American Sounds.(Sound recording review)

"Magic" (Columbia), Bruce Springsteen's new studio album, kicks off with the brooding, propulsive "Radio Nowhere." "I just want to hear some rhythm," Springsteen sings, railing like a lay preacher against the blandness of contemporary music. If the song came at the end of the album, it might sound like an apology; "Magic" feels inert and calculated, full of stormy guitar, gelatinous keyboards, and melodramatic strings. The production seems to be hiding something--perhaps it's the album's generic heart. Springsteen's best albums have always had a thesis: youth is invincibility, the American dream is hollow, divorce can crush you. "Magic" is simply a collection of songs. Some are strong, particularly the lovely "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" and the spooky, minimalist title track. But with neither a center nor eccentricities, the balance of the album just sounds like Springsteen playing Springsteen.

After Creedence Clearwater Revival disbanded, in the early seventies, John Fogerty went to war with his label, Fantasy Records, and the fog of that war obscured Fogerty's connection to his own musical legacy. Over the past few years, Fogerty and Fantasy have come to terms, and "Revival" (Fantasy) is positioned as a full-fledged return. "Don't You Wish It Was True," which opens the album, ...