Columbia/Sony
Suddenly Bruce Springsteen’s face and music is as ubiquitous as it was in the mid-’80s — what with his palling around with Barack Obama Mickey Rourke and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Backing up his public appearances with some actual music Springsteen is releasing his second album with the E Street Band in the past year and a half. That’s a pretty quick turn-out rate but he has the songs to warrant it.
Where 2007’s Magic was fairly boring Working on a Dream finds the E Street Band in a playful mood with Springsteen happily singing about love and hope. While the album isn’t his most even effort swinging from the folksy eight-minute opener “Outlaw Pete” to somewhat-electric blues on “Good Eye” it is generally fun to listen to with full-on pop songs like “Surprise Surprise” and “Kingdom of Days.” Working on a Dream is certainly not the most important album in the E Street canon but it’s nice to hear some optimism coming from everyone’s favourite working class hero.