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: #162 in Music
• Released on: 2007-12-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Single

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

Album Description
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.

Customer Reviews

Bruce is Magic!
This album is PURE MAGIC! "The Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is such a perfect summer song! Makes me long for summer, and the Jersey Shore!

I love it!!
This album is wonderful!! The Boss sounds as great as ever, and he proves once again that he still has a lot to say. My only regret is that I didn't buy it sooner! "Living in the Future" is a kick, "Radio Nowhere" says what I think a lot of people are thinking. Just a wonderful CD all the way around!

What's Magic is that the Boss is still making music like this
Well, saying this is the Boss' best work is quite superlative. Saying "Magic," is a quality album that sounds fresh for any artist regardless of age (but Bruce is turning 60) is more accurate. Here's where I'm coming from. I caught Bruce and the E Streeters twice mind you on the Born In the USA tour and listened to his three or four CD live album countless times. My whole family to include my 60's (age not era mind you) parents, brother, and my two kids are big Boss fans, but I'll not blindly rush to heap praise on "Magic," just because the Boss did it. There are moments here that equal some of his better work but as a whole I'd have to say it falls in the middle of the pack...ahead of Lucky Town and that other forgettable album that came out at the same time, but definitely behind the Boss's best, "The Rising," and "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

"Magic" starts off with a kick in "Radio Nowhere," the fairly ubiquitous pop rocking rave-up. There are pleasant moments throughout but the album's highlights (besides Radio Nowhere) are the absolute driving and mad "The Last To Die." It goes, "blood will spill and hearts will break, who'll be the last to die for a mistake," and by listening to the chorus it sounds like Bruce may be making some social commentary about the Iraq war but when you listen to the bridges, it might be about something else. Bruce spares no punches in concert about the subject of "Magic," another of the album's highlights. "I got shackles on my wrist / Soon I'll slip 'em and be gone / Chain me in a box in the river / And I'll rise singin' this song / On the road the sun is sinkin' low / There's bodies hangin' in the trees / This is what will be, This is what will be" Dark, Bruce, dark.

Just when you go and think Bruce has lost all faith he produces another of the album's highlights in "Long Walk Home." Something about these lyrics leaps right out at me and grabs me by the heart, "Here everybody has a neighbor / Everybody has a friend / Everybody has a reason to begin again / My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town / It's a beautiful place to be born / Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone...means certain things are set in stone / Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't" There goes Bruce believing in our hometown again, believing in beginning again, even though it seems he's temporarily lost faith in some of our nation's policies.

This is very good Bruce which on any day is better than 90% of the stuff out there. After all these years, the man and his group of merry-makers from the Jersey shore are still relevant, are still fresh. But don't go into this thinking this is the best Bruce. That's a hard row to hoe my friend. Get it now...you must have a little magic in your life. --MMW