Bruce Springsteen - Magic, Album Review

First of all, the last song is entitled "Terry's Song," not "Broke the Mould" (sic). Exactly how does the album "reference" Devils & Dust and The Rising? You don't say. In fact, you don't say very much at all. It "references" D&D and The Rising, it "recalls" Human Touch and The Rising, it is less The Rising II than Human Touch II. On what exactly do you base any of this? If you listened closer, you might notice this is quite a complex album, more so than most in his career. The lyrics are complicated in a way that in no way resembles Human Touch, an out-of-touch, session-musician work that is by far the slightest album Bruce has ever made and consistently ranks at the very bottom of any ranking of his albums. None of the songs here are quite what they seem; even the brightest have dark, bittersweet lyrics, including Girls in Their Summer Clothes, which you consider one of the worst of his career and isn't anywhere close (worse than Human Touch's "Man's Job"? I suppose you consider that "underrated"). This is in fact an important work that ranks just below his great run from WIESS to The River, and many reviewers who have taken the time to listen and consider seem to recognize that. This review strikes me as rushed and slight. You mention a lot of album titles, which, along with band names, is a typical ploy of reviewers who want to skip the hard work of in-depth analysis and instead opt for "insta-cred."

Massive apologies for calling Terry's Song wrong - I reviewed the album based on the vinyl copy, and there was no title to lift from at the time... I stand by the 'Girls' comment - for me, it's a throwaway of the Waiting on A Sunny Day variety - I hope it comes alive in concert. I presume you mean Real Man from Human Touch - Man's Job is a pretty decent song. You must be cleverer than I am if you can glean something from the lyrics - there is nothing there to suggest other than I Wanna Marry You revisited. Yup, I'd put Girls in the same box as 57 Channels, or Real Man. I haven't come across anyone defending Your Own Worst Enemy yet, by the way... Living In The Future - which Human Touch song do you want me to choose from? Those reviewers who are 'more considered than me' refer to the River for this one, but it's less Sherry Darling than Real World... Magic, Devil's Arcade, Long Walk Home are all songs I'd put in the D&D-with-band category... Which is the same place I'd put The Rising album... Instead of insta-cred, I'm a massive fan. I have some 400 Springsteen albums on the shelf/ hard disk, so I was genuinely pained writing that review (as for the quality of the writing... clearly you'd make a better job of it). Suggesting that only reviewers who agree with you have 'taken the time to listen and consider' is unfair. I like the disc (and said so, as well as rating it highly). However, it sounds like a side from Tracks to me, and the point of reviewing isn't to be all fanboy just because Springsteen's my favourite artist.