Wrecking Ball

Notes on a first listen. Track-by-track.

SIDE A.
We Take Care of Our Own
Mission statement for the album. Direct. Immediate. Grabs the ear.
Easy Money
"We're going on the town now." Rollicking. Good second song
Shackled & Drawn
One, two punch. Could've been on The Seeger Sessions.
Jack of All Trades
Change in tone, sonic tone. Change in color. Slowing it down, down shift. "We'll start caring for each other...We'll be alright."
Death To My Hometown
Irish beat. Irish drinking music (too produced, too much studio) Transform to...Death of Our Hometown.
This Depression
I've been lost, but never this lost...This is my confession....I need your heart, In this depression.
I've been without love, but never forsaken. Now the morning sun. The morning sun is breaking...This is my confession. I need your heart, In this depression. (need others to get through hard times. the worst of times -- when you need others, lean on, fall on. Haunting, revealing, and scary. especially in the absence of others, absence of loved ones, absence of community)

---END SIDE A---
(Story continues)

SIDE B
Wrecking Ball
The opener of the second side, a new side. From the economic hardship, fear, desperation, alienation of Side 1. To resolve, bring it on. Hard times come, hard times go.
You've Got It
Nebraska-era voice. Comfortable sounding. Yet a question of fitting.
Rocky Ground
Made to be the centerpiece. ? intro, then Bruce comes over drum machine, gospel choir. rap into chorus, experimental. Openness. Elevation. This is the spiritual side of the album leading into...
Land of Hope & Dreams
Continues the feel of Rocky Ground. Carries momentum. Unified. (What if this album was more raw? More raw in its production? More stripped down?)
We Are Alive.
Wake. Resurrection. Transcendence.

---End---
(To be continued)