Continuing a phenomenon I first chronicled in a post on Ben Folds Five’s ‘Smoke,’ my wife has taken to a song to which I hadn’t previously paid much attention.
This time around it’s the title track of Bruce Springsteen’s Wrecking Ball. She discovered it in random rotation on her car stereo and then adopted it for her running playlist, enjoying the way its momentum urges her to keep the pace up for just a little while longer.
Top Songs of 2012 – #12
Here I am, completely contradicting my comment two days ago that I don’t approve of rap breaks in pop or rock songs. Bruce Springsteen hands a verse over to Michelle Moore in the middle of today’s SOTD, and it’s downright sublime.
In my defense, ‘Rocky Ground’ is not your typical pop/rock song. It’s something more akin to folk rock gospel… a deeply spiritual track that earns its detour into spoken word territory.
Well, going from Bob Dylan to Bruce Springsteen isn’t exactly the sort of wild surprise I was calling for in yesterday’s post, but it will do.
‘Working On a Dream’ is the title track from Springsteen’s 2009 album, one of three great records The Boss has released over the past six years (the others being Magic and this year’s Wrecking Ball). If you go back two more years, you can throw Devils & Dust and We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions into the mix.
Five excellent albums in eight years, all recorded during his mid-50s to mid-60s.
Bruce Springsteen’s presence on my list of favorite artists is a relatively recent development. I’ve always appreciated his work, and have held a few of his albums in high esteem, but only in the past year or so have I dived deeper into his catalog and realized the breadth of his talent.
Impressively, Springsteen earned this reassessment by releasing a series of excellent albums over the past seven years. At a time when most artists would be opting for rock-n-roll retirement, he has delivered some of the best work of his career.
Picking up where I left off last week, I’m counting down the best new albums I’ve purchased this year. This week I’ll feature the top five, and it’s an impressive bunch.
This group includes albums by two of my very favorite artists, the best work yet by a great indie band, a wonderful comeback album by a struggling pop star and — today — a rousing work by a rock-and-roll legend.
Meet Me In Montauk 