Reviewed by Null
Like my good friend, SoDak, I have always tended toward the quieter, acoustic Springsteen albums. Getting wind that his new album, Western Stars, was in this vein, I was eager to hear it. I know there will be a plethora of reviews for this album, so I will try to keep it short.
No, it isn’t the Nebraska,Ghost of Tom Joad, or Devils & DustI was hoping for, but it’s still a pretty good album. Western Starsdoesn’t have quite the political darkness and stark depth of the previously mentioned albums, but it isn’t entirely absent of these qualities either. While the other albums mentioned are albums in which the listener chews up each morsel and detail, Western Starsis best chewed as one big bite. The most striking difference Western Starsoffers is it’s lush and cinematic strings, which leaves the listener with a melancholic hope. Springsteen returns to what he does best, writing songs about specific individuals while at the same time making these stories universal, expressing the trials and tribulations of living life. The protagonists of these stories remain working class, so what the album lacks in direct political commentary, it delivers between the lines. There is a repeated theme of aging and time in these stories, and while some songs rise above others, the album has a great flow and easily moves from one song to the next. Sometimes, the strings begin to feel a little cheesy, but moments later one realizes that they bring a beauty, nostalgia, and comfort to the songs that may actually be the elixir that holds the whole album together.
There are some weaker moments. “Sleepy Joe’s Café,” while a decent song in its own right, is the “Shinny Happy People” of the album. On the songs, “Sundown,” and “There Goes My Miracle,” Springsteen once again evokes his Roy Orbison/Smoky Robinson style that he played around with on the albums Magicand Working on a Dream. These three songs are the weakest on the album; however, they do not diminish from the overall beauty of Western Stars,as the rest of the album is pretty much kick-ass.
“Hitch Hikin” is an excellent opener, which begins an album that deals with the burdens, loves, and losses of one’s life. “Tucson Train” is filled with hope in the knowledge that one can start over and find redemption. “Western Stars” is a word play about western movie actors and trying to rekindle the glories of the past. “Drive Fast (The Stuntman)” isn’t just the story of a broken down ex-stuntman, but also the story of the aching muscles of the entire working class. “Chasing Wild Horses” ends with some of the most beautiful strings on the whole album, followed by a slow fading peddle steel. I think of this track as the cinematic, desert sunset, centerpiece of the album. Several songs later, the album ends with a real heartbreaking masterpiece, “Moonlight Motel.” The day after I bought Western Stars, I woke early in the morning and lay in bed listening to the record while reading the lyric sheet. My early morning sentimental mood was the perfect conduit through which to digest the album. When Springsteen started singing the last verse of “Moonlight Motel,” I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Time steals moments, never to give them back again. What a beautiful and painful song.
As I wiped the tears from my eyes, I realized I was all in for this record. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but this album provides some sort of emotionally calming comfort for me. Even in its saddest moments, it’s soothing. I immediately wanted to ride on those dusty backroads in the Arizona desert and listen to this album while the sun descends below the horizon. Stuck here in Colorado, I just started the record over again.
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