I admit it. I hated "The Rising," and at first listen, I didn't think much of Bruce's new disc, "Magic," either. In recent years, he has spent too much time observing life and not enough living it and reporting back on it to us - a la earlier songs like "Spirit In The Night" or "Jungleland" I want more Magic Rat and Sandy and Janey and Hazy Davey and Killer Joe, more Joe Roberts and Maria and less of the summary/analysis that has become so much a part of Bruce's latter work - i.e. "Tom Joad" or "The Rising."
I've also had a problem with his sound in recent albums, especially the ones with the E Street Band (what kind of problem can you have with an acoustic or nearly acoustic disc like "Devils & Dust"?) The band sounds like a lumbering beast. All the instruments blend into an airless morass and you can't hear Bruce's pinched guitar solos, Clarence's sax or Roy's keyboards stand out. I thought "Magic" offered more of the same.
But I just saw the guy do two shows back to back at MSG in the last two nights, and I have to say, I'm prepared to revise my decision. "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" and "Gypsy Biker" have some oomph on the new disc, but realize more of their potential in a live setting. Bruce has great showmanship and it's a natural that his performance shenanigans could get a song with so-so lyrics or less-than-imaginative instrumentation over on you. But maybe if producer Brendan O'Brien let the band breathe a little more in the studio, Springsteen could escape the constant comparisons to everything pre-"Born In The USA"
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