On two entirely
different and equally inspiring recent albums from an all-time great.
As is no doubt
obvious from this blog, many of my favorite
American artists
died long
ago, meaning that (barring surprising rediscoveries) I have long since run
out of new works of theirs to encounter and experience. As a result, I believe
I get even more excited about new releases by the living artists I love—like John
Sayles and Jhumpa Lahiri—than would already always be the case. There is,
of course, always the possibility that these new releases won’t live up to the
artist’s past work or overall career; but as I wrote in that Sayles and Lahiri
post, I’m an optimist on this score as on most others. And when it comes to my
single favorite artist, Bruce
Springsteen, I’m happy to say that his most recent two albums have entirely
rewarded my excited anticipation, if in almost entirely different ways.
2012’s Wrecking Ball is one
of the most thematically unified yet stylistically diverse albums I’ve ever
heard. Every song on the album, including the two bonus tracks, represents a
response to the 2008 economic collapse and its many ongoing effects and
meanings in American society; yet almost every one utilizes a distinct style,
engages with a different musical tradition and sound, with which to do so. For
both reasons the album has been compared to The Rising (2002),
Springsteen’s post-9/11 masterwork; I would agree with that comparison, yet to
my mind, because September 11th has inspired so many responses and representations (in every
artistic
genre), Wrecking Ball is an even
more unique and significant social and historical document. While it might not
have any individual songs that crack my Springsteen top 10, I would say it’s
one of his couple best albums—and that’s pretty impressive for a record released
forty years after an
artist’s debut!
About a month
ago, Springsteen released his most recent studio album, High Hopes.
But to be honest, High Hopes isn’t
really a unified album at all, existing at the other end of the spectrum from
something like Wrecking Ball—it’s a
collection of (mostly) previously unreleased tracks, representing the last
couple decades of Springsteen’s career (if not even further back, since a song
like “Frankie Fell in Love”
feels more like his 1970s works). Interestingly, the most thematically unified
songs, the title track and the concluding “Dream Baby Dream,” are
both covers of other artists, the first time Springsteen has included covers on
a studio album in his long career. And that last clause is precisely what makes
High Hopes so inspiring to me—that even
forty-two years into his recording career, Springsteen is continuing to
experiment and innovate, trying new things, pushing himself in new directions,
refusing to rest on that already impressive body of work. I didn’t really think
I could love Bruce more, but these last couple albums have indeed raised the
bar.
Next
AmericanStudier love tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you
love about or in American history, culture, identity, community?
Dear Ben and fellow bloggers,
ReplyDeleteI'm a big Bruce Springsteen fan, myself. However, I think my all-time greatest musical performer award for me would have to go to Michael Jackson. Even as a child - back when he was singing lead with his family in The Jackson 5 - he showed so much raw musical talent and energy.
I don't own a copy of his album Thriller (my CD collection is quite modest) but it was the biggest selling album of all time, if I'm not mistaken.
I don't want to come across as trying to take anything away from what Bruce Springsteen has done - any more than my love for apples takes away from my feelings about oranges. Maybe - when I finally grow up - I'll be able to take credit for writing a song that could compare to something - anything - by Bruce Springsteen. I doubt it, but it's fun to think about. - Roland A. Gibson, Jr. FSU IDIS Major (also amateur singer/songwriter).