Embracing Springsteen's ‘Western Stars'

Man, people weren't kidding, Bruce Springsteen's “Western Stars” is a phenomenal return to form for the 70-year-old musician. The orchestrations (those weeping strings), the lyrics and, even more surprising, his impressive crooning vocals! Influences here range from Glenn Campbell, Jimmy Webb, Phil Spector and, hell, even Burt Bacharach. It took him 9 years of on-again/off-again studio recording to finally release the damn thing, but it was worth the wait.