Western Stars [Blue Smoke Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

Western Stars [Blue Smoke Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

by Bruce Springsteen
Western Stars [Blue Smoke Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

Western Stars [Blue Smoke Vinyl] [B&N Exclusive]

by Bruce Springsteen

Vinyl LP(Long Playing Record - B&N Exclusive Edition)

$35.99 
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Overview

Western Stars is a title that suggests wide-open, cinematic vistas, music made for the outer reaches of a widescreen. Such sweeping ambition isn't necessarily alien to Bruce Springsteen, a rocker who designed his self-styled 1975 breakthrough as a larger-than-life hybrid of AM pop and FM album rock profundity -- a daring fusion that eventually favored the latter, perhaps because it was easier for the E-Street Band to fill arenas with cranked amps and big riffs. Western Stars contains none of that rabble-rousing. Springsteen plays and writes with a gentle touch on this 2019 album, his empathy evident in his series of story songs and character portraits, and in his embrace of another aspect of AM radio that he previously avoided: orchestrated arrangements so rich and enveloping they can sound softly trippy. Taking his cues from the lush hits Jimmy Webb wrote for Glen Campbell, Springsteen never opts for music that is as opulently ornate as his inspirations. His words are a little too direct, for one, a combination of cannily sturdy cliches tempered by startling turns of phrase that pull songs into perspective. The cliches are intentional. All of its allusions to the culture of the '60s and early '70s -- the swirling strings, the songs of wanderlust, the wink to Leiber & Stoller in the title of "Sleepy Joe's Cafe," a nod to Danny O'Keefe's "Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" on "Hello Sunshine" -- conjure a collective memory of a time when hippie ideals faded in the dawn of the '70s. This isn't a piece of nostalgia on Springsteen's part, though. These references deepen a collection of songs that are sweet, sad, and searching, songs that feel finely etched on their own terms but gather a deep, lasting resonance when collected on this enchanting album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date: 06/14/2019
Label: Bmg Special Products
UPC: 0190759572511

Tracks

Disc 1

  1. Hitch Hikin'
  2. The Wayfarer
  3. Tucson Train
  4. Western Stars
  5. Sleepy Joe's Caf¿¿
  6. Drive Fast (The Stuntman)

Disc 2

  1. Chasin' Wild Horses
  2. Sundown
  3. Somewhere North of Nashville
  4. Stones
  5. There Goes My Miracle
  6. Hello Sunshine
  7. Moonlight Motel

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bruce Springsteen   Primary Artist,Banjo,Piano,Vocals,Celeste,Soloist,Mellotron,Percussion,Glockenspiel,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String),Synthesizer Strings
Soozie Tyrell   Vocals (Background)
Michelle Moore   Vocals (Background)
Desiree Elsevier   Viola
Cindy Mizelle   Vocals (Background)
Curtis King   Vocals (Background)
Barry Danielian   Trumpet
Greg Leisz   Pedal Steel
Robert Rinehart   Viola
David Sancious   Piano
Lenny Castro   Congas,Shaker,Tambourine
Jon Brion   Drums,Timpani,Guitar (Electric)
Ron Aniello   Bass,Drums,Loops,Piano,Celeste,Percussion,Vibraphone,Synthesizer,Bass (Upright),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Synthesizer Strings,Vocals (Background)
Rob Mathes   Conductor
Marty Rifkin   Pedal Steel
Matt Chamberlain   Drums
Matt Rollings   Piano
Charles Pillow   Oboe
Suzanne Ornstein   Violin
Dan Levine   Trombone
Marc Muller   Pedal Steel,Lap Steel Guitar
Sharon Yamada   Violin
Scott Tibbs   Conductor
Patti Scialfa   Vocals
Lisa Kim   Violin
Clark Gayton   Trombone
Charlie Giordano   Piano,Accordion
Vivek Kamath   Viola
Andrew Sterman   Flute (Alto)
Gunnar Olsen   Drums
Alden Banta   Bassoon
Elizabeth Lim   Violin
Curt Ramm   Trumpet
Jung Sun Yoo   Violin
Emily Popham   Violin
Luis Villa Lobos   Violin
Annaliesa Place   Violin
Rachel Drehmann   French Horn
Alan Stepansky   Cello
Joanna Maurer   Violin
Ed Manion   Saxophone
Rob Lebret   Guitar (Baritone),Guitar (Electric)
Hyunju Lee   Violin
Matthew Koma   Vocals (Background)
Nathan Vickery   Cello
Leelanee Sterrett   French Horn

Technical Credits

Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Greg Koller   Engineer
Ron Aniello   Engineer,Producer
Rob Mathes   Arranger
Danny Clinch   Photography
Bruce Springsteen   Composer,Producer
Chris Steffen   Engineer
Toby Scott   Loop,Engineer,Programming,Production Coordination
Patti Scialfa   Vocal Arrangement
Tom Elmhirst   Mixing
Shari Sutcliffe   Contractor
Alec Dixon   Engineer
Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm   Photography
Michelle Holme   Design,Artwork
Sandy Park   Contractor,String Contractor
Rob Lebret   Engineer
Joe Visciano   Assistant
Ross Peterson   Engineer
Brett Rouche   Engineer
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