Pitchfork Reviews Magic

[redjim]

Linky Dinky

 

Overall I agree with the review, especially the part about O'Brien's mixing in of strings -- something that I think totally goes against the core sound of the album.

 

I am in love with this album though and think i'd up the overall review to 8.5

 

I've listened to You'll Be Comin Down on repeat several times now.

[cryptique]

Bruce Springsteen occupies a unique place in American popular culture. He doesn't have the cache that Bob Dylan has, yet he's much more approachable-- populist in practice, not just in theory.

Sigh. Maybe someday this doofus will learn the difference between "cache" and "cachet."

 

That said, it's not a bad review ... for Pitchfork. As for the rating, I'd give it something in the high 7s, maybe even low 8s.

[TheMaker]

I think 6.8 smells just about right, personally. The highs are really impressive (Girls in their Summer Clothes, Livin' in the Future), but the lows are kinda dire, alas. On par with the most uninspired stuff from the two '92 releases.

[Analogman]

I don't get the Mellancamp and Petty deal though. I think at one time they were all viewed as "heartland rockers" or some such thing - but each of them has their own sound, really. And that dude should know - that they all began making music at the same time (in the mid 1960s), so they do share some influences.

[So Long]

I get the Mellancamp thing, but not so much Petty.

 

I'd personally give this record around an 8. It's a good one.

[airtaco]

Not a bad review at all, but Your Own Worst Enemy is still one of my faves on the album. I'm surprised at how two thirds of the record has held up through my first month of listening. I'd say a solid 7.5.

[Analogman]

Video

 

 

 

Watch behind-the-scenes video from the band's practice sessions at the Convention Hall in Asbury Park, N.J. Springsteen and his crew run through new tunes such as 'Radio Nowhere,' 'Magic', 'You'll Be Comin' Down' and 'Long Walk Home.'

[imsjry]

Not a bad review at all, but Your Own Worst Enemy is still one of my faves on the album. I'm surprised at how two thirds of the record has held up through my first month of listening. I'd say a solid 7.5.

 

That is by far my least favorite song on the disc. Maybe my least favorite Bruce track ever. What am I missing? I want to like this CD so much but to me, it sounds like the Bruce from the early 90's as someone else has mentioned.

[Analogman]

Some of those songs may have been around since then. Is there one on there about a small town or flags or something? That makes me think of:

 

Well everybody's dying, this town's closing down

They're all sittin' down at the courthouse waiting for 'em to take the flag down

I see strange flashes in the sky up above

 

I don't really know - as I only listened to it once or twice - I don't plan on buying it.

[solace]

decent review. i'd give it a low 7 myself

[tongue-tied lightning]

Some of those songs may have been around since then. Is there one on there about a small town or flags or something? That makes me think of:

 

 

 

I don't really know - as I only listened to it once or twice - I don't plan on buying it.

 

 

please tell me you do this just to irritate me

[Sir Stewart]

I'm pretty sure he just posts whatever the hell he wants.

[Analogman]

please tell me you do this just to irritate me

 

If you study some of the songs on Tracks, you will see that he often uses parts of unreleased songs in other songs. No big deal there. And I believe that Litte Steven has often commented that Bruce always has one or two half albums of material ready to go. There is probably a board or site out there where someone has posted about the origins of the songs - or there will be such a post eventually. I could be wrong - maybe he wrote them all just for that record.

[david]

If you study some of the songs on Tracks, you will see that he often uses parts of unreleased songs in other songs. No big deal there. And I believe that Litte Steven has often commented that Bruce always has one or two half albums of material ready to go. There is probably a board or site out there where someone has posted about the origins of the songs - or there will be such a post eventually. I could be wrong - maybe he wrote them all just for that record.

 

No you are right, he does use thoughts and words from unreleased songs that do show up on released songs later on, which is ok.

[cryptique]

No you are right, he does use thoughts and words from unreleased songs that do show up on released songs later on, which is ok.

There's some guy named "Tweedy" who does this too.

[mjpuczko]

i would assume it's common practice

[tongue-tied lightning]

I was referring to A mans "I don't really know - as I only listened to it once or twice - I don't plan on buying it."

[EL the Famous]

if i listen to something once or twice and don't think it's that great...i don't buy it either.

[LouieB]

I heard a song off this on XRT...it sounds exactly like Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band....

 

LouieB

[Analogman]

I was referring to A mans "I don't really know - as I only listened to it once or twice - I don't plan on buying it."

 

No - it's just my view. I don't buy everything by all the bands I like anymore. I broke that chain. I sometimes wonder if I even need to buy any more music - at the present time I have over 4,000 cds I think.

[Analogman]

Another New Springsteen Album Already Done?

Bruce Springsteen

October 05, 2007, 10:45 AM ET

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Bruce Springsteen isn't always known for working quickly, but he just may have another new album already in the can on the heels of "Magic," released earlier this week via Columbia.

 

"There's another group of songs that exist that I think are great songs and should end up somewhere, but they just didn't quite fit with this group," says producer Brendan O'Brien, who helmed "Magic" as well as 2002's "The Rising" and 2005's "Devils & Dust."

 

O'Brien declined to comment on murmurs that the new album could be out as soon as next spring, saying only, "I'll defer to others on that one."

 

What's clear is that O'Brien has played a key role in one of the most prolific period of album releases in Springsteen's storied career. Before "The Rising," the Boss hadn't made a new studio album in seven years, and hadn't recorded with the E Street Band in nearly 20.

 

"He had produced his own music with other people for a long time," O'Brien says. "If he was meeting with me, it meant he maybe wanted to try something new and inspired. He needed somebody to help him get over the hump."

 

In contrast to the somber, Sept. 11, 2001-themed "The Rising," the folk-leaning solo album "Devils & Dust" and last year's all-traditional "The Seeger Sessions," "Magic" offers some of the most melodic songs Springsteen has written in years. The material is tailor-made for the onstage power of the E Street Band, which has just begun a North American tour.

 

O'Brien credits Springsteen with allowing him to participate in the vetting process, which in turn shaped the mostly high-energy vibe of the new album.

"It was clear he wanted that kind of input, and I let him know right away that that's something I like to do and am helpful with," he says. "On this one, we met at his place and he sat down and played me a bunch of songs. I would be looking at the lyric book while he was singing them. He'd finish, we'd talk, and we'd make notes."

 

Once ensconced at O'Brien's Atlanta studio, the producer set Springsteen up with a pared-down core band of drummer Max Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent and pianist Roy Bittan to record basic tracks. Contributions from E Streeters like guitarist Steven Van Zandt, keyboardist Danny Federici and saxophonist Clarence Clemons were added later.

 

"As best I can tell, everyone else seems at peace with that," O'Brien says. "We'll bring Danny and Steve in, but by that point, I have a better idea as to what we need them for. It makes their overdubbing much more specific."

[JerseyMike]

Finally listened to Magic a few times, and I like it. I didn't like The Rising or Devils and Dust (loved the Seeger sessions and Live In Dublin even more so) all that much, but Magic is solid. It seems to fade for me a bit in the 2nd half of the record, but the first half is as fine as Springsteen has done in the last few years. I like the production, and think it suits its purpose. Its lean, clean and mainstream, and that works well for the Boss. The guitar sound is the best that I can remember from any Springsteen record and it gives the songs a bit of a edge that past records don't have. I also like the fact that Springsteen has branched out melodically and that he tries some different musical arrangements, like "Your Own Worst Enemy", which has a Pet Sounds vibe. He's not re-inventing the wheel, but it shows that he's still trying things, and thats all you can expect from an aging rock star whos "Boss" presona carries larger expectations than most.