I’m not sure that the Boss needs my shout-out, but he’s going to get it: The new record is a wake and a party and a mystical event, all rolled into one. Most of the songs are traditionals, and in the great tradition of American folk music, Bruce doesn’t stand on ceremony – he rips them up, puts them back together, and plays them loud.

Everything but the kitchen sink is in there. Banjo? Check. Accordion? Yes. Tuba? Hell, yes. Cowbell? Unverified, but I wouldn’t be surprised.

My pick of the litter: “O Mary Don’t You Weep.” I love that martial beat, the horns teasing the melody, the swelling chorus, and the Boss at the front of it all, tout and preacher both.

God gave Noah the rainbow sign
Said, “No more water
But fire next time”

Pharaoh’s army got drownded
O Mary don’t weep
O Mary don’t you weep

I don’t know if it’s about revolution or apocalypse, but I say bring it on, because it sounds like a hell of a time. If a better record comes out this year, it’ll mean that Elvis really didn’t die and he’s been working on something with Rick Rubin. That could be some pretty hot stuff, and certainly worth taking note of, but even then, it would take a major effort to match The Seeger Sessions.

Cheers,
Owen

P.S. I don’t know if it’s still there, but I believe that at one time the Boss’s website had a stream of his (monster) version of “How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live,” and if it’s still there, it’s definitely worth a listen.