Some Words on Springsteen

60 minutes featured Springsteen tonight. He has a new album out and a new tour. It's his first of both with his old group, the E Street Band since The Rising. Most of the reviews I've seen in print and on the net have been more than kind to Bruce's new album Magic. I've read the word masterpiece more than a few times in reference to the album. It is a return to the louder, more anthem sound of his previous records.

When an artist makes it big he usually is associated with a certain sound, a certain style of writing and performing. It's this style that his fans expect him to continue to delve into as he creates more new music. When an artist decides that he wants to branch out and try something new and different he risks losing his core audience. Bruce has been successful with moving onto new ventures in his sound and maintaining his core audience.

I know as a listener I look forward to Bruce's solo albums, when he performs with a minimum of instruments and his mood darker. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed his Seeger Sessions, songs that he had no hand in writing. Now Bruce has returned to his E Street days. But even saying that it's not the same. He's taken what's he learned during the writing of his solo discs and decided to use a more political edge on the new album. Already, and during the 60 Minutes segment, the talking heads are stressing the fact that Bruce is very political on this album and speaks out against the current regime in office. They're all but daring the Conservative Right to go after him.

For me Magic is a great album. I hate to say it's a return to greatness, because I enjoyed his albums without the E Street Band also. But it's nice to hear an album that doesn't sound too far from some of his former E Streeter albums.

Watching the 60 Minute segment I was reminded that there are some artists that mean more than just their current hit song. Some artists can move us, can actually change lives. Bruce is one of those artists. Just listening to him on the television show I could feel a tingle go through me. I've went to a lot of concerts over the years and enjoyed a lot of good music. But there's that rare time when you feel like there's more going on than just a singer singing his songs. You feel a connection to the other people in the audience, you feel a connection to the singer up there on the stage, you feel like the music you're listening to is more than just words and notes, that they can actually change the world, make things better. I've written of it before, and I'm sure I'll write of it again in the future, but I felt this at the last Bruce concert I went to. It was the first Jazz Fest after Katrina. When Bruce sang "My City of Ruins" the entire audience had their hands in the air and tears streaming down their face. Listening to Bruce that day we came together as a city again and realized that New Orleans would come back.