Bruce Springsteen (Columbia)
Rush-released to coincide with the inauguration of Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen’s 16th album is his cheeriest for a while.
He’s in good voice throughout, but the material is inconsistent — the epic Outlaw Pete and the yearning Queen Of The Supermarket verge, in different ways, on self-parody — and Brendan O’Brien’s production never decides whether it wants to be messy and airless (This Life) or just plain boring (My Lucky Day).
Not his best. WILL FULFORD-JONES
