Only the Strong Survive

Bruce Springsteen

Released on 11/11/22 by Columbia
Main artists: Bruce Springsteen
Genre: Rock
Distinctions: Uncut: Album of the Month

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He may be in his seventies now, but there’s still no stopping Bruce Springsteen. In 2019, without the E Street Band, the Boss released Western Stars, an astonishing album which would see him transformed into the Glen Campbell of the third millennium, detaching himself from the present day by choosing an attitude of innocence and nonchalance over resistance or defiance. Letter to You came along a year later, where he gathered his favorite band—or rather, what was left of it after the passing of Danny Federici (2008) and Clarence Clemons (2011)— in his home studio in New Jersey to record 12 songs live in just 5 days. It was a reunion among old friends, rooted firmly in the '70s.

With Only the Strong Survive, released in autumn 2022, Bruce Springsteen goes 100% soul. There is no doubting the quality of the goods on this 21st studio album. Comprised exclusively of covers, the album seeks to "do justice" to the Great American Songbook of the sixties and seventies. It’s a tasty tracklist, taken from the five-star catalogs of Motown, Stax, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International, alongside a few other soul and R&B labels. The Boss has always had good sense in this department, mixing such gold-plated legends as Jerry Butler, Arethra Franklin, the Temptations, Diana Ross with her Supremes, and forgotten geniuses like Tyrone Davis. Not everything is totally vintage, indeed, there’s the aptly named "Soul Days"—a nostalgic song by Jonnie Barnett recorded by Dobie Gray in 2000—and "When She Was My Girl," first recorded by the Four Tops in 1981. To strengthen his case, Springsteen even invited the great Sam Moore (of the legendary duo Sam & Dave). Overall, Only the Strong Survive radiates a sincere and infectious joy. This feeling dominates throughout, underpinned by a gang of powerful backing singers (Soozie Tyrell, Lisa Lowell, Michelle Moore, Curtis King Jr., Dennis Collins and Fonzi Thornton). It's definitely a celebration. Whenever the Boss does add a personal touch—putting the spotlight on his own voice, for example—he never tries to transform these gems of the past into Born to Run-style stadium anthems. His approach is perhaps even a little educational, given that many of his younger fans will be discovering some of these songs for the first time. After all, he was a young fan himself once upon a time: a teenager glued to his AM radio, sputtering out wondrous "made in Motown"singles all night long. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

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Only the Strong Survive

Bruce Springsteen

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Only the Strong Survive