As I reported (somewhat erroneously) yesterday, at the click of 12:00:01 this morning, Bruce Springsteen was to release the title track from his forthcoming album We Take Care of Our Own. Early news indicated that this would be the title track, but a later pre-order update at iTunes confirmed the album’s title to be Wrecking Ball, to be released on March 6, 2012.
Well, my ears and music-related brain parts have been very happy since midnight. “We Take Care Of Our Own” is a kind of return to The River-era E-Street sound: jangling guitars, pounding drums, glockenspiel accents, and an anthemic chorus that takes us all there. And somewhat contrary to the idea that this is to be Springsteen’s “angriest album yet,” this song seems powered by a defiant hope.
Best of all: it sounds wonderful. Producer Ron Aniello (Patti Scialfa, Guster, Barenaked Ladies) has really opened things up, leaving some space in the mix. For the first time in a long, long time, Bruce’s voice is left at center stage to work with the other instruments instead of competing with them. It’s what good rock & roll used to sound like.
OK, on to the next ten, twenty, or a hundred listens …
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