If you were to take away just one significant factoid about Bruce Springsteen, it would have to be that the word retirement is definitely not part of his vocabulary.
At the ripe old age of 62, the legendary classic rocker is still touring the globe delivering epic shows with as much energy and pizzazz as musicians 30 years his younger.
He’s come out of over 30 years of music business turmoil unscathed, and the man they call ‘The Boss’ shows absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Earlier this month, Springsteen pumped out his 17th studio album, an honorable feat not even The Beatles can claim to have achieved. Though he may be getting older and his hair that much grayer, Springsteen’s music sounds as vital and invigorating as it did three decades ago.
The album is called Wrecking Ball and is a work of pure dynamite. Springsteen’s long time collaborator, Jon Landau, hit the nail on the head when he declared Wrecking Ball Bruce Springsteen’s angriest album yet. Of course, with a name like Wrecking Ball, he certainly wasn’t aiming to make a Michael Bolton album.
Springsteen’s sour mood becomes instantaneously clear. He is more than angry; he is bitter and God help the unsuspecting listener because by golly does he make it known.
With his usual growl, Bruce delivers knock-to-the-floor lyrics that cut right to the bone. In “Jack-of-all-Trades” he declares “if I had me a gun, I’d find the bastards and shoot ‘em on sight” and on “Death to My Hometown,” he bellows, “the greedy thieves that came around and ate the flesh of everything they’ve found. Whose crimes have gone unpunished now and walk the streets as free men now.” Phew! I get emotionally drained just typing it.
So what is Bruce so darn angry about anyway? More importantly, who is he angry with? Fortunately, the album’s principle inspiration tells us just what we want to know. Bruce stated in a publication that Wrecking Ball was greatly influenced by the Occupy Wall Street Movement, an offensive that has sadly all but fizzled out. The recipient then of Bruce’s fiery anger is without question the banks.
While most American citizens were busy flipping the “1 percent” the bird, Bruce took a more civilized approach at condemnation and confided to his studio to write some of the angriest tunes of his career. Knowing the inspiration behind Wrecking Ball puts the album on a whole other sonic level.
The lyrics are no longer ambiguous bitter growls, but lethal syringes full of poisonous resentment. It’s hard not to wonder what catastrophic effects Wrecking Ball would’ve produced had the Occupy Wall Street Movement still been a force to be reckoned with. Giving this album to an angry protester would’ve been as cataclysmic as handing them a dozen hand grenades.
It is no coincidence that a new Springsteen album seems to emerge when America is at its worst. When Sept. 11 tested our resilience as a nation, Springsteen had our back with 2000’s “My City of Ruins,” which he honorably introduced as “a prayer for our fallen brothers and sisters.” Then there was the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which saw the inception of the anti-war masterpiece, “Devils and Dust” enshrouded with the “oorah” chant of “Bring ‘em Home!” Whenever America is down on her luck, Springsteen is there with the flag raised high and mighty, and whenever there is a movement in need of an anthem, it turns out Bruce has already written one.
Wrecking Ball finds Springsteen not alone in his witch hunt for greedy bank officials and white collar thieves. With a topic as pressing and as relevant as economic injustice, it takes more than an over-the-hill front man to transform public intrigue into action.
For support, Bruce has enlisted the expertise of fellow musician Tom Morello, the guitar-playing wizard behind the anti-establishment group Rage Against the Machine and hardrockers Audioslave. Hmm, seems fitting.
Morello’s contributions to the album are significant. Bruce utilizes Morello’s driving guitar sound and unique style as a sort of rock anthem enhancement.
To put it in the words of Spinal Tap, with Tom Morello on board Springsteen’s anthems now go to 11.
But Wrecking Ball is not all angry anthems and bitter retorts. Like other Bruce Springsteen albums, the concluding tracks stir a sense of hope and subtle optimism. To always find an uplifting message in the hardest of times is a trait Springsteen does so well and is never given enough credit for.
If the same material were given to, let’s say, Lou Reed or Nine Inch Nails, the album would have had the listener running to the nearest therapist or worse yet, heading down to the local pawn shop to check out the “artillery” section. Springsteen manages to turn resentment into contentment, though.
In fact, by the end of Wrecking Ball, one is not angry at all. Rather, he or she is left in a perpetual state of calming exaltation. Strange? Indeed. Unmistakably awesome? Oh, you have no idea.
Critic’s Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Eric Duffert can be reached at eric.duffert@spartans.ut.edu.