In much the same way that he followed the full-on assault of THE RIVER with the scaled-down, folk-based NEBRASKA, some two-and-a-half decades later, Bruce Springsteen made another stylistic about-face. In stark contrast to its predecessor, 2002's uplifting, epic-scale rocker THE RISING, DEVILS & DUST is a spare, quiet, acoustic-oriented album full of shadows and whispers. Where THE RISING, a direct response to the tragedy of 9/11, rallied the spirit with impassioned optimism, the characters Bruce inhabits on DEVILS & DUST are often neck-deep in regret, bitterness, and despair. Not only does the album demonstrate the width of Springsteen's emotional range; perhaps more importantly, it contains some of his finest writing since its spiritual cousin, 1987's similarly harrowing, low-key TUNNEL OF LOVE. Over a bed of acoustic guitars, occasional keyboards, and a no-frills rhythm section (plus the odd string section--a new wrinkle), Bruce matches hard-won emotional insights with poetic reveries that never abandon personal resonance for flights of fancy. In the process, he careens sharply away from those who would freeze him in the full-bore-rocker role of which he sometimes wearies.
Number of discs
1
Reviews
Rolling Stone (pp.69-70) - 4.5 stars out of 5 - "[R]endered with a subdued, mostly acoustic flair that smells of wood smoke and sparkles in the right places like stars in a clear Plains sky." Entertainment Weekly (No. 817/818, p.144) - "[D]EVILS is a more mature effort than JOAD and NEBRASKA, for being a little less bleak..." - Grade: A- Uncut (p.100) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]he tone is sombre, drenched in memories and regrets. In the tradition of JOAD or NEBRASKA, Springsteen aims for a sense of timelessness." Mojo (Publisher) (p.58) - Ranked #4 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[E]erie, funny, melancholy, sombre, broken, foul-mouthed, joyous. In a word, human." Mojo (Publisher) (p.61) - Ranked #48 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Springsteen's the invisible creator on the inside of each character, persuading us to feel, see and connect." Paste (magazine) - "Opener 'Devils and Dust' spotlights Springsteen's spare acoustic strums and gorgeously worn growls."