Letter to all of us

 

It is very hard to imagine Bruce Springsteen ever writing bad music. Try: I doubt you’ll really able to. And that’s perfectly normal: the man has enjoyed a creative streak that is almost unparalleled in musical history, except perhaps for the Nobel prize-worthy heights of Mr Bod Dylan or the poetic magic of the late Leonard Cohen… In other words, the Boss can practically do no wrong and has stood, for decades now, at the firmament of performing musicians and songwriters. Hence the nickname.

In that context, 2019’s Western star wasn’t a bad record by any stretch of the word — and it enjoyed both critical and commercial acclaim to boot. However, one might argue that it was a) a somewhat more predictable type of work, coming from a man who’s almost always positively surprised us over the years with his unique musical creativity, b) a somewhat less Boss-esque type of work, with Springsteen finding himself further away from his core blue-collar storytelling style, instead flirting with an arguably picturesque representation of Americana, albeit usually found in the country music realm. Again, not bad work overall, but Mr Springsteen has produced so many great things over the course of his career, and with such a distinct style, that we always want more from the Boss…

And more we got, in the form of a letter, apparently to you. This is the brand new — and 20th — Springsteen album we’re talking about, Letter to you, and it was released a mere few days ago, i.e. about 18 months after its predecessor. For a man who’s already seen 71 springs, that is a pretty strong pace… And an incredibly strong piece of work too: prompted by the death of the only other remaining member of his first band, the Castiles, this sad realization lead to the artist writing a slew of songs in a matter of days, as well as reworking very old and still unreleased tracks of his, to form what we had all hoped for — a remarkably well crafted Springsteen and E Street Band album which conveys both the energy that comes from youth and the wisdom that comes with age.

What is most interesting about Letter to you is its incredibly consistent voice, despite the fact that 3 of the songs on the album were written almost 50 years before the rest. And that voice is unmistakably that of the Boss himself, whose incredibly unique musical personality permeates everything he does in such a way that you can just tell that you are listening to a Springsteen song. Granted, songs like “If I was the priest” or “Song for orphans”, written by a 20-something up-and-comer, are somewhat more bombastic, orchestral, over the top if you will, illustrating the fact that young Bruce had a healthy vision of what the future could hold, both personally and as an artist. Yet, songs like the eponymous “Letter to you” or “Ghosts” (which precisely alludes to this little travel through time this album really is) could have easily been written by a much younger man. And “House of a thousand guitars” is quite simply a timeless gem, the kind anyone of any age would love to have written…

All told, Letter to you confirms — if there was still any doubt — the sheer magnitude of Mr Bruce Springsteen’s talent, and the splendid uniqueness of his voice in the musical world — and the world at large for that matter. Here’s to hoping that voice can be heard in many more albums of this caliber, because there will be people waiting to listen to it!