Magic

I've long been an admirer of Bruce Springsteen's, but not to the extent that some people I know, who have seen him in concert several times and have all his records. I have some of his records and saw him live once (it was The Tunnel of Love tour at Madison Square Garden) and that was enough, especially since it was a four-hour show that left my ears ringing on the train ride all the way home.

But I do admire him, for several reasons. I like his politics, and I also like that though he was for a while the biggest music star on the planet he didn't let that stop him from going his own way and following his muse. I imagine record-company executives weren't thrilled when he went into his acoustic folkie period, but the man clearly respects his roots and has a higher calling than album sales.

I received his latest record, Magic, as a Christmas present from my sister (she's going to see him in concert in July). It's a fine collection, and could easily be taken for a record from his fertile days in the seventies and eighties. He is reunited with the E Street Band, and the musical accompaniment brings back the kind of aura that Springsteen is known for--summer nights on the Jersey Shore. Radio Nowhere, The Girls in Their Summer Clothes, Livin' in the Future (which opens with a blast from Clarence Clemons' sax) all wouldn't be out of place in a Springsteen set at The Stone Pony.

This album also focuses on just how good a lyricist Springsteen is. More than one song dances around the Iraq war, particularly Last to Die, which references what John Kerry said many years ago when he testified before Congress during the last days of the Vietnam War--"Who will be last man to die for a mistake?" Gypsy Biker and the haunting closing track, Devil's Arcade, also deal with the psychological and physical damage from combat.

I thought the most interesting song is the title track, which is spookily ambiguous but nonetheless provocative: "I got a shiny saw blade. All I need's a volunteer, I'll cut you in half, While you're smilin' ear to ear, And the freedom that you sought's, Driftin' like a ghost amongst the trees."

There is a hidden track at the very end, a heartfelt song in memory of a friend who died. Springsteen, for all his macho appearance, has always found it easy to tap into his emotions, and this album does wear its heart on its sleeve, while at the same time being very muscular musically and a foot-tapping joy to listen to.