Bruce Springsteen's Letter to Everyone

This morning Bruce Springsteen announced his latest album, "Letter to You," along with the release of the album's first single, the title track of the album.

In a message to twitter this evening, Springsteen wrote, “I love the emotional nature of Letter To You... We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.”

The album, recorded with the E Street Band primarily in late 2019 at Bruce's home in New Jersey, contains 3 tracks that Bruce originally wrote in the 1970's, along with "recently written" songs, per the press release. The 3 older tracks, well known the Springsteen collectors but virtually unknown otherwise, include "If I Was the Priest," a song that was a centerpiece of Springsteen's audition for John Hammond at Columbia Records in 1972.

For a TV special on John Hammond in the mid-1980s, Hammond and Springsteen recorded a conversation. Hammond said, "So I asked you a question, I said, "Bruce, have you ever written anything you wouldn't dare record?" and you said, 'yes, as a matter of fact I have. I got a song called "If I Was the Priest."' So I said, 'Bruce, were you brought up by nuns?' and you said 'Of course!' and so then that gave me a whole new perspective on you and what we might be able to do."

Nearly 50 years later, Bruce has dared to re-record it, and release it.

Judging by the song titles alone,other songs could be reference points as well: "House of a Thousand Guitars" was the title of an album by Bruce's friend Willie Nile; "Last Man Standing" was the title of an album by Jerry Lee Lewis that featured a Springsteen guest shot; "Rainmaker" could be a description for Clarence Clemons ("losing Clarence was like losing the rain," Springsteen repeated many times after Clemons died). 

Then there is "Ghosts": Bruce visited this theme during his stage performances of "My City of Ruins" in 2012,in which he said, "When we get older we all have our ghosts walking alongside of us, whether it's brothers or sisters or fathers, mothers, friends. They walk alongside of us and they accompany us in to the future. They're like the dark matter of the universe pulling everything together."

While waiting for "If I Was the Priest" and the two other re-recorded ancients ("Janey Needs a Shooter," which formed the basis for a Warren Zevon song, and "Song for Orphans," which has been previously released as a live solo recording from a 2005 concert), and the 8 other newer songs, we have the single.

It opens with Max Weinberg's drum beats and a 20 second instrumental intro that's just long enough to feature the organ and guitar parts that typify so many Springsteen recordings over the years. This song feels like the emotional equivalent of resting in a favorite easy chair after a long year of being on edge. The musical patterns of this song -- strident instrumental opening, the voice coming in over piano (and later guitar) backing -- have been used so many times by now that I've long since lost count. It helps that the melody is instantly hummable, and the sound is gorgeous.

The lyrics start with a weird enough passage: "'Neath a crowd of mongrel trees I pulled that bothersome thread." Huh? What is a mongrel tree? And what is "that bothersome thread"? After that, the lyrics settle down to a stream of clichés, including an unfortunate pairing (to my ears, anyway) of "good" and "blood." But they go down easy enough.

Who is the "you" here? It's easy to see this as a letter to Bruce's fans, and the song's lyrics as a description of what Bruce's creative process has been over these many years. It could also be to anyone who, through whatever circumstances, isn't in a position to respond: "I took all my fears and doubts / All the hard things I found out / All that I found true / I sent it in my letter to you." It's a retrospective, it's all in past tense.

I get the feeling, though, that there will be more fears and doubts, more happiness and pain and more of the Springsteen staples noticeably missing from the lyrics sheet yet still implied: love, hope and faith.

The album will be released on October 23rd.