Though one may expect the album to open with a rocker, Bruce reaches back to a blend of Nebraska (1982), The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995), and Devils and Dust (2005) in “One Minute You’re Here” calling up the existential dread we all carry, particularly in this time of Covid-19, “One minute you’re here/Next minute you’re not.”
Bruce takes the distilled spirits of Born to Run (1975), Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978) and The River (1980), splashing droplets onto his Letter To You where Bruce wails that he, “Dug deep in my soul and signed my name True/And send it in my letter to you.” Once again, “the streets busted open and these two lanes can take us anywhere.” With the title track, a love letter to the members of The Castiles, Bruce's first band formed during his teen-age years, Bruce reaches out to his global fan base and beyond in a time of increased isolation and delivers a strong and potent album.
“Burnin’ Train” continues the existential vein as Springsteen wails, “Take me and shake me from/this mortal cage” harkening back to the strong religious imagery of “Adam Raised A Cain” where he exclaims, “Outside the endless rain/Darlin’ I’m blessed in your blood/And marked by Cain.”
“Rainmaker” falls from the sky with the potent remembrance of The Rising, which spoke to the post 9/11 world and much of what that fateful day wrought. Now, in a time of global pandemic, and ravaging wildfires, Springsteen calls out for a healing rain.
“Ghost” brings one back to Magic (2008), an album which found Bruce returning to his rocking roots after the acoustic Devils and Dust (2005) and folk covers rendered on We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) and serves as a fitting sequel to "We Are Alive," the last track on Wrecking Ball (2012).
“Candy”, from Darkness on the Edge of Town, comes back in “Janey Needs A Shooter” as Bruce sings about a woman who has interactions with other men, from her doctor to priest, though not sexual but is truly understood by that one special man who truly understands her, “A shooter man who knows her style/The way that I know her style/A man who knows her style.”
When George Theis, the next to last surviving member of The Castiles passed away at 68, it caused Springsteen to pause and go into a deep reflection on the significance of those formative years. "Last Man Standing" came out of that reflection in which Bruce stands at the mic as the soul survivor and howls, "Rock of ages lift me somehow/Somewhere high and hard and loud/Somewhere deep into the heart of the crowd/I'm the last man standing now."
This album is a meditation upon Springsteen's entire career, from The Castiles to the E Street Band and what the creative process has been for him as he sings , "If you get it right/It has the power of prayer" in the soul filled, rock and roll church attending "Power of Prayer."
“I’ll See You In My Dreams” could be to Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, members of The Castiles or anyone else who Bruce has lost along the way and serves as a fitting end to Letter To You, as once again, he writes a letter to those lost souls, “And though my soul feels like it’s been/split at the seams/I’ll see you in my dreams.”
Overall, Letter to You is a little bit of a lot of everything Springsteen’s ever done.
Richard Meadows | Guitar & Pen
Hello Springsteen fans. This is Richard Meadows and I'd love to hear what you thought of the above Springsteen review.
ReplyDelete