Monday With The Boss - Part 17: Wrecking Ball

Springsteen is always good when he's angry.

Make no mistake, Wrecking Ball is an angry record. It's a rather blunt indictment of the environment of greed that led our country into the financial mess we're in right now. He's seeing the hard-working people of America getting swamped under a financial wave that can't be stopped, no matter how hard they work to stay on top of it. The dice are loaded in favor of the haves, who don't seem to give a fig what happens to the have nots.

Politics are politics, a "message" is all well and good, but Springsteen the songwriter is just too damn good to forget the catchy tunes. It's becoming a hallmark of Springsteen's work, the more he's trying to make a point, the more I actually enjoy the songs as songs. The tracks here, especially "Shackled and Drawn" and "Death to My Hometown," are so good at getting your toe tapping, your fist in the air, that you can't help but feel their power as rallying cries.

I always loved the feel of sweat on my shirt
Stand back son and let a man work
Let a man work, is that so wrong
I woke up this morning shackled and drawn

I can also say that, after the detour into a more pop vein with Working on a Dream, Bruce's lyrics have come back to carrying weight. These songs are powerful, lyrically. Even with the "recycled" tracks here, "Wrecking Ball," "Land of Hope and Dreams," and "American Land," there's a renewed vigor to them as they sit in the midst of epic laments like "Jack of all Trades." This is Springsteen back where he belongs, as the chronicler and troubadour of the working class. A working class left behind.

So you use what you’ve got and you learn to make do
You take the old, you make it new
If I had me a gun, I’d find the bastards and shoot ’em on sight
I’m a jack of all trades, we’ll be all right
I’m a jack of all trades, we’ll be all right

The surprising part of Wrecking Ball is the musical evolution. Springsteen and producer Ron Aniello have brought in elements like drum loops and samples, and somehow used them to broaden the Springsteen sound. "Rocky Ground" is clearly the most experimental track here, and, while it's not my favorite, I certainly admire the embracing of divergent elements. Vocalist Michelle Moore almost full-out duets on the track, and provides a rap. You can bet there's a certain segment of the Springsteen fanbase livid over this track. Of course, that was my favorite part of Working on a Dream, as well. The exploration of new sounds.Your mileage may vary.

Now, no shells ripped the evening sky
No cities burning down
No army stormed the shores for which we’d die
No dictators were crowned
I awoke on a quiet night, I never heard a sound
The marauders raided in the dark
And brought death to my hometown
They brought death to my hometown

 I'm particularly jazzed about Tom Morello's (Rage Against the Machine) appearance on "Jack of All Trades" and "This Depression." I have loved every collaboration these two men have done together, especially the live version of "The Ghost of Tom Joad." Morello provides a appropriate guitar solo on each track, that also is distinctively him. It's lovely work.

We also have what, I would imagine, will be Clarence Clemons' final contribution to the Springsteen legacy, a terrific sax solo on "Land of Hope and Dreams." I found myself very emotional the first few times I listened to it. It's beautiful work, as always from the Big Man, and it does somewhat make the entire track feel like a tribute to him.

Well, I will provide for you
And I’ll stand by your side
You’ll need a good companion now
For this part of the ride
Leave behind your sorrows
Let this day be the last
Tomorrow there’ll be sunshine
And all this darkness past

The Special Edition CD also provides two bonus tracks "Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale)" and yet another version of "American Land." I love that song, but after closing every show for the last two tours with it, I think I am done.

It's hard to tell where I'd place Wrecking Ball in the later-career Springsteen catalog. (I don't even bother trying to compare these records to the early albums...there's a genius there, a raw, unstoppable burst of musical release, that no artist 30 plus years into a career can match.) It's going to take a few more listens to get a handle on it, but it's got that same fire that The Rising and Magic had. A sense of purpose and drive. I think it's gonna be a keeper.

Favorite Tracks:

Shackled and Drawn

Jack of All Trades

Death to My Hometown

Wrecking Ball

Land of Hope and Dreams

Just relax, I'm still Listening To It

Notice: I am soaking up as much of the new Springsteen album, Wrecking Ball, as possible before giving my opinion.

Initial assessment? This is a terrific album. I'm not sure it's a late-career masterpiece like Magic, but it's right up there. Lots of power, lots of emotion, and lots of musical exploration. It's great to see The Boss come out with something that feels very much of his catalog, with the folk and Irish elements, and also way outside the box, with samples and other very modern techniques.

But more personally, this album makes me think of the work I do at Stage left...

(bear with me)

...I realize THAT'S the kind of "political" theatre I want to make. It has a point, but "has a beat and you can dance to it." It's angry, but also ready to embrace the joys that life offers. It's smart, but not on an overwrought, intellectualized level. It's the full fucking package.

Full review coming...probably Monday

Stuck In My Head 3.6.2012

I have to tank Sal, over at Burning Wood, for this one. Never heard it before, but it's amazing.

Well, most Pete Townshend is amazing...



The Shout
by Pete Townshend

Oh, oh
Oh, oh
I miss you, I miss you
I remember lying by your side
Up in the eerie waters of paradise
N' then one day you walked out
Now I have nothing to do but shout

And I want my voice
To cut over mountains
And I want my soul
To gush up like fountains
To where you reside

Oh, and it's Springsteen release day!!

Friday Rambling

Sorry for the general lack of posts this week. I've been off my game. It happens.

I have been enjoying the previews of tracks from Wrecking Ball that have been showing up around the internet for 24 hour periods. At this point, we've heard the first single "We Take Care of Our Own" (already a victim of political miss-analysis, some things never change), "Easy Money," "Shackled and Drawn," "Jack of All Trades," "Death to My Hometown," and "This Depression." That, more or less, gives us the first side of the album.

"We Take Care of Our Own" has really grown on me. I have also loved, dearly, every track since. Although "This Depression" plods a little, for my tastes.

There's experimentation here, with Bruce using samples and such, but the core is the same sort of powerful storytelling he built his career on. After these tracks, I am extremely excited to hear the full album. I can't hope for it to be a late-era masterpiece like Magic, or The Rising, were, but Springsteen seems to come alive when he's mad. The Boss seems mad, and ready to make his point.

Cannot wait for the tour. Can. Not. Wait.

I am a fan of Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp work. Love the Tarzan novels, and I hold a special place for the John Carter works, or the Barsoom series. Burroughs can never be accused of writing "hard" sci-fi, but his fantasy work is tremendous, full of energy and vast ideas. I've long wanted to see John Carter and Barsoom in a big-budget movie.

Well, Disney answered that call, with Andrew Stanton, of PIXAR fame, director of the utterly brilliant Wal-E, stepping into live-action features. I have no idea if this film will do justice to Burroughs' Martian adventures, and I do not intend to critique it  before I've seen it...

BUT...

Man, who titled this film? Who's running this marketing campaign?

Look, the Barsoom stories aren't nearly as well-known as the Tarzan books. You say "Tarzan," and EVERYONE knows who that character is. Unfortunately, "John Carter" doesn't inspire the same recognition. Hell, Disney doesn't even deign to put Edgar Burroughs name, which might be a selling point, on the marketing materials.

The name of the first book is A Princess of Mars, and, come on, how could you pass up that title for John Carter? A silly as the original title is, it literally drips with a pulp adventure feel. Which should be what this film aims to deliver. Marvel Comics, back in the 70's, did well (title-wise) with their series John Carter: Warlord of Mars, and Disney owns Marvel, now...use that

Then, the poster...OK, that must be John Carter...in a sea of red, which might make me think of Mars, and some indistinct figures in the background. Huh?

Look, I think they were going for "mysterious," which, I suppose is fine, but that usually works when there's some iconography you can hint at. A Superman poster with a blue, yellow and red streak into the air...that's cool. We get it, and it's powerful because...we all know Superman. There's an element of "can they make that work? Will the suit look silly?" but we know that image. Look, up in the sky! We know those colors.

John Carter? Who the fuck is that?

I still have hopes this will be a kick-ass, fun movie. I, however, am not positive on it's box office potential. I hope I'm wrong, as I'd like to see more of Burroughs work on film. Maybe somebody will do Tarzan right.

Yeah, yeah. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle was definitely in the right direction. That said, Burroughs is not Jane Austin, and that film hedged a bit too much toward the Merchant Ivory side of things. Burroughs was a pulp writer, and you shouldn't try to wash that away.

I've been in tech all week, and barely touched the guitar. The worst part of this is that I'm really feeling inspired again. I managed to write a song during last weekend's long tech days that I think is really good. I've also gone back to lighter strings on the guitar, and my playing feels much more fluid again. I don't regret, at all, the heavier string experiment, but everything works better with the lighter strings (it ought to, I had the thing set up that way). I want/need to find the time to get rocking on my "one song at a time, until it's finished" plan. I feel like I can see the path forward, now. I just need to get walking on it.

Hopefully that'll happen this weekend.

Of course, I'm also back in class starting tomorrow. Meisner 2 at The Artistic Home. That's also exciting. I think my last few months in Meisner 1 have helped me keep sane, in terms of my acting career. It was hard, very hard, at times, but there's a challenge that class presents, which I'm enjoying wrestling with.

Sometimes I suck, sometimes I don't. Which, honestly, should be the motto for any actor.

This is Suddenly a Much Better Day

Springsteen's new album, Wrecking Ball, due on March 6th.

Already pre-ordered? Oh, hells yes. I love the cover, much more than the Working on a Dream artwork. (Did I say I want to buy a Telecaster? I REALLY want to buy a Telecaster...) Of course, that was a hopeful record, and I have more than a sneaking suspicion this album is going to trend darker.

The first single, "We Take Care of Our Own" has dropped, too. (video below) Lyrically, anyway, I think it backs the "darker album" impression. It seems to follow the Springsteen "tension between the tone of the lyrics, and the tone of the music" formula. Classic E-Street sound, with one exception...

No Clarence.

No Big Man.

No sax at all, to my ears, on first listen, which seems appropriate. I can't lie and say things won't be different without him there on the albums and in the concerts. It's tough, but neither am I feeling that I want Clarence's passing to be the end of the E-Street Nation. That would be a crime, because this band is still one of the best on the planet.

Different isn't bad. It's just different. Rest In Peace, Big Man...I have a feeling that there's going to be a lot of tributes to you during the upcoming tour.



Update:

Here's our Track list:


1. We Take Care of Our Own
2. Easy Money
3. Shackled and Drawn
4. Jack of All Trades
5. Death to My Hometown
6. This Depression
7. Wrecking Ball
8. You’ve Got It
9. Rocky Ground
10. Land of Hope and Dreams
11. We Are Alive

A special edition of Wrecking Ball will also be available including exclusive artwork and photography and two bonus tracks:

12. Swallowed Up
13. American Land

Some thoughts: I'm a little surprised to see (I'm guessing) studio versions of "Land of Hope and Dreams" and "Wrecking Ball," previously released pretty widely with live versions.Yet another version of "American Land?" I would guess it's the full E-Street band version that closed all the shows for the last couple of tours. It's cool, but...hey, I've already got that version on the "Live in Hyde Park" Blu-ray.

New Springsteen song....

Well, OF COURSE he'd write a special song for his last stand at Giant's Stadium.

Bruce Springsteen performs his new song Wrecking Ball at Giants Stadium

I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago
Through the blood and the beer, and the mud and the cheers,
I've seen champions come and go...

Cool.

Video here for my Facebook friends, who probably don't know there's an actual blog.