Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 2:21 pm:

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Springsteen opted to record without the E Street Band for "Devils & Dust." The core group was Springsteen on guitar and other instruments, producer Brendan O'Brien on bass and drummer Steve Jordan, who had produced last year's "23rd Street Lullaby" album by Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa.

In keeping with his pattern of recording, the new album is a quieter, more acoustic affair than "The Rising." Springsteen, now 55, has alternated between large-scale rock records followed by more introspective material since 1982's "Nebraska" was released two years after "The River."

Pedal steel guitar, harmonica and violin fill in the sparse, rootsy arrangements. Springsteen, who says his vocal range has expanded with age, provides some higher-pitched vocals on the track "All I'm Thinking About." Springsteen said the accompanying tour would be an acoustic affair whether he performs alone or with a band, targeting theaters and smaller venues.

"I was actually signed as an acoustic act, and I've always enjoyed playing acoustic," Springsteen said. "Even when I was in a band, back in my early days, I was always writing songs that weren't meant for the band."

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Posted on Wednesday, February 16, 2005 - 6:43 pm:

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Springsteen, now 55

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Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 9:06 am:

All the way home
I know what it’s like to have failed baby
With the whole world lookin’ on
I know what it’s like to have been so sure
Wake up and find it all gone

Now you’ve got no reason to trust me
And tonight my confidence is a little rusty
It’s getting late
And if you don’t feel leavin’ alone
Well maybe I can walk you baby
All the way home

Our old fears and failures
Well they do linger (oh yes they do)
Like the shadow of that ring
That was on your finger
Well those days darling,
Those days are dead and gone
Oh I could walk you baby
All the way home

Now there’s things no one can rearrange
We both have yesterdays that we can’t change
It’s closing time - bartender’s ringing last call
These days I don’t stand on pride and
I’ve learned how to take a fall
Now the time has come
And if your first choice - he’s gone
Well that’s alright baby
‘Cause I can walk you all the way home
All the way home
All the way home

I am laying under the arms of Cassiopeia
the sword of Orion sweeps
it’s me and you Rosie
crackling like crossed wires
I listen to you breathing in your sleep

the sparks of the fire are left burning
lie 2 kids in sleeping bags
I reach under your shirt and feel your belly
there’s another one kicking inside
I promise I ain’t going to f__k it up this time

Fear's a powerful thing
Turns hard steel to rust
Got my finger on the trigger
I don't know who to trust
When I look into your eyes
There's just devils and dust.

Posted on Thursday, February 17, 2005 - 11:02 am:

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Maybe the narrator is that kid who headed off towards California with Rosalita thirty years ago, with a new recording contract.

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