In the world of music, Bruce Springsteen's reputation has gone beyond legend. It is slowly moving towards mythical, almost godlike. In many ways, he has transcended music to become the kind of man politicians come to, hat in hand, looking for an endorsement. The interesting part of this phenomenon has been watching Springsteen mature into the artist/man he has become.
Staring down the barrel of 60, Springsteen has become one of the most influential Americans alive. What is most interesting is that he has accomplished this without speaking directly to the media. Most of what Springsteen has come to stand for has been assumed, by his fans, through his music.
"Working On A Dream" arrives only a few days after the United States swears in its first African-American president. As the country embraces the new first family with hope, it is being told to brace for the worst. The economy, we are told, is going to get worse. True to form, Springsteen's album is full of songs where love and the dreams of common people are within site, but, somehow still just out of reach. For now, most of the characters in Springsteen's songs are in love with the idea of love itself. They also seem very willing to boldly embark on the journey ahead of them with their hearts open to simple pleasures and the promise of something new.
The album opens with the eight-minute opus "Outlaw Pete", and Springsteen and producer Brendan O'Brien conjure an old-west epic by employing every cinematic bit of sonic wizardry at their disposal. There are chugging string sections, church bells toll, harmonica wails, an onslaught of crescendos and Springsteen's own voice beckoning, "Can you hear me?" at the top of his lungs. As the song fades, Springsteen tears off a guitar solo that calls to mind his most passionate work since "Born To Run". The lyrics also call to mind the heavier themes that Springsteen has wrestled with throughout his career. He is a master at drawing characters that, for all their epic grandeur, can only sustain moments of temporary redemption. The most pressing dilemma is how people can hold onto their earthly desires without sacrificing the best parts of themselves as he sings about "..the burdens of the day" and "the weary hands of time". Clearly, he set about creating a sound that recalls the work he did in the seventies when his fascination with Phil Spector was at its peak.
But, its the way Springsteen's characters search for love where he hits his stride. In this way, the new songs pick up where "Magic" left off and pushes their themes further. One standout is "Queen Of The Supermarket", where Springsteen's lonely narrator pines for a checkout girl. The song is beautiful and it boasts Springsteen's love of sixties AM-radio without shame. Springsteen deftly captures the emotions of a man who longs for love in the simplest of terms, in the most common of places. "I'm in love with the Queen of the Supermarket/Though her company cap covers her hair/Nothing can hide the beauty waiting there/The beauty waiting there." As the song fades, it borrows its melodic feel from the best of the Beach Boys songbook.
Through all the studio-work, Springsteen and The E Street Band still manage to capture the immediate feel of their live shows. No song ever feels like it is merely the product of studio-engineering. For many, this energy is the strength of Springsteen's albums. It's an added bonus that his live shows are able to achieve the same musical raw power laced with an overwhelming sense of humanity. "Working On A Dream" strives to achieve this delicate balance and does so quite consistently.
Songs like "My Lucky Day" and "This Life" combine infectious choruses with an unbridled sense of joy. All the while, Springsteen incorporates pieces of the music he loves most. There are touches of The Byrds and splashes of The Beach Boys. But, the songs only borrow - never steal. In the end, Springsteen's voice wins out and his message is clear: This is a time for unabashed optimism. Truly, these are some of his straight-forward love songs. Even the title track seems to lean heavily on the promise of love's redeeming power as Springsteen sings, "I'm working on a dream, though trouble can feel like its here to stay. I'm working on a dream, our love will chase the trouble away."
The album ends with the beautiful, almost prayer-like, "The Last Carnival". The song is one last goodbye for Springsteen's long-time organ player Danny Federici, who died of cancer last year. The themes of mortality and loss are balanced against the fond memories of a lifetime of friendship and battles won and lost. The uncertainty of life, "Hanging from the trapeze, my wrists waiting for your wrists. Two daredevils high upon the water's edge. You throwing the knife that lands inches from my head." And then, the finality of death as he Springsteen simply whispers the word, "Sundown." The tune plays out like a bookend to the 1973 song "Wild Billy's Circus Story". In that song, the romantic vision of circus life was Springsteen's metaphor for life on the road. In 2009, the circus is leaving town without Billy. "Sundown, sundown/They're taking all the tents down," intones Springsteen, before asking, "Where have you gone, my handsome Billy?" The song explodes into a gospel choir of layered voices that ascend to the heavens above...calling out to Federici one last time from the shores of the Atlantic, as dusk falls on Springsteen's beloved Asbury Park.
As our country moves towards the future with a renewed sense of promise, "Working On A Dream" finds Springsteen renewing some of the same promises he made as a younger man/musician to his audience and the people he loves. Springsteen seems to be calling to us from the same front seat he called out to us from in "Thunder Road". Only now, Bruce is not pulling out of "... a town full of losers" to find anything. With "Working On A Dream", it feels like Springsteen is finally settling back home with a new appreciation for all he left behind.
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