Magic (2007)
1. Radio Nowhere
2. You'll Be Comin' Down
3. Livin' in the Future
4. Your Own Worst Enemy
5. Gypsy Biker
6. Girls in Their Summer Clothes
7. I'll Work for Your Love
8. Magic
9. Last to Die
10.Long Walk Home
11.Devil's Arcade
12.Terry's Song
 
Talk to most diehard Springsteen fans,
and they swear by this one. This is the release that so many of
them have been waiting on since the mid 1980s. You see, the E Street
Band is back and, unlike The Rising, this
is not a concept album, yet just some straight ahead rockers - something
diehard fans have been wanting for a long long time.
Well, it is a collection of straight forward rockers. Some are great.
But there are a lot of them, no matter how many times I listen to them,
I just can't seem to see what the fuss is all about. There are so many
songs that sound like he's going through the motions, so many songs that
are indistinguishable from anything else here, that it just leaves me
feeling unaffected and lukewarm.
It starts of phenomenally. Two of the best songs lead off the album -
Radio Nowhere is perfect 21st century Springsteen. It's a
definite no pulled punches rocker, yet sounds mature enough to where it
distinguishes itself quite well from the "old" Springsteen. In other
words, great - but doesn't sound like anything else he's ever done.
You'll Be Comin' Down is the next track and follows in similar
fashion. It has just enough enhancements and new sounds to call it out as
unique enough to stand out apart his older recordings as well.
By the time the third track, Livin' in the Future arrives, things
start to go south. This is quite possibly the silliest song he's ever
done. O.K., it does sound like classic Springsteen, but the mood
has already been set in a different mold (as mentioned before),
so it seems out of place. Plus the lyrics are pretty stupid. You see,
times are too tough right now, and everything sucks but it's o.k. 'cause
we're not really here. See, we're in the future so we're not
really here'. Or something idiotic like that. A lot of the rest of the
album sounds too much like he's trying to sound like a 25 year old
again. I must repeat, a lot of people obviously like that about the
album, I just think he's mature enough to where he can sound fresh,
strong and "new" without having to replicate Born to Run or Darkness
on the Edge of Town.
There really is more "magic" hidden in all this, though. Girls in
Their Summer Clothes is one of his best songs ever that rightly
deserved the Grammy that it won. You can best describe it as Bruce
Springsteen meets The Beach Boys. A bit of a scary thought if you've
never heard the song, but trust me, it's incredible. Devil's
Arcade is the other outstanding track here. One wishes he would
have concluded the album with this piece as opposed to Terry's
Song which is a bit of bizarre obituary that doesn't do anything at
all. Whoever this "Terry" guy is, sadly - you really don't ever end up caring.
Well, the band seemed to be back for good now, and the tour was
incredibly successful. Fans like myself were happy he was still doing
what he did so well, and other fans thought he had recaptured his,
well.....magic.
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