Get yourself a song to sing4 Out Of 5 Stars
Bruce Springsteen is one cross Boss. He sees the country going to hell, he feels the pain of his best friend's death, and he's got a few things he wants to get off his chest. Suits me fine. After the tepid "Working on a Dream" and "Magic," Springsteen gets a belly full of fire and breathes it out on "Wrecking Ball." Every song here is the Bruce we've missed when he sang stuff like "Queen of The Supermarket" or "Girls in Their Summer Clothes." This is Springsteen of "Born In The USA" and "The Rising," the mature, fighting fit man who isn't afraid to speak his mind.
That's obvious from the first song, "We Take Care Of Our Own." If Bruce picked up anything from "The Seger Sessions," it was that a protest song can be as unambiguous as it is forceful. Tightwired between rah-rah patriotism and WTF happened to us ferocity, Bruce tears into a nation "between the shotgun shacks and the superdome," where "the Calvary never came" before neatly tying it to the chorus of "Wherever this Flag is flown, we take care of our own." That old sap Ronnie Reagan could have mistook it for a campaign anthem like he did "Born in The USA." No-one, though, will confuse the vulture capitalists of "Death to My Hometown" with jingoism. It's all but an anthem for the occupy crowd (complete with guest shots from Tom Morello on featured songs).
As for his Big Man, "Land of Hope and Dreams" says it all. If you can't pull it from the heartfelt tribute written on the CD's inner booklet, then let the rising organ and gospel wails will. Like the acoustic tribute "Terry's Song" (the hidden track on "Magic"), it captures the essence of a lifelong friendship in the way I think a lot of Clarence Clemmons' fans would have been hoping for. "Wrecking Ball" is the Springsteen we thought may have gone missing. Yet, like the titular object for which this disc is named, he is crashing through or expectations once again.
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