Product Description

a music cd. classical rock

Magic, Bruce Springsteen's new studio recording and his first with the E Street Band in five years, is set for release by Columbia records on October 2, 2007. Produced and mixed by Brendan O'Brien, the album features eleven new Springsteen songs and was recorded at southern tracks recording studio in Atlanta, Ga.

Track Listing

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1507 in Music
• Released on: 2007-10-02
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Thirty-five years as a justifiable rock musician allows Bruce Springsteen an opinion on the state of over-the-air radio, and he takes it--and takes the medium to the woodshed on the ruthless "Radio Nowhere." The opening smash sets the tone, with the ageless Boss wondering, "Is there anybody out there?" before imploring, "I just want to hear some rhythm." Then, with E Street Band in tow, Springsteen goes on to retrace every step between here and Greetings from Asbury Park, hand-delivering more could-be, would-be hits than anything he's done since Born in the USA. Credit producer Brendan O'Brien for the wall of sound that backs "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," which sets the atmosphere for one of the great vocal performances by Springsteen, who plays the misfit "in the cool of the evening light" watching the girls "pass me by." With piano, glockenspiel, and infinite guitars, the rocker "I'll Work for Your Love" recalls The River, with Springsteen even settling for blue-collar hero in matters of the heart. "Livin' in the Future" could be an out-take from Darkness on the Edge of Town, with shades of Election Day blasting away with the boastful sax of Clarence Clemons and Little Steven's relentless backing vocals. There's even a hint of Nebraska on "Terry's Song," an earnest (and mostly solo) accolade with Springsteen acknowledging the death of a friend: "When they built you, brother/They broke the mold." The hidden track closes this unforeseen comeback, and for 48 minutes the nearly 60-year-old Bruce Springsteen sounds 35 again. --Scott Holter

Review
Thirty-five years as a justifiable rock musician allows Bruce Springsteen an opinion on the state of over-the-air radio, and he takes it--and takes the medium to the woodshed on the ruthless "Radio Nowhere." The opening smash sets the tone, with the ageless Boss wondering, "Is there anybody out there?" before imploring, "I just want to hear some rhythm." Then, with E Street Band in tow, Springsteen goes on to retrace every step between here and Greetings from Asbury Park, hand-delivering more could-be, would-be hits than anything he's done since Born in the USA. Credit producer Brendan O'Brien for the wall of sound that backs "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," which sets the atmosphere for one of the great vocal performances by Springsteen, who plays the misfit "in the cool of the evening light" watching the girls "pass me by." With piano, glockenspiel, and infinite guitars, the rocker "I'll Work for Your Love" recalls The River, with Springsteen even settling for blue-collar hero in matters of the heart. "Livin' in the Future" could be an out-take from Darkness on the Edge of Town, with shades of Election Day blasting away with the boastful sax of Clarence Clemons and Little Steven's relentless backing vocals. There's even a hint of Nebraska on "Terry's Song," an earnest (and mostly solo) accolade with Springsteen acknowledging the death of a friend: "When they built you, brother/They broke the mold." The hidden track closes this unforeseen comeback, and for 48 minutes the nearly 60-year-old Bruce Springsteen sounds 35 again. --Scott Holter --amazon editorial reviews

Customer Reviews

Why does it sound so bad??
I've bought every Bruce Springsteen album since Darkness the first day it was released so I'm not a newcomer to Bruce. This is a great collection of songs. Bruce says so much here musically and lyrically, but I have to agree with so many other people that the production is terrible. In listening to this cd a few times in my car I actually considered whether I needed better speakers; until I put in another cd which sounded perfectly fine. I listened to the album online last week through my cheap PC speakers. I loved it and was looking forward to listening to it in high fidelity. Apparently this will never happen unless a remastered version of this comes out many years from now. I find that this cd can not be turned way up without horrible distortion and it is actually tiring to listen to this for long periods of time. Great - a Springsteen cd that I can't crank up and listen to repeatedly. Contrast The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle (which was released a mere 34 years ago) with Magic and you'll find you're now waist deep in the Big Muddy.

Would've been a GREAT album but....
Don't get me wrong, this is a very good album with great song writing but I have to agree with others who have complained about the sound quality of the album. At first I thought I had screwed up the settings on my ipod but after I played the songs on my stereo with the same results, I was really disappointed. It's really a shame because with a good sound mixing job I think this would've been a truly great album. As it is now, I can barely listen to it without getting a headache.

All those great riffs and lyrics get buried in an avalanche of noise. I can only guess that this was done on purpose for some reason. I guess it does make the album seem more nostalgic but it comes at the cost of making the album painful to listen to.

My favorite song on the album is "Girls in their summer clothes." Like Bruce, I often look back on lost youth and yearn for those days again.

Magic & Mush
Yes, some "Magic" can be found on this cd but unfortunately that famous E-Street Band sound has been turned into a wall of mush. Bruce's vocals at times seem to be uninspired and somewhat forced and I wish it weren't so because I am a decades long Jersey fan. This cd is worth hearing but I'll be playing "The River" when I need my E-Street fix.