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Magic, Bruce Springsteen's new studio recording and his first with the E Street Band in five years, is set for release by Columbia records on October 2, 2007. Produced and mixed by Brendan O'Brien, the album features eleven new Springsteen songs and was recorded at southern tracks recording studio in Atlanta, Ga. | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| October 02, 2007 | | Studio:
| Columbia Records | | Number Of Discs:
| 1 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 431 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | 1. | Radio Nowhere | | 2. | You'll Be Comin' Down | | 3. | Livin' in the Future | | 4. | Your Own Worst Enemy | | 5. | Gypsy Biker | | 6. | Girls in Their Summer Clothes | | 7. | I'll Work for Your Love | | 8. | Magic | | 9. | Last to Die | | 10. | Long Walk Home | | 11. | Devil's Arcade | |
| | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 My ears are bleeding - PLEASE remaster this very good album. Please!Jan 25, 2010
Not much to add to the many thumbs-down regarding the atrocious sonics on Magic, except bumping the count of bad reviews up by one.
Although Bruce's releases have never been known for their audiophile quality, what's been done to Magic (a pretty good album, just below The Rising, I think) borders on criminal. Yes, I'm middle-aged, have an iPod for the gym, etc., but also have a very good home system that I also enjoy. Would love to have this dog remastered, since the music is THAT good. How sad...
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Magic spoiled by productionDec 16, 2009
Poor mastering has been the form for many years but Magic takes it to new heights I'm afraid. Being a Bruce fan since his early days, I expected a high quality of songwriting but the fatiguing sound simply made the band sound so small and unsubstantial. The songs were struggling to get through. Overall I think there are quite a few good songs but nothing that compares with his best.
 I really have to question the manNov 29, 2009
I think this is Bruces best ever song writing. It just gleems with sparkle, coming from all corners of our american society. From the family who morns their Gypsy Biker dead in Iraq, to the old man who longs for the days when he would get all the chicks, and now finds himself just a face staring back from the shop window, this truly is his best. Simply, because he is more introspective than ever before. He is that man who can't get the chicks, he is the man mourning the dead in Iraq and perhaps most terrifyingly is watching vietnam unfold all over again, 40 years later. He want to know not just what happened to his country, but what happened to himself? It's the most middle america album since Born in the USA.
Pure brilliance.
I do, however have an issue with the production of this record. Bruce appears to be caught up in what is known as the loudness war. Every single album made from about 1995 and on has been pushing the volume levels to ridiculous hights, and while that doesn't seem like an issue, it's a very big issue. While I don't own the cd version of magic, I do own the mp3's as well as, Vinyl. Vinyl, the magic format that makes it almost impossible to sound bad. On the vinyl, everything appears in a wall of sonic brilliance that doesn't hit the digital limits that make the magic cd and mp3's sound so bad. I cannot describe the cd version well enough, but lets just say it sounds like every song is coming out of those white ipod earbuds, even when you have a system that can make it so that on Bruces earlier albums, he's right there with you, singing to you in your own private concert. It's so freaking bright, so brittle on the high end, it makes my ears bleed. The volume level is wayyyy to hot. Sounds as loud as christina agulara's back to basics, which is one of the loudest of the new millennium. If that is what bruce wanted, then I have to question his thinking. He's trying to modernize himself. He, like many in the industry, thinks that the louder and brighter his record sounds, the more people will buy it. This, from the guy who said he hated the posters proclaiming him the future of rock and roll. NOW he wants to sound cool? Why now? The louder the record gets, the closer he gets to sounding like every bad pop record out there, and further from the man who innovated on Born To Run.
Besides, people, as you can tell from the other reviews on the site, hate the way it sounds as well. I'm sure most of them can't pin point why, or that they would know to get the much better sounding vinyl version, but they're mad. Plain and simply, they don't like it, which is a good thing.
But hey, try it out for your selves. It may just be me, but if more people know the truth, then maybe we can go back to high fidelity.
Because this couldn't be any FURTHER from high fidelity...
 A - Dare I Say It - Magical Return to Form.Nov 26, 2009
After spending much of the 1990s' adopting a new low key Dylan-esque persona, Bruce Springsteen reunited the E Street Band and released the September 11th inspired "The Rising." Though a solid album with some of the absolute greatest songs he has ever written (the title song, "Lonesome Day, "My City of Ruins," "Nothing Man"), it was bogged down with too much filler and could've been a good 7-8 songs shorter and been a much better album. (Amazing tour, though.)
Fast forward five years later, and Bruce and the E Street Band finally deliver the return to form fans have been longing for since the band reunited. "Magic" is, top to bottom, an excellent album, and Bruce's most consistently satisfying record since "Tunnel of Love."
The opening number, the frenetic "Radio Nowhere," makes it apparent from the beginning that the boys are back, as all the key elements are there for a modern Springsteen classic: a strong riff and hook, a powerful vocal from Bruce, potent, throught provoking lyrics, and the raggedly riotously vocal backings of Little Steven.
The rest of the album is loaded with similar quality gems: the jangly Birds inspired rockers "You'll Be Coming Down" is a sonic marvel. Clarence Clemons makes the eerie "Living in the Future" a funky, fun "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" esque romp despite its heavy handed political commentary. "Gypsy Biker" features some of the best E Street guitar work ever. And Roy Bittan shows why, musically speaking, he is the most integral force in the E Street Band, turning in a stunning performance on the beautiful "I'll Work for Your Love."
But it's Bruce who's the real star here. His writing is as strong and relevant as ever, and his vocals are on the money. One thing he has not lost sight of is his ability to write a thought provoking political song that touches the heart and inspires the mind with its bluntness and relevance. On this album, it is its final numbers that pull off this feat. "Long Walk Home" is an out and out Bruce classic, bristling with the idealism of "Thunder Road," the atmsphere of "The River," the boldness of "Born in the U.S.A," and the hope of "Born to Run." The album's closer, "Devil's Arcade," is as much an anthem for Iraqi War veterans as "Born in the U.S.A." was for Vietnam, a poignant, heartbreaking tale of the sacrifices soldiers make and the lost hope and dreams they never see fulfilled.
The one major complaint about the record is the production - Bruce needs to can Brendan O'Brien and get Little Steven back behind the mixing board. The wall of sound smothers much of the more subtle musical touches. Other than that, however "Magic" is an essential masterpiece in the Bruce Springsteen canon.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Don't blame Brendan O'Brien for the poor sound qualityNov 06, 2009
I'm not a huge fan of Bruce but I do love several of his songs and he has my highest respect as a musician, songwriter, performer. That said, "Radio Nowhere" is one of the best songs i've heard in a long while (just listened to it 4 times in a row in fact) and i'm on Amazon to decide if I should get the entire album. Reading the reviews I see many are dissatisfied with the sound of the record and I agree that it could sound better. The reason for the poor quality is attributable to the mastering of the record which, for those who don't know, is the final process in the production of a song/album. The mastering process is supposed to be an overall review/tweak of all the songs to be included on an album, after they are mixed, to create a homogeneous overall sound - similar EQ, levels, etc. What mastering has become however, is a loudness war instigated by the RECORD COMPANIES to one-up the loudness of latest pop song. In the eyes of the record cos, sounds louder = sounds better. This is true to to a certain extent, sound quality is increased as loudness is increased. But after a certain point, sound quality diminishes with increased loudness, resulting in distortion, harshness and ear fatigue, which is why many of you stopped listening to the record even though you like the music. What happened in this case is indicative of the recent/negative trend in the mastering process. Here's the likely scenario: A label exec stands over the shoulder of the mastering engineer and says "Make it louder." The mastering engineer says, "But...". The label exec says "Make it louder." I'm sure the pre-mastered recording sounds great and Brendan O'Brien probably cringed when he heard the final product, but he won't bite the hand that feeds him so won't intercede. And don't blame the mastering engineer either. He'd love master it at say, early 90s levels (How good does Nirvana/Nevermind sound?)
Try this: listen to several songs spanning the BS catalog. Notice that the songs get louder the more recently they were released. Notice also that they sound progressively better and then, suddenly worse. This is highlights the change in the approach to mastering which has occurred over time.
Why did I just spend 45 mins typing into the void? Because this issue REALLY angers me. I can barely listen to many modern recordings because modern recordings are mastered TOO LOUD. The labels are to blame.
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