Bruce Springsteen: Ranking His Albums From Worst To Best

6. Wrecking Ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VNFOxeuwwc Year Of Release: 2012 Key Tracks: We Take Care of Our Own, Wrecking Ball, Land of Hope and Dreams After Working on a Dream many fans were cautious when approaching Wrecking Ball. They had allowed themselves to buy into the hype only be be let down by what was, upon reflection, a rather humdrum and ordinary album. While Working on a Dream saw Bruce happy and optimistic about the future (Bruce was a big supporter of the recently sworn-in Obama), Wrecking Ball saw him at his angriest. Wrecking Ball sees Bruce draw a little bit from his previous twenty years' worth of material. There's a hint of his Seeger Sessions work, a little bit of Magic and even some Human Touch. Musically, it's quite experimental for Bruce. Not all of these experiments work (the rap on Rocky Ground is a misfire), but overall it's a very good album that looks at the financial crisis, the state of that old Springsteen favourite the American dream and other social injustices. For a sixty-odd year-old man Springsteen doesn't display a lack of energy and actually sings with renewed vigour, a vigour not evident on Working on a Dream. Bruce is confrontational and political, but there are some prime foot-stompers mixed in, including the stadium ballad title track and We Take Care of Our Own (which you just can't help but sing along to). One of Bruce's most ambitious albums ever.