Bruce Springsteen - Western Stars ALBUM REVIEW

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Bruce Springsteen is an absolute legend. You may not be a giant fan of his music, but the impact he’s had on music is so widespread. Nearly five decades into his career, he hasn’t slowed down by any means, but there’s been a slight dip in quality. It’s not the music being blatantly bad, but in the way of his newer works hitting the same level as his iconic classics like Born to Run, Born in the U.S.A., or Nebraska. Now, five years after his last album and a Broadway show, The Boss is back with Western Stars, a cinematic return to music for Bruce, and even better, a new sound. Let’s get into Western Stars and see how it is.

Western Stars is a rock album with country, folk, Americana, and even some orchestral undertones. Now, for this section, there might be a bit of a bias on my opinion on this record because my family is pretty much obsessed with him. I’ve inherited nearly his entire discography (including some bootlegged concerts) on vinyl, and because of this, I’ve heard a lot of Bruce. Personally, this is my favorite MODERN Springsteen album, not out of his entire career, but at least from this century. The production throughout this record is just stunning, it’s one of the most beautiful albums that Springsteen has made. All of these tracks have these massive, vivid, and detailed instrumentals that complement Bruce’s voice so well. As always, Bruce’s writing is in top form throughout Western Stars. The constant themes of the blues of the everyman aren’t far from his usual content, but he isn’t an everyman. He’s far from one, yet he continues to relate to them on an incredible level. Even if his more recent releases haven’t been amazing, his writing’s always been incredible.

I can say without any doubts that Western Stars is Bruce Springsteen’s best modern record. Everything about it is great, but it isn’t a masterpiece. It’s very enjoyable to me, but I’ll just keep going back to his older projects to get more enjoyment out of Springsteen’s music. Either way, Western Stars is a great addition to Springsteen’s discography.


8/10


Stream Western Stars here

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