare I say it – makes the Obama-endorsing antics of Working on a Dream look like mere cheerleading. But it’s hopeful too, full of big choruses framed with gospel singalongs and elements of rootsy Americana learned from 2006’s Seeger Sessions material. “Death to My Hometown” is fighting talk presented as giddy celtic punk, and while a Springsteen-penned rap verse sounds horrendous on paper, Michelle Moore’s softer vocals and the song’s percussive loops deliver its redemptive message in a way that he has never attempted before. Purists will hate it – I disagree. 

“I’ve seen champions come and go, so if you’ve got the guts mister… bring on your wrecking ball.” The title track might be the song that brought down the old Giants Stadium in New York, but you could be forgiven for thinking that it's also a shoutout to a Bruce Springsteen who, almost 40 years since his debut, is as relevant, on-message and as willing to take risks as ever. And as a saxophone solo from the late Clarence Clemons reminds us, there’s nothing wrong with looking back.

Overleaf: "Wrecking Ball" performed live

theartsdesk Q&A: Musician Bruce Springsteen

TAD AT 5: A SELECTION OF OUR Q&A HIGHLIGHTS – Musician Bruce Springsteen

New Jersey's favourite son looks inwards and outwards in this vintage interview

It's a season of retrospection for Bruce Springsteen. New light has been thrown on his pivotal 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town with the release of The Promise, a double CD of out-takes and unreleased songs, alongside an expanded box set of CDs and DVDs telling the Darkness story in sound and vision. A version of Thom Zimny's documentary about the making of the album, included in the boxed release, was shown in Imagine on BBC One.

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