| Product: |
Devils & Dust - Bruce Springsteen |
| Date: |
26/10/05 (84 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Springsteen stripped down and bare
Disadvantages: None I can think of.
Acoustic And Steel Guitars, Bottlenecks And A Harmonica. But It’s Still Rock ‘N’ Roll.
Performer – Bruce Springsteen
The Album – Devils & Dust.
Released 2005 on the Columbia/Sony label
Col 520000 2
£9.77 from Morison’s
‘The Boss’ stripped down and basic. And for his troubles he gets a Parental Guidance sticker slapped onto the front of this cd. Apparently this is the first time for him. Well done.
I’ve never been a great fan of Bruce Springsteen. I don’t know why, but can only put it down to the exuberance of youth. Preferring to follow a more hard rock path. However, age, and a realisation that there is more to rock music than a basic 12 bar, has led me to the altar of the great Bruce.
And what a way to get hooked! Devils & Dust is a superb piece of Americana stripped down to its’ basic elements. Sprinsteen may be getting on now, but he still is able to show the young guns (men and women) chasing his coat tails a thing or two and this album leaves them standing with ease. Licking the dust of his heels from their lips.
He’s given the E Street Band a break and gone this alone. But the voice is still the same and the song writing is the best I’ve heard from anyone in a long, long time. Each track on Devils & Dust is practically a blue print for a novel. The story telling within the confines of a song is superb; making sure that, on this record at least, none can be misinterpreted (remember Born In The USA, the most misconstrued rock song in rock history?).
So what do you get? Well, the whole project is nearly all acoustic giving Devils & Dust a truly modern folk feel. But it’s still a rock n roll record. It’s the kind of thing that you would get Steve Earle trying for. The playing is raw and the vocals are rough edged, raw, making the songs sound immediate, almost as if they’ve been written whilst the events that inspired each are being played out. I don’t usually like to hear the steel guitar as it invokes memories of the sort of C&W that my mum used to listen to. On this, however, it’s perfect, because even if you know these songs are about America, the addition of the steel with the acoustic slide and harmonica sets the notion in steel reinforced concrete.
And the songs? This is music for the workingman, the songs are documents of the every day miseries, broken dreams, failures, fuck-ups and persistent hopes that get to us all. But, don’t expect a Dylanesque protest album. No, what you get is songs about the way it is, there’s no complaining or wishing things to change, just songs that speak of regrets and the sort of dogged determination, and hopes, to get things right next time that only the blue collar man has experienced.
And this makes the songs even more remarkable, given Bruce’s’ bank balance. It must be many years since he could sit on street corners and watch the world go by, or go sleep under the stars with the wife and kids. He’s either got a good memory, a good imagination or some on e to speak to. When you listen to this album you can see the characters jump into your mind, in clear view. You feel for these people. You see the tired eyes and the frayed jeans and the worn out boots. Man, you’d be hard pressed to find writing this emotive in a best selling book.
Standout tracks? Well there really are all standout but Devils & Dust, Reno, Long Time Comin’, Maria’s Gold (very Faces) and The Hitter all grabbed me first time around, the rest got me on the second.
And the package you get is top notch too. This came as a double disk set with the second disc containing a DVD recording of five songs from the album, and the whole album repeated in 5.1 sound. For £9.97, you cannot go wrong. The live songs were filmed in an old house and just have Bruce on his own, playing an acoustic guitar, singing and blowing a harmonica. Unfortunately they’ve dubbed in drums and bass and they really should’ve left it alone. But, even The Boss can’t get it right all of the time now can he?
If, like me you’ve never heard a lot of Springsteen before, then make this the album to start with. I really cannot say enough good about it. A fabulous piece of American acoustic rock music and sets the benchmark for all those wannabes desperately clinging onto his shirt tails.
Enjoy
Summary: Absolutely superb Americana.
|
|
