Bruce Springsteen - Wrecking Ball (2012) [Hi-Res]

„Heavy lies the crown on Bruce Springsteen' head. Alone among his generation -- or any subsequent, actually -- he has shouldered the burden of telling stories of the downtrodden in the new millennium, a class whose numbers increase by the year, a fact that weighs on Springsteen throughout 2012's Wrecking Ball. Such heavy-hearted rumination is not unusual for the Boss. Ever since The Rising, his 2012 return to action, a record deliberately tailored to address the lingering anger and sorrow from 9/11, Springsteen has eschewed the frivolous in favor of the weighty, escalating his dry, dusty folk and operatic rock in tandem, all in hopes of pushing the plight of the forgotten into public consciousness. Each of his five albums since The Rising has been tailored for the specific political moment -- Devils & Dust ruminated over forgotten Americans in the wake of the Iraq war, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions was an election year rallying call, Magic struggled to find meaning in these hard times, Working on a Dream saw hope in the dawning days of Obama -- and it's no mistake that Wrecking Ball fuses elements of all four into an election year state of the union: Bruce is taking stock of where we are and how we got here, urging us to push forward. If that sounds a bit haughty, it also plays that way. Springsteen has systematically removed any element of fun -- 'Mary's Place' is the only original in the past decade that could be called a party song -- along with all the romance or any element confessional songwriting. He has adopted the mantle of troubadour as oral historian, telling tales of the forgotten and punctuating them with rallying calls to action. Wrecking Ball contains more of the latter than either of its predecessors, summoning the masses to rise up against fatcat bankers, set to singalongs lifted from Seeger. There's an unshakable collectivist hootenanny feel on Wrecking Ball, not to mention allusions to gospel including a borrowed refrain from 'This Train,' but Springsteen takes pains to have the music feel modern, inviting Tom Morello to do aural paintings with his guitar, threading some trip-hop rhythms into the mix, and finding space for a guest rap on 'Rocky Ground.' Springsteen is so focused on preaching against creeping inequality in the .U.S, he's emphasized his words over his music, letting the big-footed stomps and melancholy strumming play second fiddle to the stories.“ (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

'Wrecking Ball is the most despairing, confrontational and musically turbulent album Bruce Springsteen....This is darkness gone way past the edge of town, to the heart of the republic.' (Rolling Stone)

Bruce Springsteen, vocals, guitars, banjo, piano, organ, drums, percussion, loops
Ron Aniello, guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, drums, loops
Max Weinberg, drums (tracks 7, 11 & 13)
Matt Chamberlain, drums (track 3, 5, 8, 10)
Charlie Giordano, accordion, piano, organ, synth, celeste (track 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12 & 13)
Soozie Tyrell, violin (track 2 – 7, 10 & 11)
Clarence Clemons, saxophone (tracks 7 & 10)
Tom Morello, electric guitar (track 4 & 6)
Greg Leisz, banjo, mandocello (track 11) lap steel guitar (track 8)
Marc Muller, pedal steel (track 8)
Steve Van Zandt, mandolin (track 10 & 13)
Curt Ramm, horn (tracks 3, 4, 7 – 10)
Clark Gayton, horn (tracks 3, 4, 7 – 10)
Stan Harrison, horn (tracks 3, 4, 7 – 10)
Ed Manion, horn (tracks 3, 4, 7 – 10)
Dan Levine, horn (tracks 3, 4, 7 – 10)
Art Baron, horn (tracks 3, 4, 7 – 10)
Curt Ramm, trumpet solo (tracks 4 & 7)
Darrel Leonard, trumpet solo (track 11)
Additional musicians:
Kevin Buell, marching drum (track 5)
Rob Lebret, electric guitar (track 7)
Clif Norrell, tuba (track 3)
Steve Jordan, tambourine (track 2)
Backing Vocals:
Patti Scialfa, backing vocals (tracks 1 – 3, 6, 7, 10 & 11)
Lisa Lowell, backing vocals (tracks 1 – 3, 6, 7, 10 & 11)
Soozie Tyrell, backing vocals (tracks 1 – 3, 6, 7, 10 & 11)
Michelle Moore, backing vocals (tracks 9 & 10)
Cindy Mizelle, outro vocal (track 3)
Steve Van Zandt, backing vocals (tracks 1 – 3, 6, 7, 10 & 11) (tracks 7, 10 & 13)
Ron Aniello, backing vocals (tracks 1 – 3, 6, 7, 10 & 11) (tracks 1 & 12)
Kevin Buell, backing vocals (tracks 1 – 3, 6, 7, 10 & 11) (track 5)
Group Vocals:
Ross Petersen, Ron Aniello, Clif Norrell, Rob Lebret, vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 & 13)
Choir:
Victorious Gospel Choir (tracks 9 & 10)
Strings:
New York Chamber Consort (tracks 1, 2, 4, 7 & 12) Strings arranged and conducted by Rob Mathes

Recorded at MSR Studio; Stone Hill Studio; Very Loud House Studio
Engineered by Clif Norrell, Ross Petersen, Rob Lebret, Ron Aniello, Toby Scott
Produced by Ron Aniello, Bruce Springsteen

Digitally remastered