Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Album Review: Bruce Springsteen- Only the Strong Survive
The Onion/AV Club used to make a list of least essential albums and at first glance, Bruce Springsteen’s Only the Strong Survive feels like a modern day example.
It has a lot to overcome. It is a Motown and soul covers album released after one of the most successful Springsteen albums of recent years.
A good way to approach the album is by examining the Four Tops “Seven Rooms of Gloom”. I am a big fan of the band, the song is classic and literally no one can sing it like Levi Stubbs.
Not even a belter like the Boss. So why try?
But why not try? It’s a labor of love project. These are good songs. Bruce can bring some gravity to a song like “The Sun Ain’t Going to Shine Anymore” or the Commodores’ “Night Shift”.
Critics seem to love the “Karaoke Springsteen” line and they’re not wrong. If you are a music critic (or a wannabe like myself) you can dig pretty deep on this. Wouldn’t this work better in a live context? Wouldn’t this be better fleshed out by the E Street Band instead of just with Ron Aniello doing all the work? Wouldn’t this have been better 30 years ago?
Yet it’s Springsteen and if you’re a fan of his, you probably are of the mindset that there is more to rock than what a critic thinks.
So it is with this album, if you can spend any time with it. Would I rather hear Diana Ross or Bruce sing “Someday We Will Be Together”? Well, my answer is Diana, but it’s a great song and Bruce sings it with passion.
And you could probably have that conversation 15 times. This album is likely to be one that leaves sound systems in a few months, but who knows - some may really enjoy this if they give it a chance.
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