Magic

This album sounds great.
Songs are of all styles: fast/slow, hard/soft.
None of them is to skip, and Bruce's voice still work its magic, hence the title!

Didn't know he had this in him. I have always respected him as an artist but couldn't quite follow his musical direction in the past 10-15 years. Song for song this is his best album ever. Finally great music AND lyrics.

It is like a deeper Human Touch with sophisticated rock parts like Born in the USA and emotion like The River.
A must-buy for any Springsteen fan and anyone who wants to know how a rock album is really done.

This is the absolute worst CD I have ever encountered. It really seems like everyone forgot how good he was before, and just gave him credit for this disaster based on all the hype about it. People, this is not even close to a fair CD. There is a constant "drone" throughout this entire CD and there is not one good song on here. Every song sounds the same and like a depressed middle-aged man is singing the songs. Really listen to this one or borrow it before you spend the money on it. I would give him another chance, but this one sucked!

First of all this is a great record musically. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have noted, the sound quality is horrendous. How a recording engineer can put his name on the credits of this is beyond me. I read a review recently that this same recording engineer admitted the compressed sound was not great, but not bad either. His hearing must be in really bad shape. Unless musicians stand up and protest such travesties of their recordings, we will continually be subjected to this.. Luckily, Neil Young and Bob Dylan are examples of artists who care about both the musicality and sound quality of their recordings and have set great examples with recent releases. Please let the recording industry know and more importantly, the artists, that consumers want to hear good sound in addition to good music...

First of all, the songs on this album are strong and very good. But the production of the 'sound', and mastering is horrible. All instruments have the same volume, no dynamics.. I got bored after the second song.
This cd is only enjoyable in the car, or on a Ipod..

Bought the CD for my husband who loves it, and he has a lot of Bruce.
I have downloaded it to my Ipod and have started to listen to it. Some really fine songs on it, but I have not played enough to give a more detailed review. If hubby is happy, it was well worth the purchase!

I have been waiting for a release for Bruce that would sit well with me. This one is it. Radio Nowhere, Girls in their Summer Clothes, Last to Die are a few of my favorites, totally ear candy. Great political themes, and Bruce still has it and will continue to, because he is the boss.

I do have to admit the production of this cd is a bit overboard, all the instruments have the same loudness...which is a bit odd, but who cares, it's still Bruce! Awesome and a must buy.

Bruce lost me as a fan with the release of CD "Human Touch" and the song "57 Channels" but I still enjoyed his old stuff.

I took a chance on this CD after hearing good things and it didn't disappoint.

Good from start to finish and like the Boss' old stuff.

"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a great summer song.

One of the memorable CD's from 2007 for me.

... I can't take all these rave reviews. This is the same "go thru the motions" Bruce songwriting that he's been doing for years. Bruce is a legend and is great, but if you think this album has anything new, I totally disagree. It's the same ole 3-4 chord, "oh yeah baby", rockin' bruce as always. pass. dylan had a lot of dull years too, don't cry.

Hillary Clinton not only won more Votes than her rival Barack Obama, but after all the 2008 Presidential Primary Votes were Counted and Certified, she won more Votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in American history.

17,822,145 - Hillary Clinton
17,535,458 - Barack Obama
+286,687 - Hillary Clinton
238,168 - Michigan Uncommitted,which included Obama,Richardson,Biden and Edwards, who chose to take their names off the ballot.
Michigan is Voting on August 5th 2008 for Senator and Representative's In Congress, which could fairly easily, include a Presidential Primary re-vote.

Specter Demands Sanity Check on Obama's Hypocrisy
Peter J. Wirs - Townhall.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Democrats begrudge the 2000 Bush-Gore Florida recount. They blithely complain when Republicans seek valid measures preventing voter fraud. Why then, are the Democrats suddenly blind, deaf, and dumb when Senator Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee openly avow to disenfranchise voters 1,749,920 in Florida and 594,398 in Michigan? Not only are Obama and the DNC perpetrating a "hi-tech" lynching, but it is blatantly unconstitutional and may even be criminal.

The Democrats allege Florida and Michigan violated the DNC Rule 11.A prohibiting a caucus or primary before Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire. DNC Rule 20.C.1 specifies the punitive measures that both states lose 50% of their vote: Florida 210 delegates, Michigan 156 delegates. The DNC Rules Committee will be meeting this coming Saturday, May 31 to hear Obama's utterly bizarre plan allowing only the superdelegates (ironically the votes he desperately needs to capture the nomination) to be seated, while delegates elected by popular suffrage are repudiated by being half-counted, oddly reminiscent of a colonial enumeration of freed "Black Men and Indians."

By why is there even a debate? Constitutional law is unequivocal. Every vote cast must be counted. This constitutional principle, pronounced by the United States Supreme Court since Ex parte Yarborough (1884) and reiterated as recently as Gray v. Sanders (1963), is simply beyond reproach. This rock-bottom constitutional demand applies to primaries as well as general elections. United States v. Classic (1941). Deliberately refusing to count votes cast may, under certain fact scenarios, constitute a Federal crime, United States v. Classic, citing now Section 241 of the Federal Crimes Code. Reiterating black letter law stated in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), the high court reasserted in Bush v. Gore (2000) that "once granted the right to vote on equal terms, the State may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person's vote over that of another."

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), now the Senate Judiciary's ranking minority member, asserted to us in an exclusive interview, that although as a learned attorney he remains obliged to see "how it plays out," that "it may well be worthwhile" to hold Congressional hearings on the Democrats' refusal to seat Florida and Michigan at the Democratic National Convention. "It's certainly something I want to consider," said Specter, ruefully hinting things might be different if he was still the Judiciary Chairman. "The essence of democracy is the right to vote," asserted Specter, the Democrat's contemplation of not seating Florida and Michigan may constitute a fundamental violation of democratic principles. He believes that the Congress must act "very promptly."

Specter emphasized while Republicans are striking bold initiatives such as GOP onDemand(tm) to promote full voter inclusiveness, the Democrats' direction in the opposite direction is more than paradoxical, it is "hypocrisy." "They are preaching one thing and practicing another" angrily complained the former prosecutor, who long fought the legendary Philadelphia Democratic machine's ghost voting and other voter frauds.

While observing there is "great frustration and anger" among his Senate colleagues, Specter's own disbelief over Obama's disingenuous media manipulations was self-evident as we heard him literally swearing as he was hanging up the phone. I have observed Specter for 33 years. His strenuous objections are not political positioning for TV cameras, but are at heart of his -- and any civic minded citizen's -- core beliefs of what is America. To anyone who has served his country, it is incongruous to even think such an alien idea.

Specter reminds Obama that it is fully within the Congress' prerogative to investigate the Democrats' machinations; the presumption that political parties as private entities are immune from oversight or court intervention has long been judicially discredited. Specter also suggested that Florida's Governor Charlie Crist or Attorney General Bill McCollum and Michigan's Attorney General Michael Cox or Secretary of State Terri Land Lynn contemplate what would be required to be prepared on June 2 to go into Federal court paren patriae to see emergency injunctive relief under "Section 1983," the legal parlance for the Civil Rights "Anti-Ku Klux Klan" Act of 1871, if the DNC May 31 hearings fail to adhere to the fundamental one-man, one-vote constitutional rule.

And while the GOP concedes Florida's early calendaring of the Presidential primary caused consternation, at least the "Republicans counted Florida, in stark contrast to the Democrats who didn't count Florida," according to RNC's Alex Conant. Highly reliable sources inform me that Senator John McCain is absolute in insisting on fully seating both Florida and Michigan delegations without any penalties, and as one source put it "what the nominee wants, he likely gets."

Michigan State Republican Chairman Saul Anuzi, one of the most conscientious and public-spirited leaders in either party, reiterated the bipartisan efforts throughout Michigan to seat fellow Wolverines at the Democratic convention, as it is beyond reproach that "every vote deserves to be counted." Anuzi, remains as baffled as everyone as to the Obama's "apologists" spin-doctoring Michigan's ostracization, warning voter anger from Obama's boycott of Michigan is not "going away" by a "perfunctory photo-op."

Florida' National Republican Committeeman Paul Senft pointed to the hypocrisy of Obama "using Florida as an ATM" while agreeing in writing, to refuse to "talk to voters." Senft's courtly manner couldn't disguise his own frustration of the irony of liberals resurrecting the "ghosts of 2000" in the recent HBO movie while openly disenfranchising the very same Floridian voters.

Several prominent civil rights attorneys, obviously speaking off the record being mindful they're outsiders, nonetheless told us that the without question, Democrats must fully seat the Florida and Michigan delegations. (Their response was as if we were asking a "no-brainer" akin to whether kids be eating their vegetables). The universal consensus that the possibility of embroiling the Democratic presidential nominee in criminal proceedings in the midst of a campaign unquestionably should not be a risk worth entertaining.

They also routinely disbelieve Obama's contention Florida and Michigan must be punished for violating party rules, which although viscerally appealing, is utterly fallacious as a matter of law. If Obama was purportedly "upset" at Florida and Michigan primary dates, he was required by law to act before the primary vote, not afterwards. It is fundamental law that Equity hears not the Sloth coming into court.

Democratic response to Specter is deafening by their utterly stolid silence. DNC press secretary Stacy Paxton did not respond to our phone calls to her office and cell.

Liberal entities such as the Center for American Progress failed to respond. MoveOn (which we, the Trustees of the Republican Leadership Trust are the newly established GOP counterpart) avoids direct press contact by hiding behind a digital wall that requires the Fourth Estate to be vetted through an Orwellian email screening process.

Obama's response is his website promoting a "National Voter Protection Center" urging us that "in this year's election we have a historic opportunity to bring more people than ever back to the political process and an essential part of that is ensuring every vote counts."

Obama reputes that he was a prominent civil rights attorney, litigating hundreds of voting rights cases. In his September 28, 2007 Howard University speech, Obama implores: "The [students] who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted . . ." Come again?

Even the ACLU, the "stalwart" Constitutional guardian, prolifically "promising" to get back, failed to produce a single person to justify Obama. And this is despite pleading, as I was once, an ACLU board member for several years, albeit a lone conservative Republican in a sea of liberal, Democratic activists.

If this is so black and white, so basic Constitutional jurisprudence, why isn't the press demanding someone's head on a platter? Why are the liberal activists, who defend Mumia Adu-Jamal without blinking an eye, suddenly blind as two million Americans lose their right to vote? Is the Pelosi-Reid Political Correct Doublespeak so powerful as to usurp the very essence of our democracy? No matter where one hails on the political spectrum, as my fellow co-Trustee, Fred Hess, who also serves as an advisor to the son of the legendary Frank Rizzo, observed "there is never an excuse, under any circumstances, to defy the right to vote."

Go to www.GOPonDemand.com right now to learn how you can help stop the Obama/ Democrat/ MoveOn doublespeak and require the Democrats obey the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under law. In America, absolutely no one deserves his ballot ripped up by the liberal Democrats. The students and mothers who marched in the streets of Birmingham deserve better, Mr. Obama, and it isn't you.

Hillary Clinton not only won more Votes than her rival Barack Obama, but after all the 2008 Presidential Primary Votes were Counted and Certified, she won more Votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in American history.

17,822,145 - Hillary Clinton
17,535,458 - Barack Obama
+286,687 - Hillary Clinton
238,168 - Michigan Uncommitted,which included Obama,Richardson,Biden and Edwards, who chose to take their names off the ballot.
Michigan is Voting on August 5th 2008 for Senator and Representative's In Congress, which could fairly easily, include a Presidential Primary re-vote.

Specter Demands Sanity Check on Obama's Hypocrisy
Peter J. Wirs - Townhall.com
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Democrats begrudge the 2000 Bush-Gore Florida recount. They blithely complain when Republicans seek valid measures preventing voter fraud. Why then, are the Democrats suddenly blind, deaf, and dumb when Senator Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee openly avow to disenfranchise voters 1,749,920 in Florida and 594,398 in Michigan? Not only are Obama and the DNC perpetrating a "hi-tech" lynching, but it is blatantly unconstitutional and may even be criminal.

The Democrats allege Florida and Michigan violated the DNC Rule 11.A prohibiting a caucus or primary before Iowa, Nevada and New Hampshire. DNC Rule 20.C.1 specifies the punitive measures that both states lose 50% of their vote: Florida 210 delegates, Michigan 156 delegates. The DNC Rules Committee will be meeting this coming Saturday, May 31 to hear Obama's utterly bizarre plan allowing only the superdelegates (ironically the votes he desperately needs to capture the nomination) to be seated, while delegates elected by popular suffrage are repudiated by being half-counted, oddly reminiscent of a colonial enumeration of freed "Black Men and Indians."

By why is there even a debate? Constitutional law is unequivocal. Every vote cast must be counted. This constitutional principle, pronounced by the United States Supreme Court since Ex parte Yarborough (1884) and reiterated as recently as Gray v. Sanders (1963), is simply beyond reproach. This rock-bottom constitutional demand applies to primaries as well as general elections. United States v. Classic (1941). Deliberately refusing to count votes cast may, under certain fact scenarios, constitute a Federal crime, United States v. Classic, citing now Section 241 of the Federal Crimes Code. Reiterating black letter law stated in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), the high court reasserted in Bush v. Gore (2000) that "once granted the right to vote on equal terms, the State may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person's vote over that of another."

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), now the Senate Judiciary's ranking minority member, asserted to us in an exclusive interview, that although as a learned attorney he remains obliged to see "how it plays out," that "it may well be worthwhile" to hold Congressional hearings on the Democrats' refusal to seat Florida and Michigan at the Democratic National Convention. "It's certainly something I want to consider," said Specter, ruefully hinting things might be different if he was still the Judiciary Chairman. "The essence of democracy is the right to vote," asserted Specter, the Democrat's contemplation of not seating Florida and Michigan may constitute a fundamental violation of democratic principles. He believes that the Congress must act "very promptly."

Specter emphasized while Republicans are striking bold initiatives such as GOP onDemand(tm) to promote full voter inclusiveness, the Democrats' direction in the opposite direction is more than paradoxical, it is "hypocrisy." "They are preaching one thing and practicing another" angrily complained the former prosecutor, who long fought the legendary Philadelphia Democratic machine's ghost voting and other voter frauds.

While observing there is "great frustration and anger" among his Senate colleagues, Specter's own disbelief over Obama's disingenuous media manipulations was self-evident as we heard him literally swearing as he was hanging up the phone. I have observed Specter for 33 years. His strenuous objections are not political positioning for TV cameras, but are at heart of his -- and any civic minded citizen's -- core beliefs of what is America. To anyone who has served his country, it is incongruous to even think such an alien idea.

Specter reminds Obama that it is fully within the Congress' prerogative to investigate the Democrats' machinations; the presumption that political parties as private entities are immune from oversight or court intervention has long been judicially discredited. Specter also suggested that Florida's Governor Charlie Crist or Attorney General Bill McCollum and Michigan's Attorney General Michael Cox or Secretary of State Terri Land Lynn contemplate what would be required to be prepared on June 2 to go into Federal court paren patriae to see emergency injunctive relief under "Section 1983," the legal parlance for the Civil Rights "Anti-Ku Klux Klan" Act of 1871, if the DNC May 31 hearings fail to adhere to the fundamental one-man, one-vote constitutional rule.

And while the GOP concedes Florida's early calendaring of the Presidential primary caused consternation, at least the "Republicans counted Florida, in stark contrast to the Democrats who didn't count Florida," according to RNC's Alex Conant. Highly reliable sources inform me that Senator John McCain is absolute in insisting on fully seating both Florida and Michigan delegations without any penalties, and as one source put it "what the nominee wants, he likely gets."

Michigan State Republican Chairman Saul Anuzi, one of the most conscientious and public-spirited leaders in either party, reiterated the bipartisan efforts throughout Michigan to seat fellow Wolverines at the Democratic convention, as it is beyond reproach that "every vote deserves to be counted." Anuzi, remains as baffled as everyone as to the Obama's "apologists" spin-doctoring Michigan's ostracization, warning voter anger from Obama's boycott of Michigan is not "going away" by a "perfunctory photo-op."

Florida' National Republican Committeeman Paul Senft pointed to the hypocrisy of Obama "using Florida as an ATM" while agreeing in writing, to refuse to "talk to voters." Senft's courtly manner couldn't disguise his own frustration of the irony of liberals resurrecting the "ghosts of 2000" in the recent HBO movie while openly disenfranchising the very same Floridian voters.

Several prominent civil rights attorneys, obviously speaking off the record being mindful they're outsiders, nonetheless told us that the without question, Democrats must fully seat the Florida and Michigan delegations. (Their response was as if we were asking a "no-brainer" akin to whether kids be eating their vegetables). The universal consensus that the possibility of embroiling the Democratic presidential nominee in criminal proceedings in the midst of a campaign unquestionably should not be a risk worth entertaining.

They also routinely disbelieve Obama's contention Florida and Michigan must be punished for violating party rules, which although viscerally appealing, is utterly fallacious as a matter of law. If Obama was purportedly "upset" at Florida and Michigan primary dates, he was required by law to act before the primary vote, not afterwards. It is fundamental law that Equity hears not the Sloth coming into court.

Democratic response to Specter is deafening by their utterly stolid silence. DNC press secretary Stacy Paxton did not respond to our phone calls to her office and cell.

Liberal entities such as the Center for American Progress failed to respond. MoveOn (which we, the Trustees of the Republican Leadership Trust are the newly established GOP counterpart) avoids direct press contact by hiding behind a digital wall that requires the Fourth Estate to be vetted through an Orwellian email screening process.

Obama's response is his website promoting a "National Voter Protection Center" urging us that "in this year's election we have a historic opportunity to bring more people than ever back to the political process and an essential part of that is ensuring every vote counts."

Obama reputes that he was a prominent civil rights attorney, litigating hundreds of voting rights cases. In his September 28, 2007 Howard University speech, Obama implores: "The [students] who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted . . ." Come again?

Even the ACLU, the "stalwart" Constitutional guardian, prolifically "promising" to get back, failed to produce a single person to justify Obama. And this is despite pleading, as I was once, an ACLU board member for several years, albeit a lone conservative Republican in a sea of liberal, Democratic activists.

If this is so black and white, so basic Constitutional jurisprudence, why isn't the press demanding someone's head on a platter? Why are the liberal activists, who defend Mumia Adu-Jamal without blinking an eye, suddenly blind as two million Americans lose their right to vote? Is the Pelosi-Reid Political Correct Doublespeak so powerful as to usurp the very essence of our democracy? No matter where one hails on the political spectrum, as my fellow co-Trustee, Fred Hess, who also serves as an advisor to the son of the legendary Frank Rizzo, observed "there is never an excuse, under any circumstances, to defy the right to vote."

Go to www.GOPonDemand.com right now to learn how you can help stop the Obama/ Democrat/ MoveOn doublespeak and require the Democrats obey the 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under law. In America, absolutely no one deserves his ballot ripped up by the liberal Democrats. The students and mothers who marched in the streets of Birmingham deserve better, Mr. Obama, and it isn't you.

I can say that some of the songs on this cd do not really get me going, but as a lifelong Springsteen fan, my copy sounds perfect and I say him live during this tour and it was also my first concert ever and my only regret was not being able to go to 3 or 4 concerts in a row . Freaking incredible.
Even if you dont love a song or two on this album , they all still have that special something that makes my 3year old daughter just stand up and jam out

This has some incredible stuff on it, my favorite being "Long Walk Home," but throughout the record you keep getting surprised by all the styles he embraces, the quality of the songs, singing and production. The energy level in general is through the roof.

This is probably his most original and experimental record. Rather than go for the classic sound of Roy Bittans piano based songs like his older material, he tries a lot of styles, and you can hear a little Eleanor Rigby (Your Own Worst Enemy), Beach Boys, (Girls in Their Summer Dress), classic Springsteen (I'll Work For Your Love), Hick Springsteen (The bonus track, written for a close friends funeral), etc.

This is a very eclectic album, and his best in at least 25 years, maybe his best since the 70's. Born in the USA seemed a bit commercial, The River didn't fit together as seemlesly as this one. It has a new sound and a raw energy that makes it a modern classic, without necessarily being classic rock. But he seems to have actually grown as a songwriter and singer, which is rare for a rock musician of his age.

This album is not a tired performer and band running on fumes or just reliving past glory. He's creating new ones. I must have listened to it 25 times since getting it a week ago. It's not "Jungleland," or "Thunder Road" but it fits into it's own category. And as others have mentioned, it may very well be the best album of 2007.

Buy this cd, then see bruce live."Gyspy biker, long walk home and girls in their summer colthes" is so much better live than the studio recordings.

I love Bruce....but I love Bruce with the E Street Band better. I've always felt that magic was what happened whenever I went to a show. I have always wondered if the band also were in as much disbelief as I was that such intense magic happened one more night...and why to them. This album delivers that magic. It's my favorite in a long time. Danny will be missed.

Just when I think I couldn't care less about rock anymore, along comes "Magic". It manages to be both contemporary and classic at the same time. The lyrics of these songs talk to an American soul that cares about more than comfort and bling. The sound is straight ahead rock - muddy and coarse when it should be and sharp as glass when it needs to be.
Bruce and the E have fulfilled their promise - mature and vital.Magic

With each passing year, album and tour, Bruce Springsteen is making the strongest case for himself as being the most consistant and reliable American rock artist ever. Bruce and the E Street Band have already established themselves as the greatest live rock band ever, and only Dylan rivals Springsteen's ability to craft songs from the heart with a keen social observance. Even when Bruce goes off the trail with introspective, folk-oriented efforts like 'Devils and Dust' or the delightful, uptempo 'Seeger Sessions', the results are always pleasurable and successful. He's never made a less-than-worthwhile album.

'Magic', I would argue, is his best since 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'. Like 'Born in the USA', the album is deceiving in a way, as others have commented here, because the music is so friendly and rocking and yet the lyrics are full of anger and sadness. 'Radio Nowhere' explodes out of the speakers and just trashes the state of contemporary FM American radio. 'Last to Die' blasts the Bush Administration's Iraq war policy. 'Magic', the title track, seems to lament collective selfishness in society and rising racism. 'Gypsy Biker' documents the lost soul of a returning war Vet. The hidden track, 'Terry's Song', is a moving tribute to a departed, loved friend. Its poignancy is doubled by the fact that it could just as well been written for recently departed E Street Band organist Danny Federici - "when they built you Brother, they broke the mold...". Undeniably, this is American rock songwriting that simply doesn't exist anymore, with the exception, again, of Dylan.

I don't understand the criticisms I've read here of Brendan O' Brien's production. No album I've heard in the last couple of years booms so proudly or invites you into its wrath. Case in point - "Girls In Their Summer Clothes" sounds like Brian Wilson with modern technology, highlighting the friendliest Bruce vocal performance since "Hungry Heart", and enrapturing a wonderful tribute to lost summer innocence. If you're going to criticize production, try Madonna's latest, 'Hard Candy', which sounds like a mechanical disco-meets-going-out-of-business-porn-shop.

As you can probably tell, I love this album. If you are sick of manic-depressive techno bands with their hair hanging in their faces and hip-hop artists going on-and-on about urban ruthlessness and just want to hear music that makes you feel human again, 'Magic' is your choice. It is indeed magic.

The songs may be good but this sounds like years of loud live playing have destroyed his ears.This is an example of the worst use of compression I have ever heard,had to turn it off by the 2nd tune.Did they record the vocals off the telephone? Would give it no stars if they let me.Those 70s LPs sound greater every day this kind of dross is foisted on the public.

He's the boss for a reason. Listen to top 40, then listen to Bruce. If you can't see the difference, then you're ears are worthless.

This album is wonderful!! The Boss sounds as great as ever, and he proves once again that he still has a lot to say. My only regret is that I didn't buy it sooner! "Living in the Future" is a kick, "Radio Nowhere" says what I think a lot of people are thinking. Just a wonderful CD all the way around!

This album is PURE MAGIC! "The Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is such a perfect summer song! Makes me long for summer, and the Jersey Shore!

Well, saying this is the Boss' best work is quite superlative. Saying "Magic," is a quality album that sounds fresh for any artist regardless of age (but Bruce is turning 60) is more accurate. Here's where I'm coming from. I caught Bruce and the E Streeters twice mind you on the Born In the USA tour and listened to his three or four CD live album countless times. My whole family to include my 60's (age not era mind you) parents, brother, and my two kids are big Boss fans, but I'll not blindly rush to heap praise on "Magic," just because the Boss did it. There are moments here that equal some of his better work but as a whole I'd have to say it falls in the middle of the pack...ahead of Lucky Town and that other forgettable album that came out at the same time, but definitely behind the Boss's best, "The Rising," and "Darkness on the Edge of Town."

"Magic" starts off with a kick in "Radio Nowhere," the fairly ubiquitous pop rocking rave-up. There are pleasant moments throughout but the album's highlights (besides Radio Nowhere) are the absolute driving and mad "The Last To Die." It goes, "blood will spill and hearts will break, who'll be the last to die for a mistake," and by listening to the chorus it sounds like Bruce may be making some social commentary about the Iraq war but when you listen to the bridges, it might be about something else. Bruce spares no punches in concert about the subject of "Magic," another of the album's highlights. "I got shackles on my wrist / Soon I'll slip 'em and be gone / Chain me in a box in the river / And I'll rise singin' this song / On the road the sun is sinkin' low / There's bodies hangin' in the trees / This is what will be, This is what will be" Dark, Bruce, dark.

Just when you go and think Bruce has lost all faith he produces another of the album's highlights in "Long Walk Home." Something about these lyrics leaps right out at me and grabs me by the heart, "Here everybody has a neighbor / Everybody has a friend / Everybody has a reason to begin again / My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town / It's a beautiful place to be born / Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone...means certain things are set in stone / Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't" There goes Bruce believing in our hometown again, believing in beginning again, even though it seems he's temporarily lost faith in some of our nation's policies.

This is very good Bruce which on any day is better than 90% of the stuff out there. After all these years, the man and his group of merry-makers from the Jersey shore are still relevant, are still fresh. But don't go into this thinking this is the best Bruce. That's a hard row to hoe my friend. Get it now...you must have a little magic in your life. --MMW

I've been a huge fan since '74, have everything produced, attend multiple shows each tour, etc. I have had the record (CD)7 months at the time of writing this review. The bottom line is that I love the music and hate the production/engineering. As others have already said, the compression and distortion have resulted in me simply not listening to it anymore. I have tried and tried - *many* times - since October; and I simply cannot enjoy it. For what it's worth, I have a superb, expensive audio system, and I hear minor differences in sources easily. While Bruce's catalog has varied greatly with regard to sound quality, this is the only CD I no longer listen to because of the sound. If this had even average sound for Bruce, I'd easily give it a 4 or 4.5. By the way, I have listened to the CD in my car, and on other systems - with the same result. As others have said, I feel *very* frustrated and sad about this release.

p.s. I generally liked the production/engineering of The Rising, so I am not bashing Brendan O'Brien in any way.

The only "MAGIC" was them fooling fans into buying this waste of plastic. This is the Last time I buy springsteen without reading lotsa real reviews first. In fact I will never buy one of his albums again until Bruce gives me a good sounding copy to replace this. I have to think that many of the 5 star reviews are written by marketing people. With the very sad state of music today one would think it would be easy for a great writer like Springsteen to be a hit once again. Sad to say this is his very worst album ever, and yes i own almost all. The writing is very poor with maybe 2 slightly decent songs. The sound quality is terrible, I'm thinking maybe they are making this music to sound good on ear buds because on my very nice stereo it sounds like crud. Bruce was once one of my very favorite artists but now like that old favorite sports star you just wish he would retire with some dignity. The Cowboy Junkies have done some excellent Springsteen covers or go buy a Wilco album, you won't be dissapointed. Do not buy this album!

There, I said it. I'd give it 10 stars if I could.

Why is Bruce still, after 7 months on the magical "Magic" Tour, averaging 8 or 9 of this album's tunes a night? Because he, and the band, and the audience, all know that these are some of the best songs he's ever written...ever. For once, "the new stuff" makes everyone happy -- the players and the listeners.

Buy this album, listen to it, and love it. It's Springsteen's ultimate masterpiece. That's all I have to say.

Bruce Spingsteen has been quite buzy in this decade (after a 6 year lul following 1995's "The Ghost of Tom Joad"), indeed this release marks the 6th release in 7 years (The Rising; Live in New York City; Devils & Dust; We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions; Live in Dublin; and now this).

"Magic" (12 tracks, including one "bonus" track; 48 min.) is a breath of fresh air, as it really truly brings back the sound of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band as we had come to know and love them in the 70s and 80s (sorry, but "The Rising" album was a 'false' alarm in my opinion). Lead-off track (and first single) "Radio Nowhere" sets the tone and feels like it could have been a track from the "Born in the USA" era. Strong track after strong track follows, and really there isn't a weak track on here. My personal favorites on here include "Livin' In the Future", "Girls In THeir Summer Clothes", the title track and the 'closer' "Devil's Arcade". It really isn't the closer as it is followed by a bonus track "Terry's Song", a solo track from Bruce in tribute to Terry Magovern who passed away while the album was being recorded. In all, "Magic" is just that, a fantastic album by one of the legends in the music business.

I had the good fortune of seeing Bruce and the band in concert last month here in Cincinnati, and they put on a fantastic 2 hr. 20 min. set that included a bunch of songs from the "Magic" album, alongside a number of Bruce's classics. The "Magic" songs fitted in perfectly with those classics, and that is about the best compliment anyone could make about this album.

I can't pretend that I'm old enough to tell you that I remember listening to Born the U.S.A. in high school, but I am a big fan of Bruce and very familiar with his music. In my view, Magic is without a doubt his best since Born in the U.S.A. There's not one song on the album that is sub-par, and it maintains that unique E Street sound that has been lacking in some of Bruce's more recent albums.

The opening track, "Radio Nowhere", is probably the most widely played on the album and with good reason....it's a great, up-tempo song. But Radio Nowhere is only the beginning in an album full of gems.

Here are a few of my favorites:

"You'll Be Coming Down" is a good, confident, mid-tempo song with a great combo of sax and guitar.

"Living in the Future" is another, excellent, up-tempo song with a great tune and message. This is the addicting one that you'll be singing to yourself all day.

"You Own Worst Enemy" is another addicting, slower-tempo track that you can really identify with on a bad day.

The title track, "Magic", is very reminiscent of "The Rising", although I actually prefer it because it is much less repetitive and very relaxing.

"Last to Die" is the most openly political track on the album, drawing on John Kerry's famous quote after returning to the United States after serving in Vietnam. Of course, this time Springsteen is obviously taking aim at that mess we have going on in Iraq. It's a great song, and more power to him for getting an important message out there.

Hailed by many as the best track on the album, "Long Walk Home" is an excellent song that reminds me very much of Thunder Road. It has that laid back beginning that gets more and more up-tempo, fun and just plain awesome all the way through.

All things considered, this is an absolutely excellent album. Bruce is still putting quality stuff out there and I think this is really the best in a long time. Highly recommended!

I bought this CD about six months ago after hearing Bruce was again working with the E Street Band. While it lacks any overarching theme(s) such as in Born In The USA or Born To Run albums, it still is a great listen as it displays musical sparks from his past efforts while remaining fresh.

The upbeat Livin' In The Future sounds like something he could have recorded with Gary U.S. Bonds in the early 80s, while I'll Work For Your Love is a beautifully sincere song of devotion (probably something we don't hear much in music these days). I regularly listened to Girls In Their Summer Clothes with headphones on while walking to and from work just as the southern summer was approaching and boy did it conjure up some (mostly) happy mental images and it's still conjuring up some images now that the summer is over. A few songs including the title track can take a few listens before they can be really appreciated. This could be because there is not that one overarching theme.

I agree with some of the other reviewers that the sound production sometimes does not feel right, probably somewhat distorted such as in You'll Be Comin' Down (though not a bad song). Overall, the lyrics on this album could be described as interesting in that they sometimes paint a beautiful picture but sometimes can be a little too cryptic. Bruce's lyrics on this album also display quite a fascination with blood..... Hmm!

For an artist who's way past his youth, this is a good return to form. Buying this CD has also taken me back a few years to a time when buying an album was a satisfying experience. John Fogerty's recent Revival release also did something similar.

So far as I know, I've only heard one song from this album. Is that enough to do a review of the album? I think so. The song is "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," and I've only heard it recently because the music video gets played *constantly* at the gym I recently started attending. I heard the song several times and hated it right away, but at first I had no idea it was Springsteen. It doesn't sound at all like him. It sounds like Green Day or maybe Coldplay trying to be as sappy as they can to make the biggest possible score in the pop market.

Even worse is the video. (That was how I found out this was a Springsteen song.) Good God. Is this really Bruce Springsteen? I already knew that too often, pharmaceutical commercials look like music videos, and music videos look like pharmaceutical commercials, but this video seems to be the textbook case. You can't possibly get any more emasculated. "Do you suffer from feminine itch?" the screen seems to ask. "Try Magicil. Ask your doctor for details!"

Is this really the guy who did "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Nebraska"? Is he reduced to doing macho poses with an acoustic guitar on a hilltop while a camera circles around him? Intercut with pretentious images of "girls" of all ages staring serenely and majestically into the camera? Did he not make enough money from this previously multi-platinum albums that he has to resort to lite FM musical stylings?

This song is so bad, so syrupy, so dull, so tedious, so awful that I wouldn't listen to the rest of the album if it were given to me.

Maybe Bruce can go on tour with Celine Dion. As for me, I wear earplugs at the gym.

I've been a Springsteen fan since the time when Born to Run was still current. I would say I was a rabid Springsteen fan through the period of Born To Run-> Darkness on the Edge of Town -> The River -> Nebraska. In my eyes (ears), he started to stumble around the time of Born in the USA, which--though it is the album that made him a megastar--seemed rather weak at the time (and hasn't improved with age). Through the remainder of the '80s, Springsteen released only one album, Tunnel of Love, which tried to defy the superstar make-me-another-one-like-you-just-made that Born in the USA had set up with a decidedly more contemplative mood. While it featured some great songs, as an album it was only good.

Then, with the advent of the new decade, things took a sharp turn for the worse. There was the spotty double CD released as two singles (Human Touch/Lucky Town), the dry Ghost of Tom Joad, the preachy and dry Rising and the slightly better Devils and Dust. There were good intentions littered about, some good lyrics, and some good tunes. But none of these albums created the kind of listening experience that begged you to push repeat after the album was over.

2006's We Shall Overcome, which consists primarily of dusty Pete Seeger covers, was another thing entirely. I like Pete Seeger, and I suppose this album is good enough for what it is. But I find it unlistenable. After slogging through about 2/3 of the album, I just took it off out of boredom. My love affair with Springsteen was over.

Or so I thought. When the new album came out, arriving on a wave of "back to the E Street sound you love!" hype, I passed it off as desperation. Then I heard the leadoff single, "Radio Nowhere", and I was even more convinced this was not gonna be good. Lyrically, Radio Nowhere is classic Springsteen-in-non-epic mode. But musically, it's just too tired and monotonous. Anyone who's ever tried to play Springsteen on their own guitar (or just glanced at a Springsteen songbook) has quickly realized that the classic Springsteen song is characterized by a simple chord progression made something special by a solid arrangement and a fantastic, sympathetic band. When things are working, you don't even notice the simplicity of the underlying music because of the great arrangement and interesting lyrics. Well, on Radio Nowhere the FIRST thing you notice is that this song is musically monotonous. Yeah, it sounds like Bruce, but this is B-side Bruce, not something that should open an album.

So, in light his past few album misses this first single--which I consider to be subpar--I was far from excited about listening to the whole album. As a result, the album sat on my "to listen to" pile for nearly half a year.

Finally, one night, I put it on. Track one: Radio Nowhere. Sounds just like the b-side it sounded like when I first heard it. Track two: You'll be Comin' Down. Nice, poppy and catchy, but more the kind of Twinkie that belongs, again on a B-side than prime Bruce. Track three: Livin' in the Future. Every rocking Springsteen album from the dawn of time has had a track that sound just about exactly like this one. It's always one of the worst tracks on the album, but at least in the past, the lyrics would sometimes redeem it. Here, the lyrics are just pathetic.

At this point, I'm ready to pull the album off. But I'll give the next song a chance. If it isn't better than what I've heard, that's the end.

Track four: Your Own Worst Enemy. Well now, this is a bit better. This still isn't QUITE prime Springsteen, but it's not bad at all. OK, the album gets another chance.

And THEN, FINALLY, things start to kick in.

Track five: Gypsy Biker. OK folks, THIS is prime, timeless, classic Springsteen. This track could be from any album since Born to Run, and I mean that in a good way. Good lyrics, good song, good E-street performance. Please, Bruce, let this be an omen, and not a fluke...

Track six: Girls in their Summer Clothes. It's not a fluke! This is the E-Street Band in full-out Spector mode. It's a good, catchy bon-bon. Not the cornerstone of the album, but really enjoyable.

Track seven: I'll Work for Your Love. Hmmm...OK. Back to something approaching b-side territory. Not terrible by any means, but kind of insubstantial, despite some lyrical patches that are reminiscent of classic Springsteen.

Track eight: Magic. This sounds EXACTLY like something that might have come from side two of Born in the USA. To me it sounds like an inferior cousin to Born's (best track) "Downbound Train"). Alright, but I'm starting to worry that the momentum he got going with tracks five and six is waning.

Tracks 9-11: Last to Die, Long Walk Home, Devil's Arcade. W-O-W. Well, OK. Welcome home, Bruce, all is forgiven. Bullseye. Here we have a nice stretch of classic Springsteen music. There hasn't been a 3 song trifecta of this quality since...well at least Nebraska. THIS is why I kept buying all those other Springsteen albums...Winners all around: top flight lyrically and musically, and the E-Street band really brings it all home.

Well, what can I say? There are five tracks here (Gypsy Biker, Girls, Last to Die, Long Walk Home and Devil's Arcade) that would form about 60% of as good an album as Bruce has ever released, outside of Born to Run. Of the remaining tracks, there are only a couple of stinkers, and even one of those (Radio Nowhere) has started to grow on me--just a bit--since I've started to play the album incessantly.

And that's really the key to this album: It is an album--the first Springsteen album in ages--that does beg you to play it, in total, over and over. For once, there was truth in the hype: This IS Springsteen's best album in many years. Too bad he wasted his last great original opus length track ("Land of Hope and Dreams") on a live album from a few years ago, because if he'd included that song here instead and jettisoned some of the B-side stuff (albeit high quality b-side stuff), this album would be a stone cold classic.

I really don't. How could you possibly rate this album below four stars? Weird. Really weird. Man, I guess there really are different strokes. I'll say this much; I'm no Bruce Springsteen fan. In fact, he's always annoyed me. But this album... Wow. Blew me away. This one will go on my all time favorite list. Great record.

I was let down as I have always raved about Bruce, but this one only has a couple of songs that get you groovin'.

I am so happy to see the E Street Band back in action! What a fun album, it truly is magic. Any true fan of the Boss will enjoy this album.

I must say that this is the worst record Bruce has ever released: Poor recording, poor mix, poor mastering, and poor arrangements musically.

Where is the timeless music Bruce has released in the past? With new releases like this, I can't wait for a remastering of Darkness on the Edge of Town. This one is pathetic.

Radio Nowhere is an awesome song. Not surprising to see that Bruce Springsteen still has it after all these years. The rest of the album is rather enjoyable

Bruce Springsteen's new release, Magic, proves that the man has still got it. While this doesn't touch his awesome work from the `70s through early 80's and there is no classic like "Born to Run" or "Hungry Heart" here, most of the songs are very good. The opening rocker "Radio Nowhere" may be Bruce's hardest rocking song ever. Tracks like "You'll Be Coming Down", "Livin' In The Future", and "I'll Work for Your Love" all boast great hooks and strong choruses and in another time when real music was played on the radio, would all have been hit singles. While some of the lyrics on the album are political, most notably on the anti-war track, "Last to Die", Bruce never comes off sounding preachy. Other great tracks include the driving "Gypsy Biker", the melancholy tribute "Terry's Song", the melodic "Long Walk Home" and the somber title song. The only missteps on the album are his attempts to replicate the mid-60's schmaltzy ballads on "Your Own Worst Enemy" and "Girls in the Summer Clothes." All told, Magic is Bruce's best album in quite awhile and is definitely worth the purchase.

I liked Born to run and Darkness on the edge of town. Born in the USA however was a disaster from my point of view. Then Bruce came up with the fantastic We shall overcome so I was a bit excided that this would be good to but no. When I listen to this Magic I feel that this is the kind of music I loved when I was 16. The boring jingle bells even still there! So from my opinion this is a disappoinment.

Bruce stretches his msucles on this album as he has on every one before. Sure, there are no "Born To Runs" or "Badlands" on here, it's mostly middle of the road, but the lyrics are deep. "A Long Walk Home" and "The Girls In Their Summer Clothes" are 2 of my favorites. The latter being one of the most dreamy, vivid songs ever put down by anyone. You can smell the ocean and feel the oardwalk beneath your feet on that one, its just sounds like a Motown blast from the past and caught me off guard. We are going to see Bruce In Columbus On March 24, 2008 and I hope he inlcudes this one. This is not as intenses as the Rising, but it's no "Tom Joad" or "Nebraska" mellow thing either. Some of the tracks do sound like pre 1976 Springsteen to me, and the E Street Band has never been tighter. When we Saw them on The Rising Tour, it was the most Amazing vibe I've ever felt in the air at a concert, and I've seen everyone who's sold over 100 million records.

Let me start by saying this review will be completely biased! As a lover of Springsteen since seeing him with the E Street Band for the first time as a teen it would be pretty hard for him to release something that I did not like.

That being said, Magic is like the Springsteen of the seventees. If not for the age and time we live in now and the furor over his political views by those who control mainstream radio, this CD would have several smash hits, including the relentless "Radio Nowhere," and the equally smooth "Girls in Summer Clothes."

The wall of sound is back in play on this disc, much more so than on "The Rising." This sounds like a garage band having fun jamming on a summer evening.

I have been a Bruce Springsteen fan for more than 20 years and own most of his music. I saw him in 1985 during the Born in the USA tour and consider that show to be the best live concert I've ever attended.

I pre-ordered Magic based on comments by Springsteen's manager that this album echoed the Boss's work of the 1970's. Having listened through the album several times, I do not agree with that assessment. I agree with many others that some of the lyrics are hard to understand. For a person like Springsteen who has something to say about life in our times, I think the words matter. Many of the songs aim for the good-time feel of some of Springsteen's earlier work with the obligatory Clarence Clemon's solos and fine keyboard work by Roy Bittan, but they don't have much to say.

The highlights for me are the buoyant "Livin' in the Future" and the wry cover song "Magic," both subtle damnations of the policies of the "Current Occupant." I admire Springsteen for putting his reputation and career on the line to say what needs to be said in this day and age of people who will crucify you for speaking against those currently in power. But he should have made sure the final mix of the songs put those words out front.

I wanted to like this album. Despite repeated listens, I can't get very excited about it as a whole, although I do really like a couple of the songs.

Bruce Springsteen & The E. Street Band-Magic *****


When you get right down to it, the bare basic rock n' roll, strip all the country leanings, the ol' dixie influence of albums past, the self-indulgent pop that went against everything you set out to do, and you have Magic, Springsteens most honest and true to form albums in years. Magic might be the very best album Springsteen ever released, rivaling that of even U.S.A., Darkness On The Edge Of Town, and even the legendary Born To Run. While it might not be as theme concious as those albums it does do something remarkable. Magic is a career spanning album, it has something from all that fasits of his career. Lour Arena rockers, Politicaly charged anthems, country hinged melodys, Bob Dylan meets Jack Kerouack lyrics, and a backing of one of Americas greatest rock bands, The E. Street Band.

Opening with one of their all time greatest songs, 'Radio Nowhere' comes across as a plea by way of a neutron bomb. Homming some of his best lyrics and some of the E. Street Bands best grooves. 'You'll Be Coming Down' is what they wish they would have accomplished with The Rising.'Livin' In The Future' would have fit perfectly with The River, and gives vision to what everyone wishes they could say sometimes, "We're living in the future, and none of this has happened yet." 'Girls In Their Summer Clothes' is one of the best songs the band has ever recorded reminding us of early Springsteen. 'Last To Die' is easily the best anti-war-in-Iraq song to ever come along. While the 'Long Walk Home' may just be the best to come along in the last ten years from anyone, one that truly has to be heard to fully appreciate.

Magic is the album we have all been waiting for, one that we almost got with The Rising, but just came up short. Magic is easily the best Springsteen album since U.S.A., and maybe of their entire career.

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's 2007 effort "Magic" is an immensely enjoyable project. Springsteen dubbed this release a "pop" album, and while upon first listen it musically doesn't seem any more "pop" than the band's previous effort, 2002's The Rising, it's clear that the mindset was different in the making of this record. Where The Rising was full of inspirational songwriting and post-9/11 sentiments, "Magic"'s songs focus again on love and personal struggles. The product is an album that is every bit as genius as its predecessor.

Springsteen continues to progress as an artist and a songwriter. The tunes on "Magic" range from rugged hard rock to softer folksy material to catchy ballads. What remains a constant is a certain nostalgia to most of the tracks; the majority sound somewhat similar, and often startlingly so, to a Springsteen song from 20 years ago. Bruce's verses are frequently poetic, thoughtful, and artistic. He lets loose social and political statements in a metaphoric fashion. Longtime fans might notice a change in his vocal sound, as he tends to incorporate a little more vibrato or airiness into his usually gruff delivery, and his verses are not as repetitive. The result is another excellent composition from the greatest rock performer of our time.

The band also sounds fantastic. Clarence Clemons' sax is as aggressively smooth and powerful as ever, and Little Stevie Van Zandt seems only to get better with age. The multi-talented Soozie Tyrell provides invaluable contributions on the violin and background vocals. What might take getting used to for fans is the production. Some studio elements are incorporated to make a balance and sometimes an echo effect that might turn some off at first. However, I find the sound to be clean and polished.

The album opens with an instant classic, the driving arena rock of "Radio Nowhere." Following a wonderful guitar line, Bruce delivers perfect verses despairing about the current state of mainstream media, complete with a Clemons solo. This song catches Bruce and the band at their absolute finest. "You'll Be Coming Down" and the somewhat political "Livin' in the Future" are both rich arrangements, the former an artistic somber number and the latter a seemingly joyful rocker. "Your Own Worst Enemy" sounds phenomenal, and the lyrics are thought-provoking. Bruce's harmonica opens "Gypsy Biker," a creative and memorable number, and the unforgettable "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" provides a true highlight, musically and lyrically perfect. Roy Bittan's piano on the great "I'll Work for Your Love" recalls his performances on Born to Run, and it turns into a catchy and endearing love song. The title track is a subdued and deep effort that would be at home on Devils & Dust. "Last to Die" is frenetic and meaningful, and while "Long Walk Home" feels familiar, it is nonetheless enjoyable. The most ambitious song is "Devil's Arcade." Structurally, the best comparison I can make would be to "Bittersweet Symphony," and it's a really impressive song. The album closes with "Terry's Song," a heartfelt highlight dedicated to his late friend Terry Magovern.

"Magic" is yet another wonderful composition to add to the Springsteen legacy. Both the man and the band are in top form, and this album shines from a performance and artistic standpoint. As with any of Bruce's music, it is best enjoyed live, and should you get the chance to enjoy the "Magic" tour, you will not be disappointed. However, the fans who can't make it to catch the tour will be satisfied for the time being with this excellent album from rock music's greatest visionary.

it's interesting to see who the real "listeners" are in this group...i agree that the mix just is sooo overpowering and bruce's voice gets sooo lost in the mix....REMIX the album like a true BRUCE album should sound like!

Good lord who could have released this cd without noticing how badly it
sounds ??
The actual cd content wise is terrific but it is horrible to listen to.
I bought it twice thinking I had a bad copy.

Oh how the quality of recordings has declined..
me coming from the 50's listening to my little 45's..
heck they sounded better than this.

But again back to the actual songs..I love em !

The Boss has captured the essence of today's society in "magically" woven lyrics that should have captured Album of the Year at the Grammy's. "Your own worse enemy has come to town" speaks loud and clear about the lies and devastation caused by the Bush adminstration. I highly recommend this CD and advice you to listen closely to the words. All the songs are typical Bruce quality - amazing! Buy it, buy it now.

I was never a big Bruce Springsteen fan although I know of his music back in the 80's. However, when I heard his song Girls In Their Summer Clothes, I had to check him out. I previewed the song and his video and decided to get his album. Now that I have listened to all the tracks on Magic, I have been coverted to a Bruce fan. The songs are great, the lyrics well written, the sounds, rhythms and structure of his songs are pure Springsteen at his best. A definate must for any fan and a definate please try it to anyone that is not.

The songs are definitely in there but the production is so horrid you can't hear them,firstly it's mixed way too loud they have chosen to go with the wall of sound technique and Bruce's voice is lost in the mix every thing sounds flat there is no definition to the instruments and it starts to hurt to listen after about 4 songs,one of the best cds i have bought lately is Robert Plant and Alison Krauss have a listen to that for decent production.I hope they remaster this and let the great songs buried in here shine.

As long as The Boss is alive, rock will never be dead. This album is really great. I agree that the arrangements are pretty overwhelming at times but if you pay attention to the lyrics, you'll find that this is truly a well-written, well-produced album that is one of the highpoints of rock music in this decade. I'm glad that it won two Grammys! It's worth listening if you love rock and want to hear something good.

I've always been a mild fan of Bruce. Saw him in concert and have a few of his albums. I prefer his older material, "Greetings from Asbury Park", than "Born In the USA". It's been awhile since anything new from Bruce resonated with me. I happen to hear the song "Radio Nowhere" on the radio, and I said, wow, is that new Springsteen? It had a great gritty rock n roll sound to it. My girlfriend went out and bought the album, and I took a listen. No sooner did I start listen to the second song, did I realize what was in store. Every song was so smooth and pleasing to the ear. His voice sounds so much better on this album, than previous records. Bottom line is, I'm hooked on this album, one of the best I've heard in a long time.

This is an album for people who enjoy excellence in the rock genre and who have not forfeited their capacity to think about contemporary political affairs. After hearing of this album's release on a self-proclaimed conservative radio talk show and the almost hateful blasting it received, I thought I should hear it for myself. I bought it the next day in Starbuck's. The discrepancy between the description of the radio announcer and product could not have been more pronounced.

Music in a Patriotic Tradition

The album is in the best tradition of American patriotic protest and folk ballads (albeit set to a beat). It was written, produced, and sung by an American citizen who clearly regards himself as just that --a citizen -- rather than the subject of a government. There was after all, no more fundamental premise or value behind the origins of this country and its rebellion against George III, than appeal to the norms and idea of citizenship as opposed to being subjects of a governmental apparatus currently in power. And so it was with considerable irony, most especially coming from a self-proclaimed conservative, that I recalled the comments of this talk show radio announcer the previous evening. For my parents, conservatism meant standing for principles and values that go back to the roots of the American Republic. Apparently for some on talk radio today, conservatism simply means conformity with the party line. While that has been a criterion of patriotism in other places and times, it has never before been a criterion of American patriotism. Indeed, it's difficult for me to imagine a less patriotic stance in America than that of this self-proclaimed patriot on supposedly conservative talk radio and that of his vitriolic callers. In the concluding line of "Your Own Worst Enemy" included on this CD, Springsteen manages to make the point in an understated poetic fashion, "Your flag it flew so high, It drifted into the sky."

A Patriotism that must give hope today for our Watching Forefathers

To Bruce Springsteen's question, "Is there anyone alive out there?" I would only add, "is there anyone out there on talk radio (and any regular following they apparently have) who thinks anymore?" A republic can only endure so much of a loss in capacity to think critically and survive as a republic. As our founders understood very well, any republic is a precarious creation. The longest recorded durations in history have been in the neighborhood of two hundred years. These histories were studied closely by our founders. When Benjamin Franklin was descending the stairs in Philadelphia at the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, he was asked by a bystander, "what type of government do we have?" His answer went straight to the point: "a republic sir, if you can keep it." The founding fathers were keenly aware that a republic is incapable of enduring apart from a citizenry that retains the capacity to think critically for itself. Masses do not deliberative democracies make. And partisan self-righteousness linked with blindness to historical trends only increases the probability of cyclical historical recurrence, this time under the watch of our generations. The only immediate counterweight to the decay of republics as a form of government is an alive citizenry. This citizen makes his views known through his music yet is devoid of preaching at others; his questioning of dominant governmental policies and patterns, his demonstrated capacity for grounded scenario thinking as expressed in song, and appeal to reflective thought on the part of his listeners is whole, direct, and personal.

Beyond the Ideologues of Right and Left

It's a remarkable commentary on what appears an accelerating political and social decadence in our time that a review of a musical album in the finest traditions of American patriotism (not to mention musical craftsmanship) should come under this kind of attack and call for such a preface in a review of its music. This is an album that will please neither ideologues of left or right. For the ideological left, it will be far too concerned with what they may view as idiosyncratic situations of people rather than hard-hitting on their key talking points. For the ideological right, it's an album that -- albeit almost entirely symbolically -- takes a position that disagrees with their own. It endorses the facile solutions promoted by neither side of contemporary ideological diatribes. There seems to exude from this album a call for something deeper than the self-contained ideological thought and practices of any stripe. When either dominant political party skirts rapidly over or places itself above the reflective and deliberative practices fundamental for the sustenance of a viable republic, it should not be surprising to find ourselves in quandaries such as we find ourselves today.

For an audience who still thinks, Magic takes the listener through "three minute" snapshots of the impact of the Iraq war on real people. Unlike ideologues of right or left, there's no arrogant pretension in this album to an omniscient view. What makes this album worth listening to is precisely the lack of any such pretense. What it offers rather is common sense perspectives and questions grounded in experiences of the music's characters who experience the war or its consequences at the ground level. It offers poetic metaphors that may stimulate thought and invite listeners to make their own sense of the situation. It offers an articulation in lyric and song of points of view that will be recognizable by many who today are compelled to deal with realities in their immediate life space created by the Iraqi War.

Listen to the Music and Think for Yourself

On listening to the music, I first played it through and found that I alternatively tapped my foot to the music on the faster songs (e.g., "Livin' in the Future") and listened most closely to the words on the more melodic songs (e.g., "Magic"). I enjoyed the music, but felt like I missed a lot in the songs so played it again, this time following the words in the (nicely done) booklet accompanying the album. Although there are no proper nouns in the album, situational and metaphorical references to the Iraqi War in the album as a whole are clear enough to anyone living in this time period. Nevertheless, based on the radio report I'd heard, I was surprised to see how much the album relied on poetic metaphor rather than upon any explicit references. Moreover, much of the symbolism is subtle and I did not understand it on my first or second reading. Where were the "Bush-hating" lyrics as advertised on talk radio? It seems that statements by such radio hosts are much better understood as projected portrayals of their own suppositions and mindsets in the face of disagreements rather than useful characterizations of the topic they purportedly are addressing.

After the third time listening, I just put Magic on continuous replay for the rest of the evening. I ended up staying up too late. As I went about my evening, I felt I was still missing things in the subtly crafted symbolism and was enjoying the music too much to want it to stop. It's a music that just continued growing on me. I enjoyed it more the last time through then on the first play of the evening.

Although I wrote these notes right at the time of the album's release, I never got around to posting them. The Magic Tour has recently been scheduled for a 2008 run, so perhaps posting these thoughts may still be a timely and useful reference for some.

In Sum

I recommend this album heartily for fans of good rock and roll music. And for thinking people whose mindsets have not been pre-formed by the "grand narratives," or -- to borrow a lyric from one of the bonus songs on Springsteen's equally powerful "Seeger Sessions" folk album - by the "gleam in someone's eye" of those ideologues in formal positions of power and on the airwaves of today, whether of right or left political formation. In the spirit of prophets of old, the music in this album calls upon people to think afresh, "who are the Pharisees hiding behind cloaks of self-righteousness today?" This album at once issues a poetic warning call to those with ears to hear and is a celebration in song, providing high quality grist for the mill for those who happen to enjoy good rock and roll music, who are alive to dilemmas of the historical epoch in which we live, and who have not forfeited their native capacity to reflectively think for themselves (and who at the same time thereby enable, within some sphere of influence, the objective possibility of meaningful deliberation with others).