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Review: Springsteen and E Street Band's 'Magic'

BY GLENN GAMBOA | glenn.gamboa@newsday.com

October 2, 2007

Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt perform on NBC's 'Today Show' at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. (Getty Images Photo / September 28, 2007)

Like so many struggling businesses these days, the music industry is all about outsourcing.

When a veteran hits a rough sales patch or an artistic drought, the fixers pair them up with younger artists or hot producers to modernize the sound and raise the radio-friendliness. After all, it's generally easier to renovate a previous star than to build a whole new one.

Well, Bruce Springsteen is one boss unwilling to outsource his own issues. He and the E Street Band can handle it all internally. On their new album, "Magic" (Columbia), they inject energy into their classic sound by embracing elements of the alternative rock movement - which was, in part, a rebellion launched against Springsteen's domination in the "Dancing in the Dark" '80s. And it certainly seems to agree with them.

Not only is "Magic" Springsteen's most accessible album, start to finish, since 1987's "Tunnel of Love," it is closest thematically to "Born in the U.S.A.," a slice of American life and its mix of ups and downs. The first single, the straightforward rocker "Radio Nowhere," is a strong example of Springsteen's game plan for "Magic," with its '80s alternative rock guitar riffs and its search for desire.

It's a switch from his recent work, where Springsteen has had more pressing concerns. "The Rising" was his attempt to make sense of the Sept. 11 attacks and do his part to begin the healing process. "Devils and Dust" was his way of protesting the direction the country was heading, as well as the war in Iraq. And "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" was a way to show how history could be applied to the present.

On "Magic," all that is pushed aside. It's about more leisurely pursuits - about "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," working for your love and all that entails.

If the previous albums were about effecting change in the country, "Magic" takes that change as a given. That allows Springsteen the chance to focus on the music again, as well as the lyrics. It lets him experiment with new sounds (well, new-to-him sounds) to update his more classic themes.

"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" sounds like Ray Davies filtered through Morrissey's "Everyday Is Like Sunday," right down to the super-detailed lyrics and dramatic delivery. "Last to Die" - seemingly the only war-related song with its chorus of "The last to die for a mistake" - jangles like "Fables of the Reconstruction"-era R.E.M. And there's a bit of U2, circa "Rattle and Hum," in "Gypsy Biker."

That said, "Magic" sounds like Springsteen and the E Street Band. There are lots of Clarence Clemons sax solos to hammer home emotional points. There are lots of Little Steven Van Zandt garage-rock guitar riffs. And the harmonies of Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren and Van Zandt are as gorgeous as ever - especially in the Beach Boys-tinged "Your Own Worst Enemy."

Sonically, "I'll Work For Your Love," with its piano opening and front-and-center harmonica, could have been on "Born to Run." But lyrically, it shows how his point of view has changed. Drenched in religious imagery, "I'll Work for Your Love" is about the quest for salvation, not simply an escape.

These days, it's not enough just to run, but to have something to run to. On his most recent tours with the E Street Band, Springsteen would go into preacher mode, testifying about how rock and roll could save your soul.

The guy singing "Magic" has already been saved and he's coming back for the rest of us.

MAGIC. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band go back to the future. In stores Tuesday. Grade: A.

Springsteen's top-selling albums

"Born in the USA" (1984) -- 15 million

"Live: 1975-85" (1986) -- 13 million

"Born to Run" (1975) -- 6 million

"The River" (1980) -- 5 million

"Greatest Hits" (1995) -- 4 million

"Darkness on the Edge of Town" (1978) -- 3 million

"Tunnel of Love" (1987) -- 3 million

SOURCE: Wikipedia.org