WRECKING BALL by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (2012, Columbia)

Big, brash and bombastic, Bruce is back on top form. After a run of enjoyable but ultimately forgettable albums The Boss returns pissed off and with his sleeves rolled-up and spoiling for a fight. 

Springsteen's best songs and albums have always focussed on the existence of the blue-collar American man. Whether singing nostalgic visions of boys racing their Chevy's out in the streets, consoling that lost generation young men who returned from Vietnam without friends or prospects, or remembering the brave men who went into the fire on 9/11 never to return, Bruce always has a keen ability to speak truthfully and touchingly about the lives of the average Joe.

Wrecking Ball is Bruce's 17th studio album and his most passionate since 2002's post-9/11 album The Rising. 

Opening with thunderous drums 'We Take Care of Our Own' could not be more of statement of intent. Angry at the financial downturn that left the working man unemployed but fat cats wealthy, Bruce surveys the wasteland of his cities "from the shotgun shack to the superdome", and proclaims that when "the calvary stayed home" the American people rose to the occasion and take care of there own. It's a powerful opener to a confrontational album.

It's followed swiftly by 'Easy Money' and 'Shackled and Drawn', both mid-paced folk rock songs that could have appeared on his excellent album of protest song cover versions, The Seeger Sessions. 

Tracks like 'Death to My Hometown', 'This Depression', 'Rocky Ground' explore similar themes of anger and disgust at the greed of Wall Street. On 'Death to My Hometown he explicitly holds the bankers to account; "They destroyed our families factories and they took our homes / The left our bodies on the planks, the vultures picked out bones".

It all sounds very bleak but it's really not. Wrecking Ball has many euphoric, uplifting moments and mixes the best of Springsteen's anthemic stadium rock with American and Celtic folk, gospel, soul and the classic protest song. The album ends with a triple whammy of 'Land of Hope and Dreams', 'We Are Alive' and 'American Land'. It's a thrilling, intoxicating and life-afirming climax.

For me the standout track is the emotional 'Jack of All Trades'. It's a slow ballad and the albums best track. A beautifully constructed torch song for the resilience of the menfolk who'll do anything it takes to keep their families afloat despite overwhelming odds. It's a sad lament but has the hope of blue skies and a better future. It also has perhaps the most direct lyrics of the album which come at the end of the song and stand in stark contrast to the tenderness of the track: "If I had me a gun I'd shoot the bastards on sight / I'm a jack of all trades, honey we'll be alright"

39 years since Bruce's debut album and for an artist to release an record that is this relevant and commercially successful is an astounding achievement. It debuted at No1 in 16 countries.

By the age of 62 most artists will have burnt out, if not creatively, then certainly commercially. To put Bruce into perspective, in the U.S. only The Beatles and Jay-Z have had more number 1 albums.

Amongst those 17 studio albums there are at least five genuine five star perfect rock albums: Born to Run, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born in the USA, The Rising and now Wrecking Ball.

Good work Boss.