I got the new Springsteen album during the week. There's nothing fantastically great or dreadful here. Although the album sounds like Bruce's two previous solo efforts, it reminds me mostly of Darkness on the Edge of Town, which is more than 25 years old.
I'm not disappointed by the album, possibly because I was expecting to be. It's not as good as Darkness nor does it have the emotional pull (for me) of The Rising, but it works and I think I'll grow to appreciate it more with time.
One of the difficulties I have with this album is that the songs are about people who are far removed from me. There isn't a single song where I could "see myself". I don't think this was the case on any of his other albums. Despite that, there are plenty of excellent songs here. I'd recommend it, especially for a Springsteen fan.
For 8 of the 12 tracks the album is a back and forth argument Bruce is having with himself as to whether the glass is half empty or half full. Four up-beat, positive songs about men who are making the best of their situations, 'looking on the bright side'; these are men who've who've taken their share of knocks, but who still have hope, still have something to look forward to. Then there are four other songs about men for whom the best days have past, the spark has gone out of life. They're just passing the time.
The title track, Devils & Dust, is the weakest song on the album. It's Bruce's attempt to tell the story of the "grunt" in Iraq. I think it fails because it sounds too much like a draftee's Vietnam experience, not the sentiments of the professional soldier that we have in Iraq today.
