In a recent interview with several journalists in Paris, Bruce Springsteen explained how he has always viewed his work as being about "judging the distance between American reality and the American dream — how far it is at any given moment." Throughout his 40−year career, Springsteen has been lauded as a workingman's hero, but many critics doubted that a multi−millionaire rocker could accurately capture working−class sentiments at this late of a stage in his career. The resilient Springsteen succeeds in this mission with his 17th studio album "Wrecking Ball," delivering one of his most musically adventurous works in decades while at the same time offering a pointed social commentary on the economic inequality in the current American landscape.
Working with producer Ron Aniello for the first time, Springsteen has created a sonically diverse album that incorporates elements of varying musical genres such as rock, folk, rap, gospel and country with production techniques like sampling and looping. Throughout the album, Springsteen demonstrates an audible passion and anger over the economic despair facing America, a theme that will likely resonate with many individuals today. It should be noted, though, that the majority of the album was written prior to the Occupy movements.
"Wrecking Ball" begins with a damning critique in the song "We Take Care of Our Own," a sweeping opener that immediately makes the album's intentions clear by questioning the current validity of the American dream. With its catchy chorus and upbeat orchestration contrasting the slightly cynical lyrics, the song is bound to be as widely misinterpreted as Springsteen's 1980s hit "Born in the USA," but the verses make it very clear that he believes that "Wherever this flag's flown/We take care of our own" is a false statement.
While the opening track sounds like much of Springsteen's classic work, the second track "Easy Money" deviates from this with a swinging, folksy style reminiscent of his album "We Shall Overcome" (2006). The actions of the song's blue−collar couple indicate where Springsteen has directed much of his anger, in that they plan to go on a robbing spree to emulate the actions of the "fat cats."
Springsteen's anger at bankers continues in the upbeat folk−stomper "Shackled and Drawn," portraying a frustrated working class in a scenario where "Up on banker's hill the party's going strong/Down here below we're shackled and drawn." Among all of the anger and frustration felt by these characters, a second theme of resilience begins to emerge in the album, embodied by the narrator of the beautiful ballad "Jack of All Trades" and the people of the raging Celtic−influenced track, "Death to My Hometown." The album's emotional low point occurs in the moving ballad "This Depression," where the narrator struggles for any last glimpse of hope. "This Depression" features a moving guitar solo by guest player Tom Morello.
This lost hope is restored in the title track, where the album's mood shifts from one of frustration to a quest for redemption. Springsteen's intonation to "Hold tight to your anger, and don't fall to your fear" is accompanied by a surging horn that propels this upbeat rocker, and the defiant growl of "Bring on your wrecking ball" in the chorus adds to the song's rousing theme.
This theme of redemption is maintained for the rest of the album in the spiritual track "Rocky Ground" and the uplifting closer "We Are Alive." "Rocky Ground" proves to be one of Springsteen's most experimental songs to date, combining a gospel choir with a Springsteen−penned rap delivered by backing vocalist Michelle Moore.
Although this album is not recorded with the E Street Band, a question that has been hovering over the release of "Wrecking Ball" is how Springsteen will address the death of longtime sax player Clarence Clemons, who passed away last year. Clemons' likely final recorded solo on a Springsteen album can be found on the breathtaking penultimate track "Land of Hope and Dreams," a stirring epic that easily stands as one of Springsteen's best songs of the past decade.
While this sweeping anthem has been a staple of his concerts since the E Street Band reunion in 1999, its studio premiere features the power of a full band combined with a backing gospel choir that serves to embody the album's themes of redemption and renewed hope. Within the song, Springsteen uses imagery of a metaphorical train to encapsulate the album's theme, which could double as an emotional tribute to Clemons with its promise to carry winners, losers and "sweet souls departed."
With this latest album, Springsteen proves once again why he has been a dominant figure in American music throughout his career, never resting on his laurels and constantly striving to take new musical risks.
Those risks pay off beautifully in "Wrecking Ball," combining dynamic musical directions with heartfelt lyrics questioning the "distance between American reality and the American dream."
