Podunkian Music Club

Bruce Springsteen-Radio Nowhere



After wandering the dusty back roads of the folk era covering the Pete Seeger songbook, the Boss is back with a straight ahead rock and roll album. Something that his fans have been anxiously awaiting five years for, since The Rising last came out in the wake of 9-11.

The new release Magic, brings back the E street band to drive out the beat and add that urgency to his music that made them famous through the decades since Springsteen first wandered out of Freehold, New Jersey.

Our selection tonight, is the first release from the new recording. It's a hard kickin' rocker of a tune, that makes excellent use of all the players in the Springsteen symphony. From Max Weinbergs' driving back beat to Clarence Clemons wailing sax, each and every member of the E street band seems to have something key to contribute to Radio Nowhere.

The lyrics ask for a testimony from the audience that there is somebody alive out there.

While his manager Jon Landau suggested that the album was not particularly political. Magic still manages to touch base with the things that America is concerned about, from war, through suspension of civil rights to the economy, all of it is covered in Springsteen lyrical prose, biting and correct.

It's an album at times paced with disillusionment, frustration and exhaustion. A sharing of a journey that has left many wondering how to fix their shattered dreams and reclaim some of what they have lost. However, it's certainly not a doom and gloom affair, there is the kinetic energy of rock and roll to the recording which with Springsteen is almost always a near religious experience.

His last studio album with the E Street Band came out as America was still coming to terms with the grief over the attacks of September 11, 2001. That album was one of catharsis, the singer poet laureate taking his charges to a safer place to come to grips with what had happened and try to look forward with some hope.

Five years later, it's a subliminal anger that resonates through some of the songs, a feeling of betrayal and a call to reclaim that country that they shared from their shared youth.

This first release from the album starts out with the crashing guitars, wall of sound that announces the return of America's chronicler. It's a natural fit from his recent works from the Pete Seeger collections, Seeger was the original conduit of American folk music, the lighthouse for troubled times of the era.

Whether he accepts the comparison or not, Springsteen is very much fulfilling the same role in modern times, the music at times is reminiscent of the Born to Run through Born in the USA era, yet it's message is as current and vital as the latest newscast.

Through the years Springsteen has come to speak for much of his generation, a social standing that makes him an icon for many. That status once gets examined on CBS's 60 minutes on Sunday night, as Springsteen is one of the featured interviews on the newsmagazine.

His voice is filling the void that the politicians and news industry seem to have allowed to take place. His higher profile may bring him that answer to his question, "is there anybody alive out there".

Artist-Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Recording-Magic