Bruce Springteen - Wrecking Ball - (Columbia; 2012)

Bruce Springteen - Wrecking Ball - (Columbia; 2012)

By Charlie Woodley; March 4th, 2012

Rating: 8.3

Bruce Springsteen and I have had something of a like/tolerate relationship over the past three-plus decades. Two major exceptions to the rule have been the thoroughly enjoyable We Shall Overcome - The Seeger Sessions (2006) and his haunting acoustic four-track recorder masterpiece Nebraska (1982). Sure, I really like Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town and The River, but as someone who really wasn't a fan at the time, I didn't connect with those albums upon their initial release. The oversaturation of Born in the USA certainly drove me away from Springsteen for the rest of the 80s and much of the 90s. It wasn't until the late-90s that I truly went back, found some great yard sale pick-ups, and delved into Bruce's catalog.

Since the near Michael Jackson-like success of Born in the USA, writing songs from the point of view of the everyman is a slippery slope to navigate when you've been blessed with the financial success Bruce has seen. But this is Bruce's passion, it's a part of who he is and he doesn't back away from it. As any great songwriter will tell you, you write what you know. With the world, particularly the United States, teetering on the brink of financial collapse, Bruce being Bruce had almost no choice about his subject matter. This was the album that was expected of him. He HAD to write Wrecking Ball.

In much the same way that 'Tattoo' presented us with an eyebrow-raising glimpse into the forthcoming Van Halen record earlier this year, Springsteen gave us 'We Take Care of Our Own' as his advance single to the same raised eyebrows. The song is Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' for a new era, but feels slightly outdated namechecking the Superdome in a none too subtle reference to the destruction brought forth by Hurricane Katrina. But just as the Reagan administration mistakenly adopted 'Born in the USA' as a flag-waving, chest-pounding anthem for the '84 re-election campaign, 'We Take Care of Our Own' takes the same cynical view of a nation that has lost its way, surely to be adopted and misunderstood by political candidates this coming election year. It's a powerful arena-ready anthem without the overblown bluster of the studio version of 'Born in the USA'. 'Easy Money' immediately recalls the hillbilly folk-rock vibe of the Seeger Sessions . A song not quite condoning crime as a desperate alternative to these economic times, but seemingly suggesting it as a viable option. ("I got a Smith & Wesson 38 / I got a hellfire burning and I got me a date / Got me a date on the far shore / Where it's bright and sunny / I'm goin' on the town tonight, lookin' for easy money.") 'Shackled and Drawn' continues the folk singalong and Springsteen sells it all with conviction, shedding the added weight of the 'E' Street Band. Bruce picks up the 'Occupy Wall Street' theme here imploring ("Gambling man rolls the dice / Workingman pays the bill / It's still fat and easy up on Banker's Hill.")

'Jack of All Trades' is part hymnal, part New Orleans funeral march which nicely precedes this album's bonechilling reimagining of 1984's 'My Hometown' on 'Death to My Hometown'. This is as "Pogues" as Bruce will probably ever get, a call to arms with a bagpipe-like melody line cutting the verses in which he describes the destruction of a town, not through traditional warfare, but through financial warfare. ("No powder flash blinded the eye / No deathly thunder sounded / But just as sure as the hand of God / They brought death to my hometown.") On 'This Depression' -- what would be a typical Bruce ballad is given a chilling sonic palette by guest Tom Morello. Morello's guitar noise and hum adding a dramatic flair, helping to create a song worthy of pause and self-reflection.

The title track harkens back to more familiar territory with call and response choruses and Jersey references throughout in Bruce's take on the destruction of Giants Stadium. 'You've Got It' takes a slight misstep as it recalls a slowed down version of the melody line from 'Glory Days'. 'Rocky Ground' (featuring Michelle Moore on vocals and Bruce's first foray into the world of Hip-Hop) finds an area between Gospel and lite R&B and manages to pull it off. Although Bruce is outside of his comfort zone here, it doesn't show as he manages to strengthen Ms. Moore's performance as he takes 2nd mic for much of the song. Moore again is the guest vocalist on 'Land of Hope and Dreams' which opens in a virtual mish-mash of styles and musical genres -- a true musical melting pot of Twenty-tens America. We're treated here one last time to what is perhaps the final performance and unmistakable sound of the late Clarence Clemons, his saxophone coaxing the most out of Bruce one more time. If the hair on your arm doesn't stand on end, then you're not breathing. The album closes with Bruce leading the way with his acoustic guitar on 'We Are Alive' and settles into a country-tinged affair, complete with a handclapping hoedown just before the final chorus.

When an artist is leaving a label for another, often times there are obligation filling albums that must be completed before that transition can take place. This is as close to an obligation album that long-time Columbia artist Springsteen has ever had. Only it wasn't an obligation to Columbia, it was an obligation to the American public. This isn't Bruce the multi-millionaire catering to the occupying 99%, this is simply Bruce writing what he knows. In these times of great financial uncertainty, with Americans questioning their leaders and their complicit actions with Big Business like never before, revolutionaries must step forward. Bruce never wanted to be the one leading the charge, but he certainly wanted to be the one to pen the soundtrack.