What if you popped a Bruce Springsteen album into your CD player and out came the familiar riff of Tommy Tutone's 1982 hit "867-5309/Jenny"? You might feel cheated, lied to even. Not I.
Maybe it's because "867-5309/Jenny" is one of the greatest songs of all time, or maybe it's because "Radio Nowhere" is a rocker that, despite its borrowed riff, is still indisputably Springsteen, but the lead single and first track from Springsteen's new album, "Magic," is destined to end up an essential track of his repertoire.
After "Radio Nowhere," "Magic," which was released on October 2, slows down disappointingly.
The second and third tracks, "You'll Be Comin' Down" and "Livin' in the Future," are OK, but they are no classics. Likewise, "Your Own Worst Enemy" and "Gypsy Biker" turn out to be throwaways, but the sixth track, "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," is the second of the three gems on "Magic."
"Girls" shows that even in 2007, the Boss can convince his listeners that he's just a teenager watching the girls in their summer clothes pass him by. With an original sound and throwback lyrics, this track should be the favorite of fans of Springsteen's earliest work.
The album's second single and tenth track, "Long Walk Home," showcases Springsteen's celebrated attention to detail, with lines like "In town I pass Sal's grocery / Barber shop on South Street," but ultimately doesn't impress. The closing two tracks, on the other hand, do deliver.
"Devil's Arcade" was originally supposed to end "Magic," but Springsteen added "Terry's Song" at the last minute to memorialize Terry Magovern, Springsteen's personal assistant of 23 years, who died on July 30.
"Devil's Arcade" would have been a fine ending to the album, with its slow build-up and sense of finality, but it's "Terry's Song" that just might be the best of all 12 tracks. Though it doesn't fit with the rest of the album, it is heart-rending and genuine. The listener can really hear Springsteen's anguish in his music, lyrics, and voice.
"Terry's Song" reminds Springsteen's listeners that the Boss doesn't just do anthems. It's his lyrical, quiet compositions, like 1984's "My Hometown" and 1993's "Streets of Philadelphia," as well as every track off of 1982's "Nebraska," that make him a legend.
As far as lyrics are concerned, Springsteen is still politically engaged. He questions the Iraq war in the album's ninth track, "Last to Die," asking "Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break? / Who'll be the last to die for a mistake?"
In "Livin' in the Future," he recalls how he "Woke up election day / Sky's gunpowder and shades of gray," and perhaps as a result, "My ship Liberty sailed away / On a bloody red horizon."
"867-5309/Jenny" isn't the only hit from which the Boss seems to have drawn inspiration. "Livin' in the Future" is a Springsteenized version of U2's "Angel of Harlem." In addition, the eighth and title track takes its introductory riff from Radiohead's "Paranoid Android."
"Magic" isn't a top Springsteen album, but between "Radio Nowhere," "Girls in Their Summer Clothes," and "Terry's Song," there's something for every Springsteen fan. Barring 2002's "The Rising," "Magic" is the best album the Boss has put out since 1987's "Tunnel of Love."