Soundbite: “Working on a Dream”
By Robert Lines
Feb. 2, 2009 9:22 p.m.
It almost hurts to criticize the Boss when I recall the heights he has reached in popular music over the last four decades, but unfortunately, “Working on a Dream” marks one of the lowest points in the Springsteen catalogue.
Apparently, half the songs on the record were written in a week ““ and it shows. The album begins with “Outlaw Pete,” an eight-minute epic chronicling the escapades of a baby cowboy.
Yes, seriously, a baby cowboy.
With lyrics like “He robbed a bank in his diapers / And his little bare baby feet,” it’s hard to know whether Springsteen’s joking. Maybe it’s a subtle work of Spaghetti Western parody and the joke is on us, but I somehow doubt it. The lyrical deficiencies here are, sadly, a sign for what’s to come on the rest of the album.
Springsteen sings, “And when the sun comes out tomorrow, it’ll be the start of a brand new day” on “Surprise Surprise.” Suppose it will be, Bruce, but factual statements don’t make lyrics on their own. Admittedly, with the grit and soul of his deep New Jersey baritone, Springsteen can often transform simple lines into heartfelt turns ““ it’s just that the lyrics are too simple here.
The overwrought production of the album only exacerbates matters. Brendan O’Brien, who also produced 2007’s mediocre “Magic” and 2002’s much better “The Rising,” doesn’t seem to know what sound he’s aiming for.
The use of strings is gratuitous, and the murky production blurs all the other instruments together; there is no bass articulation, crash of a high hat or clipped guitar tones. The sound is almost like a throwback to some of the awful production work that marked Bob Dylan’s ’80s releases.
As the album progresses, it runs over familiar territory. The title track deals with Springsteen’s favorite topic: the American dream (“Though sometimes it feels so far away / I’m working on a dream”), but here the message feels false and outdated. After all, this is a man who’s been chasing the “runaway American dream” (“Born to Run”), or the “dreams that tear you apart” (“Promised Land”) for the last 30 years.
Springsteen just doesn’t seem to know what dream he’s chasing anymore, so he resigns himself to work on any old dream, song or lyric ““ working his listener into a stupor. I’m sure the song went down well at Obama rallies and stirred the heartstrings of a few in the Super Bowl crowd, but Springsteen knows how to do that without demeaning himself.
The album hits a low point with “Queen of the Supermarket,” an embarrassing ballad recounting the singer’s love for a supermarket worker. He sings “As the evening sky turns blue / A dream awaits in aisle No. 2″ (there’s that dream again). The song again screams parody ““ even “Flight of the Conchords” wouldn’t dare this. But hey, maybe the song will thematically fit well into the next Wal-Mart-sponsored greatest hits collection.
As the album continues, Springsteen croons on about the sky, the stars, the sunrise, his car, etc., on “This Life” and “What Love Can Do,” which feels like he has sent a mail order to the ’70s for tried and tested songwriting images ““ except this time he’s forgotten to fit them into any meaningful lyrical narratives or interesting musical structures.
If I’m hard on Springsteen, it’s only because the final tracks of the album provide a glimpse of the songwriting gifts he still retains. “The Wrestler,” which was originally written for Darren Aronofsky’s film of the same name, is a low-key narrative of failure and redemption.
The hushed acoustics are a welcome release from the overdone sound of the rest of the album, and Springsteen’s dogged vocals suit the lyrics perfectly. “The Last Carnival” is a tasteful paean to ex-keyboard player Danny Federici. With its gentle acoustic riff, the track is both disquieting and elegiac.
But a good ending can’t save a bad film, and Springsteen’s album fails despite the improvement in the final tracks. The Boss needs to stop writing songs more quickly than he can boil an egg and regenerate his approach for 2009. If he does, maybe Springsteen fans will stop reaching for his old records and start picking up his new ones without cringing.
E-mail Lines at [email protected].
