Wikio - Top Blogs - Religion and belief

Monday 30 April 2012

Real hope in the face of genuine despair

On Wrecking Ball Bruce Springsteen combines the classic sound of the E Street Band with that of the Seeger Sessions Band. He combines hard times stories of recession hit working people with the language of hope and aspiration in the midst of hard times found in gospel music and spirituals. He even manages to combine folk, gospel and rap within one song ('Rocky Ground') without sounding a false note. He repeats the trick he pulled off with 'Born in the USA' of writing a patriotic sounding song which questions the unthinking patriotism of those who don't appreciate the irony ('We Take Care Of Our Own'). The album is propelled forward by the anger of its storytelling songs before seguing through 'Wrecking Ball' into songs of hopeful fortitude for which Springsteen appropriates the language of faith and the imagery of the Bible. Wrecking Ball is a masterful summation of Springsteen's strengths and an inspirational call to real hope in the face of genuine despair.  

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Bruce Springsteen - Rocky Ground.

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