Springsteen looks for Magic but finds a mid-life crisis

Is this an album cover or a mug shot?

Bruce Springsteen released Magic (2007) last week, a rocking disc featuring the return of the E Street Band following the folky Seeger Sessions (2006) of last year. As with any Springsteen release it is highly anticipated and scrutinized with the ante upped by the presence of his famous backing band. While the band is looser and more natural sounding than The Rising (2002) anyone expecting to be Re-Born in the USA (1984) is going to be disappointed. This is not the second coming of The Boss but instead a continuing story of a man facing his demons with a dramatic sense of honesty.

If Magic is meant to recall any previous work, the album that comes to mind is Human Touch (1992). Human Touch chronicled Springsteen's personal state of mind at that era, in particular his love life. Touch found a man reeling from the public rejection of being revealed as a cheatin' husband and finding meaning in his newfound love for another woman. One of the few "band" albums Springsteen recorded without the E Street Band, the disc featured top session musicians adding a layer of commercial slickness to a set of decent but unspectacular love songs.

On a performance level, Magic is comparable to Touch in the smoothness of the arrangements. On the other hand, Magic has bursts of Clarence Clemons Saxophone and snarling guitar lines courtesy of Nils Lofgren and Steve Van Zandt. The quality of the performer's musicianship elevate the material and occassionaly revive the spirit of classic Bruce. "Livin' In The Future" in particular jaunts to a meaty beat and high kicking chorus like it came from Born In The USA. Producer Brendan O'Brien gives his usual clear, muscular sonics to the proceedings but puts a bit of restraint on the E Street band. They are regulated to the sidelines for most of the album.

Part of the fun of a Springsteen album is trying to figure out how the music mirrors his life. An artist in the true sense of the word, Springsteen's music often gives indicators to where his head is at. Taken on that level, Magic features a set of songs about dread and self doubt over the future of a relationship which can be taken on either personal or universal terms. The songs range from facing or disguising his intentions ("Your Own Worst Enemy", the title cut) regret ("Last To Die") and making up ("I'll Work For Your Love") while searching for a connection with another person or people ("Radio Nowhere"). Springsteen sings with a sense of noble duty to follow through on his life commitments. Lyrically he explores these themes with constant references to blue eyes, blood, faith and Crosses. I don't know if Springsteen is religious, but this disc is a must have for fans of Catholic guilt.

Springsteen sounds like a restless spirit seeing time close the options he once had to live a different life. "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" is the perfect example in which a reverie of a man leaving his house to "Burn the town down" but instead just watching the girls "pass him by". Musically, I thought it sounded like Bon Jovi until I remembered it was Springsteen's sound first. That goes to show how long it's been since Springsteen has really recorded anything sounding like his glory days.

Magic works well as a portrait of a man in mid-life crisis trying to rock away his blues. It's not Born to Run or Born in the USA but a personal album writ large thanks to the support of one of the best bands in rock. It's not the staggeringly great album the fans have been waiting for. Nonetheless it is entertaining and satisfying.