Wrecking ball

One of the things that I'm trying to do is listen to albums that I buy. That may sound a bit daft, but my iTunes library is littered with albums that I've bought, because it's so easy to do it in the digital age. Then I have maybe, only listened to it  once, or worse still I forget that I bought it and find it days, weeks or months later and then I can't be bothered to make the effort!

This week I bought the latest Bruce Springsteen album, Wrecking Ball, and it has been on heavy rotation* ever since.

Here's what I think. Every so often, Springsteen nails the current mood in the USA (as it appears to me in England!), he did it with "Born in the USA", then again with "The Rising" (post 9/11), then the Seeger sessions tapped into the rich vein of American roots music and now "Wrecking Ball" is his view on a post Occupy world.

It starts with "We take care of our own", an anthemic rocker which puts all the markers down. Bruce is angry and has a message for you and it will not be subtle. Great stuff.

The album also returns to the music of the Seeger Sessions with plenty of accordion, fiddle and bits of brass.

Subjects covered include, being shackled to our lives which are going nowhere, (Shackled and Drawn), how as the man of the house the writer will do anything to make ends meet (Jack of all trades), that our towns have been stripped bare (Death to my Hometown) and how in this depression, love is what will get you through (This depression).

Half way through Bruce drops in "Wrecking ball" his tribute to the demolition of Giants stadium, which works on a number of levels in the current climate. There's a great video of him playing it in Giants stadium which you can watch here.

The second half starts the climb back out of the abyss. "Rocky ground" is about as urban as Bruce gets, with a brief RAP,. It's about faith and doubt and is full of religious symbolism. This is followed by an old song "Land of hopes and dreams" which was written 10 years or so ago and was part of his live show at that time. It fits perfectly and features probably the last recorded sax solo by Clarence Clemons, Bruce's  "big man" who died last year and who gets a great side of liner notes on the album.

"We are alive" has a cowboy feel to the music and deals with the fact that after we die, we are alive! (I think). And that's it!

Although it's not as the extended version has two more songs, the first of which Swallowed UP (in the belly of the Whale), takes its theme from the Biblical story of Jonah. But when Bruce sings the refrain "we've been swallowed up" it suddenly works on a number of levels. Is he referring to America's world position, the plight of the man of the street, Christianity in a secular world or the music industry in the digital age? Who knows but it's very haunting.

Finally another older song, American Land, which in case we wondered is why we he loves America. This was written around the times of the Seeger Sessions and again featured in his lives shows so it's well worn already. A hooting, singing, twirling finale, which you see being sung in bars on Independence Day.

Overall a real return to form and I wish I could get to see him this summer but it's unlikely, he's only playing four dates here!

* refers to a time when we used play records on a record player!