Magic is the fifteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released by Columbia Records on LP on September 25, 2007, and on CD on October 2. It was his first with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002, and topped the charts in six countries, including the US and UK, going triple platinum in Ireland. Two songs from the album – "Radio Nowhere" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" – won a total of three Grammys, making Magic the second of only two Springsteen albums with three wins, after The Rising. It ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stones list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.ROBERT CHRISTGAU, DAVID FRICKE, CHRISTIAN HOARD, ROB SHEFFIELD (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20

Background Magic was announced on August 16, 2007, following months of speculation, and was characterized by Springsteen's manager Jon Landau as a "high energy rock" album with a "heavy E Street Band" sound."Bruce Springsteen's 'Magic' Set for October 2 Release on Columbia Records", Shore Fire Media press release, August 16, 2007. Accessed August 16, 2007. It consisted of new tracks, apart from "Long Walk Home", which had been performed once on the latter part of the 2006 Sessions Band Tour. Most songs had been written by the end of 2006, and Springsteen allowed Brendan O'Brien, who had also produced The Rising (2002) and Devils & Dust (2005), to pick the ones that worked the best.Larry McShane, "Springsteen, E Street Band to reunite for a bit of 'Magic’" , Associated Press, August 16, 2007. Accessed August 16, 2007.Andy Greene, "More On New Bruce Springsteen Album: Producer Brendan O’Brien Reveals All", Rolling Stone, August 17, 2007. Accessed August 18, 2007. Recording commenced in March at Southern Tracks Recording Studio in Atlanta and took two months. It was complicated by the band members' schedules, especially drummer Max Weinberg's weekday commitments to taping Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The musicians did not record as a unit. During the week Springsteen worked on vocal tracks and production, and was joined on weekends by the core band of Weinberg, bassist Garry Tallent, and pianist Roy Bittan to record the basic tracks."Dates are set; Bruce revs up E Street Machine for Fall", Backstreets.com, August 28, 2007. Accessed August 28, 2007. The other band members overdubbed their parts under O'Brien's watch, apart from saxophonist and longtime foil Clarence Clemons, who worked directly with Springsteen due to "a whole dynamic that spans decades."

The lead-off single, "Radio Nowhere", had been slated for a September 4 release, but was leaked on August 22.Andy Greene, "Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Magic’: Exclusive Details on New E Street Band Album", Rolling Stone, August 16, 2007. Accessed August 16, 2007. The release of the CD on October 2 was preceded by a September 25 release on vinyl record, in order to qualify for the Grammy Awards.Jonathan Cohen, "Billboard Bits: Bruce Springsteen", Billboard, August 23, 2007. Accessed August 23, 2007.Phil Gallo, "Springsteen's 'Magic' Sitting Outside Grammy's Window: Might A Back Door Plot Be Devised?" , Variety The Set List column, August 16, 2007. Accessed August 21, 2007. The album became available for pre-order on iTunes on August 28, with a promotion featuring "Radio Nowhere" as a free downloadable single, and the first legs of the accompanying Magic Tour were also announced."BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND ANNOUNCE FIRST FULL SCALE TOUR OF US & EUROPE SINCE 2003" , Brucespringsteen.com, August 28, 2007. Accessed August 28, 2007.

Themes Several songs in Magic express disillusionment with the state of American society. Others, such as the title track ("I got a shiny saw blade/All I need's a volunteer/I'll cut you in half/While you're smilin' ear to ear") convey a more general sense of foreboding. "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" has been cited as a singularly "breezy" song on the album, although A. O. Scott of The New York Times notes that not even this track is "untouched by melancholy. Its narrator, after all, stands and watches as the girls of the title 'pass me by.Scott, A. O. In Love With Pop, Uneasy With the World, The New York Times, September 30, 2007. Accessed November 5, 2007. Several sources have suggested that "Last to Die", with its chorus of "Who'll be the last to die for a mistake/Whose blood will spill, whose heart will break", was inspired by Vietnam Veterans Against the War representative John Kerry's 1971 testimony to the U.S. Senate, in which he asked "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?".Quillen, Shay. Springsteen's 'Magic' ends with a political wallop, The San Jose Mercury News, October 6, 2007. Accessed November 5, 2007. "Gypsy Biker" concerns the homecoming of a US soldier killed in action in Iraq, and Springsteen has said that "Livin' in the Future" references extraordinary rendition and illegal wiretapping. "Long Walk Home" is a metaphorical account of the narrator's sense that, in the artist's words, those people living at home "he thought he knew, whose ideals he had something in common with, are like strangers."

Release and sales Magic sold well, becoming Springsteen's seventh No. 1 in the UK, with first week sales of 77,692, making it his fastest-starting release of the 21st century. The album debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming Springsteen's eighth chart topper, and selling about 335,000 copies in its first week.Katie Hasty, "Springsteen Is Boss Of Album Chart With 'Magic'", Billboard.com, October 10, 2007. After falling to No. 2 for one week, it retook the top slot, selling about 77,000 copies that week.Katie Hasty, "Springsteen Returns To No. 1 In Slow Sales Week", Billboard.com, October 24, 2007. Magic achieved its US sales despite receiving relatively little radio airplay. Fox News reported that media conglomerate Clear Channel had instructed its classic rock stations not to play any tracks from the album, while continuing to play Springsteen songs from the 1970s and '80s. Clear Channel responded by claiming that "in the first days after the CD's release" its stations had played the record more than others had. By January 2009, Magic had sold one million copies in the US.

Critical reception

Critics generally responded positively to the album. Pitchfork noted that it was "a surprisingly complex album that hides its disillusionment deep within its music, mingling it with a weary optimism that has not diminished with age." In The Village Voices annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for the year's best albums, Magic ranked No. 9. It ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stones list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007, and "Long Walk Home" was No. 8 on its list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007ROBERT CHRISTGAU, DAVID FRICKE, CHRISTIAN HOARD, ROB SHEFFIELD (December 17, 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007" Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-12-20 The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album but lost to the Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.

Track listing

Two weeks after the album's initial announcement, which included an eleven-song track listing, "Terry's Song" was added. It is a memorial song for Springsteen's long-time assistant Terry Magovern, who died on July 30, 2007.Levine, Stuart. Springsteen’s ‘Magic’ is a rockin’ good time, MSNBC.com, Sept. 25, 2007. Accessed November 5, 2007."Terry Magovern, Rest in Peace", Backstreets.com, August 1, 2007. Accessed September 15, 2009. Some pressings of the CD pre-ordered through Sony Music or other channels did not contain the extra track.

Personnel Bruce Springsteen – lead and backing vocals, guitars, pump organ, harmonica, synthesizer, glockenspiel, percussion The E Street Band Roy Bittan – piano, organ Clarence Clemons – saxophone, backing vocals Danny Federici – organ, keyboards Nils Lofgren – guitars, backing vocals Patti Scialfa – backing vocals Garry Tallent – bass Steven Van Zandt – guitars, mandolin, backing vocals Max Weinberg – drums

Additional musicians Soozie Tyrell – violin (tracks 3, 7–9), backing vocals (track 8) Jeremy Chatzky – upright bass (track 8) Daniel Laufer – cello (track 11) Patrick Warren – Chamberlin, tack piano (tracks 4, 6, 8, 10, 11) String section (tracks 4, 6): Kenn Wagner, Jay Christy, Justin Bruns, William Pu, Cristopher Pulgram, John Meisner, Olga Shpitko, Sheela Lyengar – violins Tania Maxwell Clements, Amy Chang, Lachlan McBane – viola Karen Freer, Daniel Laufer, Charae Kruege – cello Technical

Brendan O'Brien – production, mixing Nick DiDia – recording Billy Bowers – additional engineering Tom Tapley – recording and mixing assistant Toby Scott – additional recording engineer Tom Syrowski, Matt Serrecchio, Glenn Pittman, Kevin Mills – additional recording assistants Bob Ludwig – mastering Eddie Horst – string arrangements (tracks 4, 6) Patti Horst, Shari Sutcliffe – string contractors (tracks 4, 6) Michelle Holme, Chris Austopchuk – album art direction Mark Seliger, Danny Clinch – photography Bea Nettles – disk icon

Charts

Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for MagicChart (2007)Peakposition Greek Foreign Albums (IFPI) 5

Year-end charts +2007 year-end chart performance for MagicChart (2007)PositionAustralian Albums (ARIA)75Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)55Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)56Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)34French Albums (SNEP)113German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 57Irish Albums (IRMA)18Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)3Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)42UK Albums (OCC)77US Billboard 20072US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)11 +2008 year-end chart performance for MagicChart (2008)PositionSwedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)69US Billboard 200128

Certifications and sales

References

External links