Album Review: Bruce Springsteen - Magic (4/5)

I bought this album in anticipation it would be nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy Award. That it was passed over came as a surprise to me and the pundits, although, I suppose not to the music industry itself, since they didn't vote for it. Still, while this is not my typical listening fare, I ended up liking it quite a bit, for it is a classy, if not classic, rock affair that blends upbeat music with brooding lyrical themes.

"Radio Nowhere" kicks off the collection with a jolt of fuzzy electric guitar and prominent drums, getting an infusion of blaring horns at the bridge. While the music is upbeat, the lyrics tell another story--one of disconnection and disillusionment, explicitly from the music on the radio, but implicitly from life as well. "You'll Be Comin' Down" similarly contrasts upbeat instrumentation with a dark lyric, this time about the fleeting nature of happiness. Joyous-sounding "Livin' in the Future" combines its rock swagger with such uplifting couplets as "The earth it gave away, the sea rose toward the sun. I opened up my heart to you it got all damaged and undone."

"Your Own Worst Enemy" changes course a bit, turning down the volume and adding a sharp string instrumentation. It's also vaguer lyrically, although (no surprise) that worst enemy is yourself. It's one of my favorites, as is "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," which manages (for awhile) to actually be both uplifting in tone and theme. Then there is a brief acknowledgement of lost love, and you know this song has its dark side too.

Harmonica begins "Gypsy Biker," which returns Springsteen to a common setting, small town America, to explore the pain of losing a soldier-brother to war, the storyteller turning to drugs to deal with the despair. The small town setting is also key to "Long Walk Home, " conveying that place as once welcoming but now lonely, suffering from disillusionment. It doesn't take a genius to know that driving "Last to Die" is also about the disillusioned America of post 9/11.

Many of these songs are big and loud, even when exploring dark personal territory. So when Springsteen finally slows down the tempo on meditative "Magic," it's a nice change of pace. The strings and acoustic guitar track is brief, but lovely. "Devil's Arcade" also touches on the impact of the Iraq war, told from the point of view of a woman whose soldier-lover has returned from war alive but damaged. It is a potent highlight, building from a gentle strings beginning to an angry guitar-filled middle, with Bruce repeating "the beat of your heart."

Bruce Springsteen is frequently hailed as a living legend. A "genius" of good ol' rock-n-roll. It is also said though that geniuses are often unhappy people, plagued by the knowledge of things the rest of us can never know. Springsteen delivers both with Magic. Listen to its surface and you hear a confident arena-ready rock album. Dig into the lyrical themes of war, loss, disillusionment, and strained relationships, and it tells another darker story.

Best: Devil's Arcade, Your Own Worst Enemy, Girls in Their Summer Clothes, Radio Nowhere, Magic, Livin' in the Future