Wrecking Ball
by Bruce Springsteen

Wrecking ball is Bruce springsteen's angry response to the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the recession that had hit the U.S. and the rest of the world. Springsteen really has a bee in his bonnet, especially on the sarcastic opening track, we take care of our own, reminiscent of, born in the USA, in so much that it could easily be misunderstood as a flag waving anthem. Elsewhere, Bruce rages at the fat cat bankers on, Jack of all trades, and, does his pogues/clancy brothers bit on, death to my hometown, Irish accent and all. The title track is an excellent tribute to Yankee stadium, about to be knocked down and rebuilt, but Springsteen reminds us they can tear down the walls but can't take away the memories. Easy money, follows a couple forced into a criminal existence, and, land of hope and dreams, finally gets a studio incarnation, featuring saxophone from the big man, the late Clarence Clemons. We are alive, is a brilliant Johnny Cash type track, about the souls of the dead, still alive and kicking. If there are any weak tracks it's the brooding, my depression, and the throwaway, you've got it. Wrecking ball, is a brilliant album, which I believe will eventually go down as a Springsteen classic. Superb.

From jhuik TOP 100 COMMENTER 08/15/2012 23:14 | #48676 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

To my mind, this is his best return to form since The Rising. Death to my Hometown is an impressive lyric from someone who has given us so much poetry. Shackled and Drawn, Easy Money and the title track are all irresistible. Then there is that showstopper, Rocky Ground. The master is still here.

From Sean 09/02/2012 22:44 | #49859 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This album is the shit. This feels like a sequel to Nebraska in both style and subject. Although i do love the Nebraska, The River, and Wrecking Ball i love the the two Born albums and Darkness style more

From zdwyatt TOP 100 COMMENTER 10/23/2013 18:44 | #88995 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

The Boss has a prime directive--to give voice to the downtrodden working man--and Wrecking Ball carries on that tradition. What I find interesting is that the despair in the lyrics would have worked well as a sparse collection similar to Nebraska. But he opted to go the other direction and pile all the usual rock sounds in there, along with some gospel choir, and a fair smattering of horns.

Great album, a nice middle ground between his E Street style and folk album style. I'd say it probably started out as a solo plan but once the big man died it absorbed some E Street involvement, leads to a great result. Possibly his best album since the 80s, competition between it and The Rising for that title.