Letter to You is the twentieth studio album from New Jersey rock legend Bruce Springsteen This seems like a relatively small output considering his near fifty year recording career. However, that figure does not include collections of previously unreleased songs, such as The Promise (2009) or the behemoth sixty-six song boxset Tracks (1998). Letter to You sees Springsteen team up once again with the E-Street Band, giving the album a real back-to-basics feel in the wake of last year’s grand, orchestra-backed Western Stars.
Indeed, the album is very typical of much of Springsteen’s post-2000 discography. It is not quite up to the level of his golden age (a period I consider to last from Born to Run (1975) up to Tunnel of Love (1987)), but there is still a huge amount to like on this record. According to Springsteen, the album was recorded in a mere five days, with the whole band playing together in a studio, as opposed to recording their parts individually in separate booths. This decision makes the album feel more like a live show – a feeling any music fan could do with right now. The E-Street band have always been a great foil for Springsteen, and it is no different on this record. Roy Bittan’s dreamlike piano style, Max Weinberg’s pounding drums, Steve van Zandt and Nils Lofgren on dual guitar duty all combine to make it really feel like a Bruce Springsteen record.
Theematically, however it explores new territory. Many of the songs have Springsteen face up to his own mortality, in a mature and oftentimes profound manner. There were elements of this on Western Stars – though that placed Springsteen within the mythos of the old west. Here it feels much more personal, more directly autobiographical than the western motif, as Springsteen speaks openly and sincerely to his audience. That is not to say that it is a dour record by any means, quite the opposite.
Although he acknowledges themes such as mortality and death, there is an upbeat outlook on life and existence – both in the rollicking music backing him, and the lyrics – that is perhaps best exemplified by the exclamation of “I’m alive!” throughout the chorus of album standout, ‘Ghosts’. Other highlights include the Dylan-esque duo of ‘If I Was the Priest’ and ‘Song for Orphans’, the soulful ‘Last Man Standing’ – which includes a lovely saxophone solo by Jake Clemons, emulating his late uncle and original E-Street Band member Clarence – and the rip-roaring title track ‘Letter to you’.
A mature and profound, but ultimately upbeat meditation on life and mortality, Letter to You is a great Bruce Springsteen record. If you’re not a fan of The Boss, this album won’t do anything to change your mind, but for anyone already on-board with his musical stylings, there is a lot to enjoy, especially for any left cold by the stylistic divergence of Western Stars (an album I personally loved, but I know Springsteen fans who didn’t care much for it). This album is a welcome tonic in these trying times.
