•
Rating:
THE REVIEW
After THE RISING and the associated post-September 11, 2001 patriotic upheavals – although he never confirmed that the inspiration was such – the Boss returns to reflect softly.
Subtle joy and latent melancholy mix in DEVILS & DUST, the latest work of the boy from Asbury Park. An album that, considering how carefully planned the arrangement of the tracks in the order they appear, doesn’t seem to be guided by a uniform thread, not even musically: joyous tracks (ALL THE WAY HOME) alternate, but the spleen often lingers around the corner of the lyrics, poignant in the expression of the simple everyday life stories they’re inspired by, and piercing bucolic ballads (SILVER PALOMINO, JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON, the splendid THE HITTER), where Springsteen lets his heart speak, with the counterpoint of the guitar and some sporadic breath emerging from nowhere, only to return there after a few notes, as happens, for example, in LEAH.
It can't necessarily be NEBRASKA, which remains the undisputed gem of the Boss's acoustic vein, but neither is it THE GHOST OF TOM JOAD, conceived modest in its ambitions, but born pretentious in its final outcome. To define DEVILS & DUST as a midpoint between the two would be unfair to NEBRASKA, but it's certainly much closer to it than to THE GHOST.
And this is the best appreciation we can offer to the good old dear Boss.
Loading comments slowly
Summary by Bot
Devils & Dust showcases Bruce Springsteen’s reflective and subtle songwriting with a blend of joy and melancholy. The album features alternating joyous and poignant tracks inspired by everyday life. Stylistically closer to Nebraska than The Ghost of Tom Joad, it reveals a carefully crafted mix of acoustic ballads and introspective lyrics. The review highlights its thoughtful arrangement and emotional depth.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen (born 1949 in Freehold, New Jersey) is an American singer-songwriter and bandleader best known for his work with the E Street Band. His career spans from the 1960s/1970s to the present, with landmark albums such as Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska and Born in the U.S.A.90 Reviews
Other reviews
By Viva Lì
The music is beautiful (intimate and mystical; powerful and sanguine), many guitar riffs are thrilling, the Boss’s voice is always rough and icy, sad and relentless.
"Devils & Dust" will not go down in history. The Boss is tired, perhaps a bit bored.
By Hungry
"The album opens with Devils & Dust, a masterpiece, a track surely conceived to be played with the band."
"Jesus Was an Only Son, perhaps the album's most beautiful song, has nothing of folk; it’s a gospel piece dominated by piano and female choirs."
