Review: Devils & Dust, The Boss

[lancer]

Now being English, it may sound strange that I totally respond emotionally to what Bruce has spoken about in many of his albums, but I do, mainly because of childhood experiences that have grown into adult ones.

Spoiler: Choices

This album was meant to be totally acoustic with nothing else but the producers put in drums, pianos and background vocals. This does not detract at all from the album in fact i feel it enhances it. If you want to listen to the purely Acoustical album, this is a dual disk side b is a DVD with music videos and a full version of the album but totally stripped down with just bruce and the GE-tar.

Now Bruce has many great albums, is Devils & Dust amoung the best, well thats what this review is going to try and find out.

When I first pushed it into my car stereo, my wife was like "Can't we listen to the New Snoop album you just bought (I know varied tastes)", so out he went after a couple of songs, namely the albums namesake first song Devils & Dust which is about, so I'm told a troop in Iraq, I have to say I thought the song was ok, but not very interesting.

I've only listened to the album a few times since then (about a month ago), but over the past couple of days I've revisited it some more, and I have to say I realised my mistake at once, it's not a pick up and listen album, it's the kind that grows on you, the kind you need to listen to and get used to kinda like a weird new friend that shows you a different way of viewing things.

The album talks about the usual suspects, love, loss, death and of course prostitution (like all good albums ).

The song that grabs me most is Long Time Comin: (see link below) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B0007WF1WS001004/0/103-5825684-6959008

And the probably leah:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B0007WF1WS001009/0/103-5825684-6959008

I think because they both seem to talk about loss and then redemption, something we all strive for.

In conclusion to my rather irratic review, I would say if you are a fan, this album may at first seem a letdown, perhaps a daunting task to like, but give it time to grow and mature on you, and really listen to the lyrics, the core of any good song. For the non-fans who are looking for something new accoustically, I would also recommend it, but I would also recommend picking up some other Boss albums at the same time namely Tunnel of Love, Nebraska and of course Born in the USA, just to give yourself a background of the Boss Man himself.

 

[muzikool]

I picked up this album the day it came out and, like you, haven't given it more than 2 or 3 run-throughs. I imagine that you're right and that the album will grow on me, but I've tried listening to it at work, and that's not going to be the best venue for this type of album. Like you said, the lyrical content is a HUGE part of the record, and that's something that I'm not able to concentrate on as much (since I'm multitasking).

Also, I've been distracted by the new DMB and Ben Folds albums, so the new Boss record has been sitting on the shelf.

 

[lancer]

who is DMB and Ben Fold?

 

[muzikool]

DMB = Dave Matthews Band
http://osnn.net/forum/showthread.php?t=72664

Ben Folds - Not as mainstream as The Boss or DMB, but I highly recommend checking him out. He used to be part of a band in the late 90's called Ben Folds Five.

 

[lancer]

ok dave matthews band, never herd them called dmb, i got into them a lot a couple years back, but the remind me too much of depressing times so now i stay away.