New Springsteen Album "Western Stars" June 14*

It's a good story.

 

Come on, you have the Nebraska album as part of your profile. Did any other album have a chance? It’s my album of the year as well

 

"Ghosteen" (the new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album) had a chance but overall "Western Stars" just "spoke to me" and moved me like just about no other album this year. It's my age I think; I just really related to this album somehow this year.
The Nick Cave album is incredible as well, but so very sad overall.

So, Bruce took #1 and Nick's at #2 as a runner up.

 

2019 must have been a good year for albums with wispy clouds on the cover.

 

Just watched the film at the old rep theatre in our little town. My wife and son and I had the entire theatre to ourselves. 150 seats, good sound. Very enjoyable evening.

 

This is my album of the year . As a 61 year old, I can relate to the theme of the album which is basically memories of what I once was. There is a line in one of the songs that goes something along the lines of there is nothing new, it just another again(paraphrasing of course). Can see why younger folks may not get into it as much. As for me, it speaks to me like no other Springsteen. I know I am treading on sacred ground but I rate it above Darkness which was my favorite.

 

Not even nominated (in any category)

 

While I wouldn't rate Western Stars above Darkness , I firmly believe the album is up there among his three or four best albums. It is far better than I thought it would be and I'm speaking as a long-time fan who had pretty much given up on Springsteen as a creative force.
I think Springsteen has finally figured out how to write and present his songs as--let's face it--an older man. It's a voice that sounds lived in and , yes, it resonates with me in a way his "baby-let's go-down-to-the -dance" party rave-ups ever did.

 

I too thought it was an automatic choice to be nominated for-- and win --Album of the Year.

There's a story behind this, I'm sure.
I'm no expert on Grammy rules, but could the fact that this album was started in 2010 counted against it?

 

I seem to recall hearing that no artist over the age of 40 was nominated?

 

I agree with all of this. Well said.

 

It was already stated earlier in the thread but the transition from Chasing Wild Horses to Sundown is other worldly. He actually let’s the pedal steel breathe and inhabit the space at it’s own pace. Great night driving music!

 

Yes, these were literally the only two albums I had on heavy rotation in 2019. Bought Born to Run when it first came out, and loved every Springsteen album through Tunnel of Love, then rarely listened to any of his stuff after that until this one. What a comeback!

 

I was never a Bruce fan, but Western Stars is my album of the year. To me, it sounds like nothing else he’s ever done. I can’t stop listening to it. It has been on pretty constant repeat in my car since I saw the film.

 

Album of the year for me too. And I'll second this - Nick Cave is too much of a downer experience. I couldn't connect to that album. Which maybe is a good sign actually.

 

I'm with you. It's the album of the year 2019 for me too. Every song is a 5/5.

 

Was looking at the "best" 100 albums of the year in this week's Sunday Times, and I only bought one of them.....

 

Album of the year for me as well

 

Huh. Surprising.

(Wait, why do I even care? The Grammy people are morons...)

 

Graham, I know you'd posted before about how sensitive you are to compression. What's interesting is that for Western Stars (CD), I thought to myself, "well now that's a really great sounding album, and I can crank this one without any trouble". And I do! I was shocked when I saw that it had a DR value of 7. So I just chalked it up to those numbers not being the complete picture as to how an album sounds, as least to me.

So now I'm REALLY interested to hear a rip of the vinyl, which is apparently DR 11.

 

It's nowhere near as bad as most 21st century Springsteen albums, but it's still kind of a jumbled mess, as far as hearing the individual parts and instruments. But that's also the fault of the mix as much as the mastering.

 

To me, seeing the Western Stars movie and buying the soundtrack really emphasized how much I love the studio version. The mix on the original, to me, is wonderful. None of the "barn" versions can lay a candle to the studio ones, though "Stones" comes the closest. "Tucson Train" has some rough vocals on Bruce's part ("I left a good thing behind"... eesh!).

Speaking of "Stones", how sweet is that violin at the end! It takes me back to those great Main Point '75 performances with Suki Lahav, specifically, "Incident" and "I Want You". And the interplay with the Gretsch guitar is spine-tingling.

 

Man, I wish I could feel whatever y'all are feeling with this one. I think a couple of the songs are great, but as a whole it's all kinda samey to me. Lots of instruments and layers, which I usually love in a Brian Wilson way, but it's all kind of mush, rather than really interesting parts and arrangements that stand out, and the whole thing just has a mellow vibe that isn't sustainable for four sides. There's a reason all those old Glen Campbell records he's trying to emulate were only like 30 minutes or so.

 

ordered the blu ray today.

insane that that the last stand alone Springsteen live blu ray was Hyde Park, almost 10 years ago.