release date: Apr. 26, 2005
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,16]
producer: Brendan O'Brien
label: Columbia Records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Devils & Dust" - 2. "All the Way Home" - 4. "Long Time Comin' " - 9. "Leah"
13th studio album by Bruce Springsteen finds him releasing yet another quiet and primarily acoustic album, his third of its kind as the sequel that started with Nebraska (1982) and was continued with The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995). Although producer Brendan O'Brien is almost synonymous with alt. rock [Pearl Jam] he is still managing the production without co-pilot, and that is hard to tell if that choice make any difference.
I find this the least interesting of his three acoustic albums. Two or three tracks are not acoustic, which seems quite strange because the majority of the tracks are slow and minimally orchestrated ballads. At times he sounds more like Ry Cooder ('Maria's Bed') or Bob Dylan ('Long Time Comin' '), trying something new, and at other times he's just Springsteen doing what he knows - repeating himself.
The album was met by positive reviews topping the charts both in the UK and in the US, and it also secured Springsteen 5 Grammy awards.
Not really recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 4,5 / 5 stars ]
