Working On A Dream (Deluxe Edition) [Digipak]

Performer: Bruce Springsteen
Engineer: Tom Syrowski; Derek Karlquist; Rick Kwan; Tom Tapley; Paul Lamalfa; Darren Tablan; Kevin Mills; Nick DiDia; Tim Mitchell; Toby Scott; Billy Bowers
Producer: Brendan O'Brien
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Personnel: Bruce Springsteen (vocals, keyboards, glockenspiel, percussion); Nils Lofgren, Steve VanZandt (vocals, guitars); Soozie Tyrell (vocals, violin); Clarence Clemons (vocals, saxophone); Patti Scialfa (vocals); Roy Bittan (accordion, piano); Garry Tallent (bass guitar); Max Weinberg (drums); Danny Federici. Audio Mixer: Brendan O'Brien. Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig. Bruce Springsteen's not known for pumping out new material at a rapid clip, but he was seemingly so energized by his 2007 album, MAGIC, that he wrote and recorded the songs on WORKING ON A DREAM in a creative flurry and had it out 15 months after its predecessor. The feel of the album is accordingly urgent; there's little here that bears the epic qualities of his more deliberately wrought work, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Overall, this is probably as close as The Boss gets to a pop album. While the somewhat anomalous "The Wrestler," the spare, acoustic-based theme from the celebrated film of the same name, is a trenchant look inside a troubled soul, a more light-hearted feel prevails throughout most of WORKING ON A DREAM. Muscular production emphasizes Springsteen's classic-rock leanings, but these simple songs of love and hope also bear bright pop hooks, and they wind up being nicely offset by a couple of raw, bluesy tunes before it's all over. From its bright, brittle production to its tossed-off postage stamp cover art, Working on a Dream is in every respect a companion piece to Magic, an album that's merely a set of songs, both sprawling and deliberately small, songs that don't necessarily tackle any one major theme but all add up to a portrait of their time. Magic chronicled the dog days of Bush where Working on a Dream is designed as a keynote to the Obama age, released just a week after the inauguration of the U.S.'s 44th president and not coincidentally containing not a little optimism within its 13 tracks. This sense of hope is a tonic to the despair that crept into the margins of Magic but it's easy to posit Working on a Dream as pure positivity, which isn't exactly true: a hangover from W lingers, most vividly in the broken spirit of "The Wrestler," and Bruce mourning departed E Street Band member Danny Federici with "The Last Carnival." Springsteen peppers his tribute with images recalling the early days of the E Street Band but saves a revival of their wild, woolly sound for the opening "Outlaw Pete," a cavernous, circular, comical epic reminiscent of Springsteen's unwieldy portraits of rats on the Jersey Shore. "Outlaw Pete" is Working on a Dream at its best, playing like nothing less than The E Street Shuffle as reflected and refracted through Arcade Fire's naked hero worship, casually highlighting how producer Brendan O'Brien has gently nudged the Boss toward new musical avenues. Many of these new sounds are drawn from the past, often feeling informed by Little Steven's Underground Garage -- Van Zandt and Nils Lofgren's guitars chime like the Byrds; the band knocks out a tough little blues number on "Good Eye"; and Springsteen shows a knack for pure pop on "Surprise, Surprise" and indulges his ever-increasing Brian Wilson fascination on "This Life," whose percolating organs and harmonies rival the High Llamas. All this rests nicely alongside the Boss' trademarks -- galloping rockers that fill a stadium ("My Lucky Day") and their polar opposite, his intimate acoustic tunes ("Tomorrow Never Knows") -- which all make Working on a Dream read like a rich, inventive, musical album...which it is, to an extent. The ideas and intent are there, but the album is hampered slightly by the overall modesty of Springsteen's writing -- by and large, these are small-scale songs and feel that way -- and hurt significantly by the precise, digital production that muffles the music's imagination and impact. A large part of Springsteen's appeal has always been how the E Street Band has sounded as big and open as his heart, but Working on a Dream, like Magic before it, has a production that feels tiny and constrained even as it is layered with extraneous details. It's possible to listen around this production and hear the modest charms of the songs, but the album would be better if the sound matched the sentiment. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (p.66) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Springsteen has mastered the key sounds of rock's golden age, and he deploys them at will on this album, diving deep into influences that he's only hinted at before on record." Spin (p.77) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "The classic pop- and folk-derived melodies of 'Life Itself' and the title track sound almost sacred when borne aloft by the E Street Band's majestic thrust." Entertainment Weekly (p.96) - "[T]he warm, bright music blasting away behind him reminds fans what they've know for ages: It's hard to stay downbeat for very long when the E Street Band is playing." -- Grade: A Mojo (Publisher) (p.102) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] spontaneous-sounding yet painstakingly arranged Springsteen album with flashes of rococo strings and no little positivity. Take hear and enjoy The Boss's galvanizing newie -- Mr. Motivator is back." Blender (Magazine) (p.62) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "The best songs are pledges in the style of '60s rock that draw from Springsteen's 18-year marriage to singer Patti Scialfa." Paste (magazine) (p.63) - "Bruce Springsteen's latest is a grab bag of everything we've come to love about The Boss -- anthemic rock, exhausted Americana, raunchy blues shuffles, orchestral ballads, testifying gospel rave-ups and gripping lyrical narratives about working-class America." Clash (magazine) (p.100) - "While not sentimental, WORKING ON A DREAM does draw attention to the romantic side of Springsteen, and rays of optimism shine through across the record." Record Collector (magazine) (p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's certainly his most positive and uplifting album for some time....A celebration of the history of great American popular music."

Bruce Springsteen came out of New Jersey in the early 1970s sounding like a cross between Bob Dylan and early Tom Waits, backed by the rambunctious E Street Band. After toughening up his sound, Springsteen created his 1975 masterpiece, BORN TO RUN, which garnered critical acclaim for its blend of Spectorian grandeur and street poetry. Nine years later, BORN IN THE U.S.A. made him a worldwide superstar with its beefed-up stadium-rock sound. Along the way, he's produced such low-key acoustic-based milestones as NEBRASKA and THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD, never losing the blue-collar ethos that is central to his vision. His 2002 album, THE RISING, is considered one of the finest artistic responses to the 9/11tragedy produced in the event's immediate aftermath.

Click Here for Shipping Options and Policies

Shipping or Dimension weight in pounds: 0.5