New Springsteen Album "Western Stars" June 14*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by FingerPickin'Triumph, Apr 22, 2019.

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  1. JoeF.

    JoeF. Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I think that some of the "slaggers" are well-intentioned fans who just want to like a new Springsteen album on it's own merits.

    They act as a antidote to their opposite number--the ones who will praise to high heaven everything the man does.

    Know what I mean?
     
    musicaner, Jimmy B., Jacline and 3 others like this.
  2. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    I think they go too far. I am certainly not one of the latter ones (e.g. Working on a Dream is a poor album), and I think they are not particularly prevalent on this forum.
     
    mikeja75 likes this.
  3. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    The ignore feature can help, but they post so often and are quoted so often that it derails any thread about him. Destructive basically.
     
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  4. stanlove

    stanlove Forum Resident


    People forget how much Born In The USA was hyped by everyone before it's release. Springsteen and his team were saying flat out that it was going to be his biggest album even.

    I don't know why people care what he says about this or how he acts towards it. If it is good than it is good and if it is not than it is not.
     
  5. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    Springsteen didn't like hype.

    Rare photo of famous Springsteen moment in 1975 London surfaces

    (And it was his biggest album by a country mile)
     
    DavidD likes this.
  6. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    The last album for me was Tunnel of Love. I am also one of the fans that view Human Touch and Lucky Town fondly, but even those albums, I tend to cherrypick and skim through (one has to when encountering things like Real Man).

    I thought The Ghost of Tom Joad was a quality project and throughout the 90's truly felt he still had it in him to produce high quality work. But I have resigned myself to the fact that it likely isn't going to happen again. There has been mostly a series of duds in varying degrees issued over the past two decades. I understand the appeal of Magic, and it is certainly the most consistent and strongest album issued over the past twenty years, but aside from the jarring attempt at a sleek and contemporary production, I still don't think the album reaches the pinnacle of his previous work. That is not to say that I have not come across some intriguing songs during the period, but I could probably make a 12-14 song playlist from all of the present era albums (starting with The Rising) to satisfy my interests. Still, I will give this country/cowboy album a chance, but I am not expecting greatness, even if Landau says it is the best thing Springsteen has ever issued. ;)
     
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  7. Dr. Zoom

    Dr. Zoom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monmouth County NJ
    Promotion has always been part of the music business. It just may seem more heavy handed now because most of it comes at you constantly through your phone.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
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  8. Mfj55

    Mfj55 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I get the feeling that if Western Stars was indeed a great album, you would not acknowledge it. No offense intended, but all of your Bruce posts contain a negative vibe. Even when you are feigning positivity. Sorry, just the way I see it. Anyway, I think this is going to be a strong record. I love his character driven work. Some great writing on TGOTJ and the very underrated Devils and Dust.
     
    OptimisticGoat likes this.
  9. musicaner

    musicaner Forum Resident

    i havent heard in many years, but i think its about criminals.
     
  10. Tom M

    Tom M Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ
    Check the bottom right corner.
     
    daveidmarx likes this.
  11. icirider

    icirider Forum Resident

    Location:
    Athens, GA
    I think when this record comes out, I'm going to listen to the songs and most likely enjoy them.
     
  12. Dr. Zoom

    Dr. Zoom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monmouth County NJ
    Not disagreeing with any of that, but I’ve seen that picture before, and it looks like it may have been photoshopped. The angle of him looking at the marquee is off.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
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  13. Dr. Zoom

    Dr. Zoom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monmouth County NJ
    I think this album may be good, at least better than his recent outings. HS has grown on me (maybe because we’ve had 3 straight weeks of rain in NJ). Lyrically it’s just ok, but it’s got a nice feel. We’ll see.
     
  14. Davido

    Davido ...assign someone to butter your muffin?

    Location:
    Austin
    I’m going to get the album on release day, and listen to it ... and then I’ll know if it’s up to our collective high standards. I think Devils and Dust was an excellent album though, so my opinion may be skewed. Didn’t Bruce don the cowboy hat for that one?
     
  15. FingerPickin'Triumph

    FingerPickin'Triumph Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    hoping it is as good as the Ghost of Tom Joad lp..... is that too much to ask? I think he has it in him.
     
    Dbstay likes this.
  16. daveidmarx

    daveidmarx Forem Residunt

    Location:
    Astoria, NY USA
    Google Images is your friend. But, to answer your question.. no.
     
  17. adm62

    adm62 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa, Canada
    My post 2000 ratings:

    The Rising 4/5
    Devils and Dust 3.5/5
    Seeger Sessions 3/5
    Magic 4.5/5
    Working on a Dream 2/5
    Wrecking Ball 3.5/5
    High Hopes 2/5
    Western Stars ?
     
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  18. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    If Western Stars is a great album, I will acknowledge it and be thrilled. I would love nothing more than a new great Springsteen album. Do I expect it to be great? No. Do I expect the press and a faction of his devoted audience to declare it as being great? Yes.
     
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  19. PacificOceanBlue

    PacificOceanBlue Senior Member

    Location:
    The Southwest
    My current ratings are as follows:

    The Rising: 2/5
    Devils and Dust: 3/5
    Seeger Sessions: 1/5
    Magic: 3.5/5
    Working On A Dream: 2/5
    Wrecking Ball: 2/5
    High Hopes: 2.5/5

    This is an artist with a tremendous, deep run of 4.5 - 5 star albums on his resume. While it is not an acceptable point of view, at least by the fawning music press and faction of devotees, I think there has been a significant drop off in the quality of his work.
     
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  20. FingerPickin'Triumph

    FingerPickin'Triumph Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Washington, D.C.
    I'll play:

    The Rising 2/5
    Devils and Dust 3.5/5
    Seeger Sessions: 3.5/5
    Magic: 4/5
    Working on a Dream: 2/5
    Wrecking Ball: 4/5
    High Hopes: 2.5/5

    I really liked Wrecking Ball.. loved that he took some risks with his sound. it didn't all work.. but loved the record and the sentiments.
     
  21. mtruslow

    mtruslow Forum Resident

    Location:
    Towson, Maryland
    Yes, unfortunately guys like Dylan and Springsteen, their past will always be measured against their current work. Everytime I listen to a new Dylan, Springsteen or whoever I always try to evaluate it in the current times.
     
  22. Dr. Zoom

    Dr. Zoom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monmouth County NJ
    The run from WIESS through TOL was incredible. Longer than any run Dylan ever had. Replace a couple of the throwaways on the River with Roulette and Loose Ends, replace Downbound Train and I'm Going Down with This Hard Land and None But The Brave, and you have 7 consecutive 5 star albums.
    Post-1987, most of his stuff has been in the 2.o-4.0 range. Some 5 star individual songs, but no full album has gotten close to the 73-87 run.
    They don't call me master of the obvious for nothing..
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
  23. matt79rome89

    matt79rome89 Forum Resident

    Got a chuckle seeing the two users who liked this post. Let me know where the praise to "high heaven" occurs here. You have to admit negative vs positive for Springsteen threads is around 80% vs 20% on here. That's also about the percentage of off-topic posts vs. on-topic.
     
  24. JoeF.

    JoeF. Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    While you're correct that Springsteen didn't like hype in 1975, the previous poster is right in pointing out that they pulled out all the stops to ensure Born in the USA was a mega hit when it was released in 1984.
    Nothing was left to chance.

    An argument can be made that he "owed" it to CBS/Sony --because they put out Nebraska when they were probably hoping for The River II.

    The world and the industry--and Springsteen-- had changed a lot between '75 and '84.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2019
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  25. JoeF.

    JoeF. Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA
    I agree with all your points and I concur---I hope it's real good.

    I'd add that because "Hello Sunshine" is strong first track, I'm more optimistic than I've been in years....
     
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