JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 5
expectcharacter-driven
songsandCalisunshine
onTheBoss’s firststudio
albumin fiveyears
U
ncut’sfirstindicationthatBruce
springsteenhada newstudio
albumintheworksbackcameback
inJanuary2018,fromhismanager
JonLandau.“It’sa fantasticrecord,
anunexpectedrecord,”heenthused.“It’sgoing
tobecomemythicatsomepoint!”Thecompleted
albumwastemporarilyshelvedwhileSpringsteen
OnBroadwayextendedfarbeyonditsoriginal
run.Atlast,though,WesternStarswillarriveon
June14.Neithera soloacousticeffortnoran
E streetBandstomper,insteadit featuresa
returntothequalitiesofhismostpopularwork,
completewithwhatspringsteenhimself
describesas“character-drivensongsand
sweeping,cinematicorchestralarrangements.
It’sa jewelboxofa record,”headds.
Thealbumwasrecordedprimarilyat
springsteen’shomestudioinNewJerseywith
additionalrecordinginCaliforniaandNewYork.
TheCaliforniasessionswereparticularly
significant,encouragingspringsteentoexplorea
late-’60s/early-’70sWestCoastpopsound,with
keycontributionsfromkeyboardwizardJon
Brion(onceleste,Farfisa
andMoog).Co-producer
RonAnielloalsoplayedbass
andkeyboards,whilethe
E streetconnectionis
maintainedbythepresence
ofPattiscialfa,Charlie
Giordano,soozieTyrelland
theband’sfirstkeyboardist
Davidsancious.
JonLandaurevealedto
uncutthatspringsteenhad
referencedsongwriterssuch
asJimmyWebbandBurt
Bacharach.single“Hello
sunshine”– sonorousand
upbeat– certainlybacks
thatup,althoughtitlessuch
as“MoonlightMotel”and
“Chasin’WildHorses”suggest
allis notentirelyrosyinthe
Boss’slatestsurveyofclassic
Americana.SAMRIcHARDS dannyclinch
“It’s a jewel box
of a record”
BrUCe sPriNgsTeeN
Back
on the
highway