Search - Bruce Springsteen :: Devils & Dust

THE BOSS SINGS OF LIVES OLDER THAN WE KNOW IT AND YET FRESH!

Matthew G. Sherwin | last seen screaming at Amazon customer service | 04/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bruce Springsteen gives to us with his newest CD an outstanding collection of songs about REAL life. There are songs about the agony and bitterness of life not going as planned; confessions from people Bruce sings of that are painful yet very well done; and even a happy song about new life coming into this world. People are not always in peril! SMILE The overall effect of this CD is enhanced by Bruce's decision to create the songs with a distinct acoustic flavor and the album shines brightly for all seasons! This will go down as one of his more artistic CDs. Devils and Dust is also a "dual disc" CD; it has 12 CD tracks on one side and DVD features on the other side-awesome!



The album starts off strong with the title track, "Devils & Dust." This song is somewhat political (although the album as a whole is not). Bruce sings of a war in which both sides bitterly fight each other to the death-all supposedly in God's name. The album's producer, Brenden O'Brien, added some good extras to the musical arrangement for this song. You hear great piano playing and the electronic beats are perfectly timed! The next track, "All The Way Home," is equally well done. Bruce's intonation and voice are in fine shape here. Another song to look out for on this CD is entitled "Reno." Here Bruce sings about very graphic sexual relationships involving cheating and more. The song "Long Time Comin'" sports a fiddle and an awesome steel guitar! This song is a bit complicated. It has an element that is something practically anyone can relate to: Bruce sings of a person who is promising never to make a mess of things in life again. (Note: Bruce uses a strong word in this song; parents may want to make a note of this.) Nevertheless, "Long Time Comin'" is also a song about a happy event in life: the expected birth of a newborn child. AND, how's about these lines: as he and his woman lie together in bed, Bruce sings "I reach `neath your shirt, lay my hands across your belly; And feel another one kicking inside."



A particularly powerful song that has people wide awake-already-is entitled "The Hitter." Here Bruce sings of a professional boxer who gets paid to beat men up for sport. The boxer tries to explain to his mother his upsetting, secluded way of life. On the surface this is exactly what the song is about; but on another level Bruce is really singing about how rough life is and how particularly brutal and cruel people are to each other in this world. The ending lyric simply states that this horror is just the plain old fact of life: "Understand, in the end, Ma, every man plays the game/ If you know one different, then speak out his name." I especially liked the song entitled "Jesus Was an Only Son." This emotional, frank song reveals a mother's thoughts about the only child she ever had. Very well done! "All I'm Thinkin' About," with Bruce singing falsetto to add to the emotional impact of the song, is a stunning love ballad that you will be fond of right away! The CD ends with the incredible emotional song "Matamoros Banks." "Matamoros Banks" is essentially an appeal for remembrance by an illegal immigrant who attempts to cross the Rio Grande but fails tragically resulting in death. I can't help but feel sympathy for people abused in other countries who so desperately want to come to live in America when I hear this song. Bruce does this so well; you really feel a true, deep pity and sorrow for the immigrant.



As I noted before, this is a "dual disc" CD. There are TWO sides that play-the first side has 12 CD tracks; the reverse has DVD features. There are five DVD tracks which were recorded live. The DVD side of the disc highlights Bruce's between-song commentary. This offers the listener/viewer an excellent sense of Bruce's perspective. Which side you choose first is up to you; both offer great value. However, if you listen to the CD side first and then the DVD side however you may want to then go back to the CD side to listen again to the songs Bruce talks about so you can get even more out of these songs.



All in all, Bruce Springsteen puts out here an excellent artistic collection of songs that is also, in its uniquely beautiful way, positively electric! And NOPE, with this beautiful album I didn't need the E Street band for Bruce to reach me!



I would highly recommend this CD to ANY Bruce Springsteen fan as well as fans of great songs with fantastic musical arrangements that deal with life-the way it really is. Great job, Bruce!

"

You'll find hidden treasures & unexpected pleasures...

M J Heilbron Jr. | Long Beach, CA United States | 04/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Devils & Dust" occupies a spot somewhere between "Nebraska" and "Tunnel of Love" in the Springsteen canon.



Yes, it is spare, when compared to some of the full-bodied arrangements of the E Street Band, but it's NOT just Bruce and a guitar, like "Nebraska".



Nor is it as monotonous and bleak as "The Ghost of Tom Joad". Not even close.



In fact, many songs have full guitar-bass-drums back-ups, with synths, horns and back-up vocals sprinkled throughout the entire disc. Many are up-tempo as well.



It's a serious and heavy record, but it has its' foot-stomping moments here and there. In the same way, "Nebraska" has a zippy tune or two, so does this. It most definitely moves.



What makes this more of a nakedly "confessional" album is not that Bruce is opening himself up, revealing more of himself. He instead is immersing himself in various other characters, and brings them breathtakingly alive in each of his songs...little vignettes...little movies.



Many songs have "protagonists", just like a novel or a film. Bruce occupies each character, and THEN opens them for us to examine, to experience. He sings in different "voices", one half-spoken, one more "southern", another in falsetto...all according to the person he's singing about. Or more correctly, the voice of the character singing.



Many things will be written about "Reno", but I guarantee you'll be fixated with his tale of a man and a hooker. Shoot...the lyrics read like a tight little short story.



You'll be haunted by "Matamoros Bank", one of the several songs dealing, either directly or indirectly, with the plight of immigrants in the U.S. He had covered this area before in Joad's "Across The Border" but nothing like this.



You'll smile when the "band" kicks in on "Maria's Bed", sort of like Bruce goosing the accelerator on a beat-up pick-up truck, barrelling down some dusty back road. He's telling you a story while you sit there in the passenger's seats, grinning from ear to ear.



Each song deserves a separate analysis or their own individual recognition here (and they get a lot of print and praise in the other reviews), but I think you'd be better off, if you at all interested in the album, to go ahead and just get it without reading too many more of these things.



Discover it yourself. It's the type of album where each listener will find all sorts of hidden treasures & unexpected pleasures.



I'll tell you, even for this Springsteen fan, I was quietly impressed. Borderline astonished."

Caveat emptor!

R. Todd | 04/29/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, another DualDisc rant!



Schitzophrenic Sony's at it again. One division wants to sell you nifty digital hardware, while the other is paranoid about you STEALING THEIR STUFF.



Ok, smart guys, HOW DO I GET THIS MUSIC ONTO MY IPOD? Is there even a standards-compliant audio CD available for PURCHASE? Because DualDisc is not it. I guess if you want to listen to it on your mp3 player, you need to buy the album from the iTunes store.





I can't wait till we start getting reports of the thicker disc jamming in people's slot-loading CD players in their cars.







See this article at Stereophile about DualDisc problems : http://stereophile.com/news/122704meridian/



See also "Dual Disc Consumer Advisories To Date" from High Fidelity Review http://highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=12610938





Be an informed customer. Read the label, and don't buy the media if it won't work in your equiptment. No store wants to be hassled by people returning dics becuase "they won't work in my Mac"."