“Letter To You” Classic Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen reunites with the E Street Band in his new album, Letter To You. The band seems to come together at critical moments. Times when there’s a need to express a powerful message. They reunited in 2002 for The Rising, a meditation on 9/11 and its aftermath. The Wrecking Ball centered on the “bastards” behind the 2007 financial crisis. Likewise, their 20th studio album is political and of the moment.

Comment on the US Election

Releasing an album timed to the US presidential election is not an accident. “Rainmaker” speaks of a figure who “says night’s day and day’s night” and who’s supporters are eager to allot blame. Then they “come to make damn sure this mean season’s got nothing to do with them.” Notably, Springsteen has threatened to emigrate if the President was re-elected.

Classic Springsteen

Letter to You is classic Springsteen. It opens with an acoustic ballad that features down-bound trains, the edge of town and going down to the river lyrics.

The title track follows with a nod to the three artists who influenced Springsteen’s breakthrough Born To Run. The heavy vocal quiver seems to reference Roy Orbison while we hear Bob Dylan’s wild mercury sound of the mid-60s. The song closes with castanets, which appear to be a tip of the hat to Phil Spector.

Several tracks show a back-to fundamentals approach of Springsteen in the early 1970’s. The band recorded “Janey Needs a Shooter” in the 70’s, yet never released it.

Eulogy to Past Band Members

Letter to You is inward, featuring melodic memories of past band members. The sound is haunted by the death of band members Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons. The latter eulogized on “Last Man Standing,” a track that’s representative of their low-rent 60’s gigs.

We see the shadow of guitarist George Theiss in “Ghosts” and “I’ll see you in My Dreams.” The guitarist, who died in 2018, goes back to Springsteen’s beginning in a band called The Castiles. We see Springsteen going through Theiss’s old guitars, amps and clothes.

It’s fresh to hear Springsteen singing about himself. Letter To You sees Springsteen as an older man reflecting on the past while acknowledging the present. Glory days.

Reprinted with permission from https://werax.com/letter-to-you-classic-springsteen/