Magic? Definitely (Magic - Bruce Springsteen)

Member Name: Wezzo

Product:	Magic - Bruce Springsteen
Date:	07/10/07 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A superb collection of songs - unrelentingly superb

Disadvantages: Not a huge fan of the packaging

Bruce Springsteen's sixteenth album, "Magic", was released in October 2007. As a huge fan of "The Boss", I was expecting a solid album - if anyone knows how to churn out albums of a consistently high quality, it's Bruce - but even I was not expecting an album quite as good as this.

Lead single and opening track "Radio Nowhere" is, perhaps surprisingly, one of the album's weakest tracks. Vaguely reminiscent of his earlier "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)" in its criticism of our increasingly vapid media, it's a solid rock song that will undoubtedly have your head bopping, but it's not outstanding - although the chorus ("This is radio nowhere / is there anybody alive out there?") is reasonably memorable.

But the second track, "You'll Be Comin' Down", is where the album really hits its stride. In my book, one of Bruce's all-time greatest standalone songs, it's home to an unabashedly nostalgic Wall-of-Sound background laden with chimes . The irresistibly catchy chorus of "You'll be comin' down now, baby / What goes around, it comes around and / You'll be comin' down" follows in that great Springsteen tradition of contrasting melancholy with cautious optimism; indeed, the song as a whole exudes a certain cautious optimism, the bouncing, hooky beat countering the often downbeat lyrics. It's an absolute blast.

"Livin' in the Future" is another superb cut. Reminiscent of "Hungry Heart" and "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out", lyrically it casts a wide net - from political disaffection ("Woke up election day / Skies gunpowder and shades of gray") to a lover's reassurance ("Don't worry darling, now baby don't you fret / we're living in the future and none of this has happened yet"). Like all of the best upbeat Springsteen tracks, the chorus is immediately memorable and immensely singable, and the odd sax solo from the supremely talented Clarence Clemons is the icing on a very sweet cake.

Things get a bit more downbeat with "Your Own Worst Enemy", the first track on the album that's not an all-out rock song. There's no downturn in quality though; the haunting refrain of "Your own worst enemy has come to to town" is delivered flawlessly by Springsteen, while the production - by oft-underrated Brendan O'Brien - is suitably dense but never overpowering.

"..Enemy" proves a nice segue into the ballad of "Gypsy Biker". Sounding rather like an outtake from "Devils and Dust", Springsteen puts his folk storytelling skills to the fore for the first time on the album, and it pays off. It builds from a sparse backing to a busy sonic landscape by the end;

"Girls In Their Summer Clothes" is up next - probably the album's second best track, after "You'll Be Comin' Down", though it's a very tough call. It's a simply fantastic song, with mid-tempo backing reminiscent of the Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds"; lyrically, it recalls both the obtuse description of "The Rising" and the sharp observation of "Greetings from Asbury Park NJ". Immensely catchy, as so much of the album is, it is perhaps as sonically textured as a Bruce song has been since "Born to Run".

"I'll Work For Your Love" sees Bruce fully return to the working-man persona he is best loved for. "I'll work for your love / What others may want for free", he reassures. It's another hook-laden track, with a lovely harmonica that recalls "Thunder Road", and some lovely vocal layering towards the end.

"Magic", the title track, is the album's only outright folk ballad song, in the sense that the arrangement remains sparse throughout. "Trust none of what you hear / And less of what you see", Springsteen warns, in the album's most overtly political song. Judged well, in terms of its point in the album's sequence, it's certainly among Springsteen's finer poetic tracks.

"Last to Die" follows, a rather more upbeat track, though still dramatic in tone ("Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break? / Who'll be the last to die for a mistake?"). Think somewhere between "Local Hero" and "The Price You Pay", though superior to both. It easily maintains the album's impressively high standards. "Long Walk Home" is similar, musically, and as the album's final foot-stomper, it pulls out all the stops and culminates in a rocking and rolling sonic bloom.

"Devil's Arcade" concludes the album proper. A slow-building, taut track, it recalls the political thread of earlier track "Magic", albeit more subtly ("Heroes are needed so heroes get made, somebody made a bet, somebody paid") and further displays the Boss' astute lyrical prowess.

The disc rounds out with an uncredited bonus track, which has been unofficially named "Terry's Song" by online fans. A heartfelt ballad about friend and co-worker of Springsteen Terry Magovern who passed away this summer, it's not a song you'd tend to play as part of the album if only due to the subject matter but it is certainly worth a few listens and is home to the beautifully mournful line "when they built you, brother, they broke the mould". As powerful and moving as you'd expect.

Thirty-five years into his career, and Bruce continues to surpass his own high standards. One of the criticisms levied at this album by the press is that it's not a cohesive unit, it's more simply a "collection of songs". Frankly, that doesn't matter a jot when the music is this brilliant. This is a superb achievement by anyone's standards, and is a reminder, were it needed, that Bruce is as relevant now as he ever was.

The album is released (in the UK at least) in digipak form: open the card cover and you are presented with a picture of Springsteen and the E Street Band. Behind one side of the picture there is a glossy lyrics booklet; behind the other side is the CD (which can be a bit of a pain to get out at first, but soon loosens up). The CD can be found online and in supermarkets in the £8-9 territory, standard for a new release. (Expect to pay a pound or two more in high street stores.)

Summary: Perhaps his best since 1980's "The River". Yes, it's that good.