Album of the Day — November 2
Bruce Springsteen — Letter to You
Bruce Springsteen — Letter to You
02.November.2020
Bruce Springsteen
Letter To You
2020
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one because at this point, you either like Bruce Springsteen or you don’t.
Technically speaking, while Letter To You appears to be labeled a Bruce Springsteen album, it’s a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band album. But the same principle applies, you either like them, or you don’t.
Letter To You is very on-brand for Springsteen and company.
That said, this is one of the strongest Springsteen albums I’ve heard in years.
Letter To You starts a little murky with “One Minute You’re Here.” I was afraid I was going to be stuck listening to this kind of stuff.
Springsteen is 71 now, and like anything that’s been around awhile, it takes a while to get going. And it doesn’t take long for Springsteen and the E Street Band to lock in and get the hell goin!
“Letter To You,” “Burnin’ Train,” “Janey Needs a Shooter” (someone needs to tell Bruce she already has a gun), they all sound like your typical Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band song. Which is to say they’re good songs.
“Last Man Standing” seems a little self-reflective, and “The Power of Prayer” just seems out of place.
“House of a Thousand Guitars” has a melody I recognize but can’t seem to put my finger on.
But it’s the last five songs prove exactly why Bruce Springsteen is Bruce Springsteen. They’re simply amazing.
“Rainmaker”
“If I Was The Priest”
“Ghosts”
“Song for Orphans”
“I’ll See You In My Dreams”
Critics almost always fall over themselves to praise Springsteen …and in this case, I agree. Letter To You is that good.
CRITICS:
Alex McLevy at The AV Club called it “one of the finest achievements of Bruce Springsteen’s career.”
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic wrote — “This shared warmth carries Letter To You through the moments where the younger Bruce is perhaps a bit too precious and the older Springsteen is a bit too clear, turning a record that’s a meditation on mortality into a celebration of what it means to be alive in the moment.”
If you like Bruce Springsteen, you’ll like Letter To You. If you’ve never really listened to Springsteen, listen to those last five songs, they’re representative, but not all “Springsteen-ish.” They’re fucking great, in particular “If I Was the Priest” and “Ghosts.”