Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball

by Bruce Springsteen
Wrecking Ball

Wrecking Ball

by Bruce Springsteen

CD(Digi-Pak)

$14.99 
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Overview

Heavy lies the crown on Bruce Springsteen' head. Alone among his generation -- or any subsequent, actually -- he has shouldered the burden of telling stories of the downtrodden in the new millennium, a class whose numbers increase by the year, a fact that weighs on Springsteen throughout 2012's Wrecking Ball. Such heavy-hearted rumination is not unusual for the Boss. Ever since The Rising, his 2012 return to action, a record deliberately tailored to address the lingering anger and sorrow from 9/11, Springsteen has eschewed the frivolous in favor of the weighty, escalating his dry, dusty folk and operatic rock in tandem, all in hopes of pushing the plight of the forgotten into public consciousness. Each of his five albums since The Rising has been tailored for the specific political moment -- Devils & Dust ruminated over forgotten Americans in the wake of the Iraq war, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions was an election year rallying call, Magic struggled to find meaning in these hard times, Working on a Dream saw hope in the dawning days of Obama -- and it's no mistake that Wrecking Ball fuses elements of all four into an election year state of the union: Bruce is taking stock of where we are and how we got here, urging us to push forward. If that sounds a bit haughty, it also plays that way. Springsteen has systematically removed any element of fun -- "Mary's Place" is the only original in the past decade that could be called a party song -- along with all the romance or any element confessional songwriting. He has adopted the mantle of troubadour as oral historian, telling tales of the forgotten and punctuating them with rallying calls to action. Wrecking Ball contains more of the latter than either of its predecessors, summoning the masses to rise up against fatcat bankers, set to singalongs lifted from Seeger. There's an unshakable collectivist hootenanny feel on Wrecking Ball, not to mention allusions to gospel including a borrowed refrain from "This Train," but Springsteen takes pains to have the music feel modern, inviting Tom Morello to do aural paintings with his guitar, threading some trip-hop rhythms into the mix, and finding space for a guest rap on "Rocky Ground." Springsteen is so focused on preaching against creeping inequality in the .U.S, he's emphasized his words over his music, letting the big-footed stomps and melancholy strumming play second fiddle to the stories. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 03/06/2012
Label: Columbia / Sony Music
UPC: 0886919425420
Rank: 2519

Tracks

  1. We Take Care of Our Own
  2. Easy Money
  3. Shackled and Drawn
  4. Jack of All Trades
  5. Death to My Hometown
  6. This Depression
  7. Wrecking Ball
  8. You've Got It
  9. Rocky Ground
  10. Land of Hope and Dreams
  11. We Are Alive

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bruce Springsteen   Primary Artist,Percussion,Banjo,Drums,Loops,Organ,Piano,Guitar,Vocals
Greg Leisz   Banjo,Mandola,Lap Steel Guitar
Ron Aniello   Bass,Drums,Loops,Guitar,Keyboards,Hurdygurdy,Vocals (Background)
Art Baron   Tuba,Euphonium,Sousaphone,Penny Whistle
Tom Morello   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Stan Harrison   Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor)
Dan Levine   Euphonium,Horn (Alto)
Darrell Leonard   Trumpet,Trumpet (Bass)
Patti Scialfa   Vocals (Background)
Steven Van Zandt   Mandolin,Vocals (Background)
Tiffeny Andrews   Vocals (Background)
Clark Gayton   Trombone
Clarence Clemons   Soloist,Saxophone
Charlie Giordano   Piano,Accordion
Rob Lebret   Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Dan Shelly   Bassoon
Ross Petersen   Vocals (Background)
Corinda Carford   Vocals (Background)
Curt Ramm   Cornet,Trumpet
Kevin Buell   Drums,Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Steve Jordan   Percussion
Ed Manion   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Baritone)
New York Chamber Consort   Featured Artist
Antoinette Savage   Vocals (Background)
Soloman Cobbs   Vocals (Background)
Victorious Gospel Choir   Featured Artist
Lilly Brown   Vocals (Background)
Matt Chamberlain   Drums,Percussion
Max Weinberg   Drums
Jeremy McCoy   Violin (Bass)
Soozie Tyrell   Violin,Vocals (Background)
Lisa Lowell   Vocals (Background)
Michelle Moore   Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Cindy Mizelle   Vocals (Background)
Clif Norrell   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Jon Landau   Management,Executive Producer
Toby Scott   Engineer,Production Coordination
Patti Scialfa   Vocal Arrangement
Chris Lord-Alge   Mixing
Barbara Carr   Management
Rich Costey   Mixing
Brandon Duncan   Assistant
Matty Green   Assistant
Nik Karpen   Assistant
Chris Kasych   Assistant
Shari Sutcliffe   Contractor
Andrew Schubert   Mixing Assistant
David Bett   Design,Art Direction
Ross Petersen   Engineer,Pro-Tools,Overdub Engineer
Mike Layos   Assistant
Dan Silber   Assistant
Marilyn Laverty   Publicity
Brad Townsend   Mixing Assistant
Alison Oscar   Management
Michelle Holme   Design,Art Direction
Derik Lee   Assistant
Rob Light   Booking
Barry Bell   Booking
Jan Stabile   Management
Rob Lebret   Engineer,Assistant
Jo Lopez   Photography
Ron Aniello   Engineer,Producer,Pro-Tools,Overdub Engineer
Danny Clinch   Photography
Keith Armstrong   Assistant
Bruce Springsteen   Composer,Producer
Bob Clearmountain   Mixing
Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Clif Norrell   Engineer

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