Don't know how many of you guys are fans, but this totally interests me. And I know The Senator and Bloor will phsyched. Guess it's back to the ol' acoustic again. Sweet!

COLUMBIA RECORDS TO RELEASE DEVILS & DUST ON APRIL 26

Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen's nineteenth album, 'Devils & Dust,' on April 26. 'Devils & Dust' features twelve new Springsteen songs.

'Devils & Dust' Track List

1. Devils & Dust
2. All The Way Home
3. Reno
4. Long Time Comin'
5. Black Cowboys
6. Maria's Bed
7. Silver Palomino
8. Jesus Was an Only Son
9. Leah
10. The Hitter
11. All I'm Thinkin' About
12. Matamoras Banks

'Devils & Dust' was produced by Brendan O'Brien, who first worked with Springsteen on the acclaimed CD, 'The Rising.' The new album was recorded at Thrill Hill Recording Studios in Los Angeles and New Jersey with additional engineering at Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta.

Springsteen is planning a tour to accompany the release of the album. Details will be announced shortly.

Oh, yes!

Oh you can bet your sweet ass I'm excited.

is this him (mostly) solo a la Joad, or is this with the band?

I feel that "$200 for a concert" thread coming back to haunt me...

Still, new Springsteen? Possibly in the vein of "Tom Joad" no less? Color me excited...

Quick Poll: which album is better: Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad" or Bright Eyes' "I'm Wide Awake"...

I'm giving it to the old man...

I don't own one Bruce album or song.

Not for any particular reason.

Uh, not to add to the Oberst bashing or nuthin' because I've got no beef with him, but TGOTJ, without doubt.

Then, Jericho, you haven't truly lived...

Seriosuly, how is this even debateble? TGOTJ is one of the darkest albums I've ever listened to it. Makes Nebraska look downright chippy.

Busty, I for one am looking forward to this like a muh'fuck'a. Just looking at some of the song titles, I am immediately intrigued.

BRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I do own some Throbbing Gristle. Does that help?

There is no substitute for The Boss. Ever. Sorry...

NP: "My Best Was Never Good Enough"

New Springsteen Album Due in April

02/16/2005 2:24 PM, AP
Larry Mcshane

The seeds for Bruce Springsteen 's new album "Devils & Dust" were sown nearly a decade ago, when the singer-songwriter began his first-ever solo acoustic tour.

"I was so excited after playing on that tour, I'd get off the stage and go write," Springsteen told The Associated Press about those 1995-96 dates. "Then I put those songs on the shelf for a while, until I had a chance to revisit them."

The visit is now complete, with a 12-song album due in stores April 26 — Springsteen's first release of all-new material since his Sept. 11-themed "The Rising" in July 2002. A tour was planned to follow the release, although Springsteen said it was unclear if he would perform alone or with a small band.

Two of the new album's songs, "The Hitter" and "Long Time Comin'," were written and performed on "The Ghost of Tom Joad" tour. But not all the material dates back that far; the title track was written around the start of the war in Iraq , Springsteen said.

"It works as a metaphor for all the music underneath it, the individual stories of people wrestling with their demons," Springsteen said of the title track. "A lot of it is set in the West, in what feels like a rural setting.

"It's about people working through their confusions, sometimes well and sometimes tragically," he said in a telephone interview earlier this week.

Springsteen opted to record without the E Street Band for "Devils & Dust." The core group was Springsteen on guitar and other instruments, producer Brendan O'Brien on bass and drummer Steve Jordan, who had produced last year's "23rd Street Lullaby" album by Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa.

In keeping with his pattern of recording, the new album is a quieter, more acoustic affair than "The Rising." Springsteen, 55, has alternated between large-scale rock records followed by more introspective material since 1982's "Nebraska" was released two years after "The River."

Pedal steel guitar, harmonica and violin fill in the sparse, rootsy arrangements. Springsteen, who says his vocal range has expanded with age, provides some higher-pitched vocals on the track "All I'm Thinking About."

Springsteen said the accompanying tour would be an acoustic affair whether he performs alone or with a band, targeting theaters and smaller venues.

"I was actually signed as an acoustic act, and I've always enjoyed playing acoustic," Springsteen said. "Even when I was in a band, back in my early days, I was always writing songs that weren't meant for the band."

Was anyone disappointed in The Rising at all? Cause I was. Parts of it were really damn good, but some of the songwriting was weak, and I thought the production and mix felt flat and thin.

I thought the songwriting was very strong and most of the songs good, but yeah, the production was very "Hot AC."

Strong songwriting under the lens of all songwriters, or strong for Bruce? Cause I expect alot out of Bruce.

It wasn't Bruce's best (I think that working with E Street for a full album might not've been the best decision on this one), but it wasn't his worst either...

I'm in total agreement with you.

i've never heard a bruce album after Born in the USA
got and love all the ones before it.

If he tours with DBT and they do a segue of "Tornadoes" into "Spirit Of The Night" I might break my over-hundred bucks rule.

When he turns 60, Bruce should cut an album of indie covers to freak people out. Like maybe do Desparacidos "Man And Wife, The Latter (Damaged Goods)" and maybe "Bastards Of Young" and "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and ummm...like maybe some Cat Power song. And a duet with Fiona Apple.

Bruce covering "Names"?!?!? Color me intrigued.

Why? Why? Why?

if he does them as duets and immediately dies his wife'd have to build a wing onto his house for all the grammy's it'd win.

As opposed to the production on which Springsteen album?; SERIOUSLY. If you are going to throw it out there, Frosty and epa, please back it up (no offense here boys) because I actually think that the production on "The Rising" is nice: crisp--it ain't easy to record and mix a NINE piece rock band and still be able to discern everyones part without it being muddy; if it sounds a bit too crisp to you (read, your "hot AC" frosty----shit even crap like "Mary's Place" sounds better than anything on radio.) well it ain't no sin to own a fucking compressor or 20.

As to the songwriting, listen to "In to the Fire", "Paradise" or "My City of Ruins" a couple times and get back to me.

Yail, i think when discussing a career artist, people tend to lionize them for being consistently good compared to what was released by other artists in the same time frame of each release, or they're criticized because their current album doesn't stand up to previous albums in terms of songwriting or production or what have you (although that only lasts until the next album comes around to bump the last album into the pantheon of greats). You either compare the artist to other artists, or to his previous body of work.

Is The Rising a good album? Yeah.

Is it Springsteen's greatest? Not to me.

Is it Springsteen's best produced? Hell no, I mean, it's better than Human Touch, but it doesn't approach any of a number of his albums. We'll turn it on in as little as 5 or 10 years, and it will sound dated.

I remember The Rising got pretty divided press. And it's the 2nd or third closest thing that Springsteen's got to an actual John Mellencamp album.

So, uh... why do i have to defend my slight disappointment in this album?