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BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN:

Columbia Records To Release 'Devils & Dust' On April 26

Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen's nineteenth album, 'Devils & Dust,' on April 26. 'Devils & Dust' features twelve new Springsteen songs.

'Devils & Dust' Track List

Devils & Dust
All The Way Home
Reno
Long Time Comin'
Black Cowboys
Maria's Bed
Silver Palomino
Jesus Was an Only Son
Leah
The Hitter
All I'm Thinkin' About
Matamoras Banks

My wife is already dreading this day! Whether or not I get small theater tour fever is another thing altogether. This site may have to be shut down if that happens.
The new issue of Backstreets came in the mail last week. It's the fan magazine for Bruce and all things Bruce; like all fanzines, it's heavy on the celebrity of the artist and light on the artistry and critique of the artist (probably due to the slow time right now). Since months go by before events hit the presses, fans who subscribe have to wade through well-written articles that they have read the 'off the presses' versions on message boards and 'blogs. I don't read Backstreets for its Pulitzer-prize winning journalism; I want to get the lowdown on the music that either Bruce is making or others like and around him are making. Though ailing from similar woes but probably a much better fanzine is Hittin' the Note, the rag featuring the music of the Allman Brothers Band. The scope of the magazine has expanded over the last couple of years and really challenges Relix for a well-rounded good read.
Speaking of the Allmans, last week, I had the good fortune of catching the Derek Trucks Band twice in concert! Both shows, one in the city and the other in Santa Cruz, were not just stellar, but soul-stirring phenomena. Each show had its peaks and neither had a dull or for that matter, even "cool" moment: everything the band plays and does keeps the intensity at eleven, even when the song is a touching, slow jazz ballad. Derek took my breath away with a version of John Coltrane-inspired Greensleeves, and, as I told him after the show, it was the most amazing performance I'd ever hear him play. Stunning. I've raved about this band before. There is no hype, only sheer genius.
Back to Bruce: the album, if it's a cross between Tom Joad and his politics of late, should be another dreary, dark, and ultimately mournful album. It's album mood such as this that Bruce creates that shows his true artistry and not just his 'rock showmanship.' To hear Dead Man Walking for the first time in a decade reminded me of the bitter and divided feelings I had when watching that film; listening to a live version of Joad's Across the Border gave me hope that people who struggle just to make life work can one day do just that. Faith, hope, and love; it's all there, even when people don't always know what they're looking for. Nine weeks to go...