I bought this on the recommendation of a friend and just loved it. A really cohesive presentation of thoughtful, reflective music. And I'm pretty sure you have to be over 21 to truly appreciate it....

Love the album! I enjoyed every song, especially "Devils & Dust" and "Long Time Comin." I honestly think that this is Bruce' most creative album yet. Good work Bruce!! Keep it up.

As for the dualdisc issue, I have nothing to say because I bought the imported version for the same price to assure myself that I would be able to listen to this on my Ipod. I suggest all of you do the same if you want to avoid any problems.

This remains on of my favorites from Springsteen. Many great haunting ballads - the title song is one of his greatest unappreciated works. Highly recommended!

Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust (2005) is an album of stark, intelligent songs with individual characters in each one. Sometimes Bruce portrays the character himself, and at other times he tells their stories. The people in these songs aren't living the American dream. Some just haven't made it yet, and others have had their lives shattered. Some, like the Mexican husband in Matamoros Banks who dies trying to cross the border into America, never will.

For the most part, these are scarred and broken lives. Even though most of the characters in these songs are fictional, the lives they live are real life. They are lived by people with real feelings and real dreams, just like you and me.

Springsteen makes these characters come to life in a very personal way, just like John Steinbeck did with similar characters in his novel, Cannery Row. Other than Jesus, who Bruce depicts as the very real, and very human, Son of God in Jesus Was An Only Son, the people in these songs live in the poor and forsaken part of American society.

If you judge people who are less fortunate to be inferior, this album will smack you right between the eyes. If you don't have it in you to empathize with these folks, or have a pathological need to always blame others for their own misfortune, these songs won't have any meaning for you at all.

Musically, the album is mostly acoustic guitar based, with a lot of harmonica, but nothing like Springsteen's Nebraska. Where that album was stripped down with only guitar and harmonica, Devils & Dust is also colored with mandolins, dobro, fiddle, electric guitars, drums, female backing vocals, piano, organ, horns, and an orchestra. The songs are dark, the songs are real, and they are very emotional. They fit Springsteen's voice well, and the musical arrangements fit the songs perfectly.

Devils & Dust is a brilliant album that may take a few listens to fully appreciate. If you don't like it at first, don't give up, just keep listening (while reading the lyrics) until it registers. When you do find meaning in these songs and characters, you'll be very satisfied that you took the time to understand this rewarding Bruce Springsteen album for the thinking man (or woman). Devils & Dust is The Boss doing what he does best. By looking at a small part of our world, we can see the whole universe with more clarity and compassion.

I received a pirated CD which I had given to my girlfriend. It had a copied front cover in the CD and it doesn't play as it should. I will never purchase through Amazon again.

DEVILS & DUST continues Springsteen's occasional forays into the land of Woody Guthrie; Bare bones musical settings and telling stories that touch on the human condition. This one is more successful than the painful TOM JOAD, but it still suffers from a sense of ennui.The title cut with line s like "Fear's a powerful thing It can turn your heart black you can trust," is a memorable opener and the bitter taste of "Reno" lasts for a long time, but the overall effect is still one of Bruce reaching back for what he found on NEBRASKA and coming up a bit short.

I was slightly shocked by all the negative reviews of this album! First off don't rip it based on the technology... Dual Discs are what they are. And it ain't Born to Run or The River either. Give the man credit for having a broad pallet of talent.

This is a fine Boss album, with some creative exploration in different acoustic directions. It has more depth and soul than Nebraska and GOTJ (both of those are much more stark and distilled).

The title track is a pure jem and the rest of the cd flows with a smooth country folk rhythm. If you like the softer side of Bruce, you'll dig this piece.

Always kind of liked him, but this album made me a fan. Love the imagery. He truely became a poet and actor in this work. this is art!

I know, I know, it's Bruce, right? Anything he does should be automatically rated with 5 stars, right? Well I'm sorry, I'm not going to give in to that temptation. Bruce has an exceptional track record for putting out solid product. A new Bruce album is a musical gift and it goes without saying that he's a musical genius. The Rising was a 100% flawless album from beginning to end, which is especially impressive given how quickly he created it. When the ads for Devils & Dust began to appear, I felt like a kid on the night before Christmas. With all due respect to Bruce, Devils & Dust is, quite frankly, a bore-fest. There's not a single memorable song and there are no "hooks" to be found here. Each song sounds the same as the previous one and is equally as tedious. At times you feel like it's just Bruce talking with very minor background music. I think it's pretentious to say that this time out it's the lyrics that are important. Bruce's lyrics have always been good, that goes without saying. I'm astonished that his fans are giving this such high marks. I think Bruce's fans would rate an album of him snoring with 5 stars. Come on people, have a little objectivity here. I saw this CD in Newbury Comics used the other day for $4, which makes alot of sense to me. By the way, I gave this 2 stars instead of one because it's Bruce after all.

I'm a Jersey boy myself, and went to see him in the Asbury bars, and every place else, and went to a hundred bars where he might show up, and did about 15% of the time. Saw him at The Fast Lane with David Johannsen in '78. So, part of me wanted him to do Kitty's back and BTR forever, but the gravity of this album is moving. If he can't do BTR forever, and since he apparently won't wind up playing in Vegas (joke...he shouldn't, he is the man) this is what he should do. I respect him a lot, he does what he wants to do, and if you don't like it, he doesn't care. But this is a work of genius.

Haunting vivid imagery. If you liked Nebraska, you should like this one too. Devils & Dust, Jesus Was An Only Son, and Silver Palomino speak of a different time and place, perhaps a slower lifestyle.
With the crazy sounds in country music, this album would fit right in with the themes and topics of country music.

I was almost floored to see this album receive such a low overall ranking. Oh don't get me wrong, it does not bother me, because I know that it is a brilliant album and anybody that voted for less than four stars is a total idiot. Springsteen amazes me. Thirty years in and he is getting better and better and fresher and fresher. There is nothing dated here, the Boss has evolved. "Maria's Bed" and "Long Time Coming" are just two of the brilliant songs on this album, an album that sounds many ways like a modern Nebraska. Just brilliant!

When I heard Springsteen perform "Devils & Dust" at the MTV Music Awards, I knew I had to get a hold of the album. So eventually I went to the record store and found a dual disc version of it for $28, it was a steep price to pay but I figured I'd give it a chance since the title track was so amazing. On my travel home, I listened to some of the record(and then again on a road trip-where it has it's best effect), and after digestion and reflection, I think Devils & Dust could have been better, but it's still great.

My first issue is the scratchy distorted audio through half the album tracks, I don't understand why it's so fuzzy sounding, and I feel it really dampens the effect of some otherwise solid songs. My second point would be that I think Devils & Dust should have had more time to incubate, the songs could have been recorded better and more coherent than they are here.

However, I think that while it took me a while to settle into the record, some of the lyrics are actually very thoughtful and packed with insight. "Devils & Dust" and it's political theme(while definitely not the overall theme of the album) came across beautifully with great metaphorical lyrics and acoustic work by Bruce. Other notable tracks are "Maria's Bed", "Leah", "Matamoros Banks", and "All I'm Thinkin' About". Two of those featuring rich and skilled guitar work, and soothing storytelling by Springsteen. As I write this review, I am revisiting Devils & Dust, and I'm glad I did before I reviewed it, because it's a lot better than I initially thought. The lyrics really save this record from mediocrity, although "Reno" contains themes that may disturb some, due to a graphic description of a man's experience with a hooker. I think the message of the song, however, is a good one. The message is clearly that he was unfulfilled by the experience.

Overall I think that while the album could have been better(Branden O'brien's produced better), it's still quite good and worth the purchase. Note that the second disc contains filmed acoustic performances of "Devils & Dust", "Long Time Comin'", "Reno", "All I'm Thinkin' About", and "Matamoros Banks". Along with are "extensive" personal introductions by Springsteen himself.

Based on the title track, Devils & Dust (DD) might appear to see Bruce Springsteen jumping back into his now familiar dark folk sound, which to his credit, Springsteen can pull off just by the sheer quality of his writing.

But as one delves deeper into DD you start to realize that this is Springsteen's lightest record in years. Songs such as Long Time Coming and All I'm Thinking About jump off the disk with a light briskness and pop sensibility front and centre.

The end result is DD is probably Springsteen's must accessible acoustic work. Even the meaty issues presented in the title track are simplified into a very digestable chorus that after a few listens has a way of placing itself right into your daily hummings of your standard three minute pop hit.

But make no mistake, Bruce doesn't enter a sniff into Backstreet Boy land, but he does add a nice pop sensiblity to his dark tales on DD that allow a listener to connect to this record for the simply strumming of the acoustic guitars and sing along quality of the chorus'.

Now not all the tunes here are that accessible. Reno for example is a straight telling of a night with a prostitute that requires a full concentration on the lyrics to grasp the emptiness Springsteen tries to present. Thankfully though this record has enough songs to counter-balance those darker tales.

In the past when Springsteen has gone acoustic, personally I was unable to consistently listen to those records (Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad) because while impressive, the records had a limited amount of a word called fun on them. On DD Sprinsteen doesn't make that mistake while maintaining a high level of lyricism that has defined his work.

I'm not the biggest fan of Springsteen, but I have liked a lot of what he's done in the past. I wasted my money on this one. It sounds like uninspired mumbling. Not much musical or vocal variation at all among the songs. Nothing stands out. No experimentation. There might be some good story lines in the songs, but I usually can't understand him anyway. I liked two songs, but not enough to get the album out and turn it on. I never desire to play it after a few listenings. So beware, unless your a huge fan and want all his music, this one may let you down.

listening to this you will not be able to stay awake more than five minutes. it should come with a warning label advising not to drive a car or lift heavy things. pop this in while cruising i-95 in joisey and you'll be plugging up that left lane with bruce inspired slowness for miles. and do not lift anything heavy if you value your toes. yet another snoozefest about depression, oppresion and poverty from rocks poorest billionaire. zzzzzzzzz

bought this cd quite a while ago. it is probably very good, but how can i tell when it won't play on my stereo? this dual disc format is the music industries way of screwing long time fans. this sticking it to the fan is about as low as it gets. after buying the disc, i noticed the tiny warning on the back that says "audio side of disc does not conform to cd specifications and therefor not all cd players will play the audio side of this disc." WHAT A GREAT IDEA: SELL A DISC TO PEOPLE THAT WON'T PLAY FOR EVERYBODY. THANKS A..HOLES!

I'd like to add to the thoughtful reflections of some of my fellow Bruce fans with some observations on his harmonic progressions. On his first two records, we hear a reckless and youthful creativity, musically and lyrically, which gives way to the more targeted Anthem Rock style of "Born to Run." With "Nebraska", Bruce seemed to put on another hat altogether -- inspired by Woody Guthrie -- that of the folk-troubador. This hat, which he dons again for "Ghost of Tom Joad" and "Devils," is characterized by a simplification of both melody and harmony. While I can see the utility of paring down this way from time to time -- similar to fasting -- to issue it as an end-product can be pretentious. As Woody wrote no songs like "Born to Run", his three-chord songs were utterly genuine; he didn't know how to do anything else. The "Devils" CD consists almost entirely of Woody's same I-IV-V chords from someone who knows better. The resulting melodies are frequently as uncrafted as clip art; he might as well be speaking. But perhaps this is the point, and we should hear this as poetry recited over music and let go of our musical expectations. I must confess to being moved by that song on "Tom Joad", about the Texan who decides in the end not to murder the Vietnamese fisherman. Even though it is an example of the bland musical delivery of which I speak, it may be the lack of harmonic-melodic distraction helps pull us into the story. Then there is the early 90s song, "I'll Wait for You" which also uses only three chords [though I-IV-vi this time] with admirable Zen-like craft. "The Rising" reminds us of Bruce's objective musical mastery, while "Devils" seems principally his subjective musings. It's still worth getting for the video performance, where his persistent use of falsetto voice contributes to the subjective, dream-state quality.

During the eighties Bruce disbanded the E-Street band to record with other artists and pursue other interests. The results were two very weak albums. Although some songs on Human Touch and Lucky Town had some potential, they clearly lacked an E-Street touch. It took Springsteen nearly 20 years to realize this before he gathered them again the Rising. So when he decided to follow this up with a lo-fi project where he would record with other artists again I felt very apprehensive.

The result is an uneven mixed blessing, but overall a stronger effort than the two mentioned records without the E-Street. Another danger looming over this album was the rumor it would be his second Tom Joad. Although Joad featured some strong songs it was overall one of Springsteen's dullest outings. Strong lyrics and absent melody characterized it. Devils and Dust fortunately is much more balanced than that. The songs are delivered in a Folk and Country like demeanor but switches from up-tempo to low, from melodic songs to declamations.

The songwriting is much looser than were accustomed to from the Boss. It varies from Joad/Nebraska like tales of immigrants and disillusioned, too more exhilarating songs dealing with life or love's release or second chances. Only one song on the album deals with the war in Iraq, the opening and title track Devils & Dust. Seeing Bruce's involvement in the Kerry campaign in 2004 this comes as some surprise, but a welcome one. I think we al needed a break from the Boss' soapbox persona. Even this song deals more with the personal experience of a soldier than the dilemma's of America's involvement in the Middle East. The soldier shares his experience and leaves us to struggle with the bigger dilemmas ourselves.

The album continues in a much more upbeat vein. All the Way Home is a wonderful upbeat but forgettable tale of young romance which leaves us waiting for the E-Street release that never comes. Reno the third track on the album became one of Springsteen's most controversial because of its adult context. "Two hundred dollars straight in, Two-fifty up the ass" the hooker in Reno whispers to the man trying to forget love lost with cheap sex and whiskey. The album continues with the questions of parenthood. "Well if I had one wish in this god forsaken world, kids it'd be that your mistakes would be your own" sings in long time coming. Showing the album has much more diversity than either Nebraska or Tom Joad in just four songs.

Other strong outings are Maria's Bed and All I'm Thinkin'About. Again to up-beat love songs, Springsteen sing in a new found falsetto voice, endearing efforts that show the man in an unsuspected relaxed manor. The Hitter, left over from the Joad sessions, lacks in melody but is one of the most imaginative and cinematic stories on the record. The tale relates of a boxer beaten down by life and disillusioned, a theme very familiar for Springsteen. The album closes with a similar effort which traces the tracks of a Mexican immigrant who didn't survive the crossing of the desert. "The turtles eat the skin from your eyes, so they lay open to the stars" Springsteen sings, once again reminding us that the American dream stays out of reach for many of us.

If you thinking of buying this "Dual Disc" for the songs, and you like Bruce, his voice, acoustic guitar, and/or folk music, you'll probably like this album. On the other hand, if you're thinking of buying this, as I did, for the extra enjoyment you'll get from the "Dual Disc" format, don't bother. First of all, the producer of the DVD side assumed that you will always want to listen in PCM Stereo. Excuse me! My DVD player and amplifier are capable of Dolby 5.1, as are, I think, most DVD systems, and I find it hard to imagine that someone would buy a disc in a 5.1 format just to listen to it in PCM Stereo. Everytime you insert the DVD side you have to go select 5.1 playback from the settings menu before selecting to play the songs. Okay, an inconvenience, and perhaps a minor one, but still a pain.

So, now you're past the irritation of having to select 5.1 every time you insert the DVD side, and you're settled back in your sweet spot, your favorite place for listening to 5.1 surround recordings, and suddenly, part way through the first song, you realize that there is no sound coming from the rear speakers. So, you stop everything and thoroughly go through all your sound system setups and tests and verify that there is nothing wrong with your rear speakers. You put the DVD side in your player again, remember to select 5.1 playback, and then play the first song. Nope, no sound from the rear speakers. So, you forward to the second song...no rear sound, the third song...no rear sound on this track either. So, you flip on your Digital Sound Processor (DSP) (you know, the feature on many sound systems that let's you feel like you're listening to your music in a stadium, or a church, or a jazz club, etc.) and now you hear sound coming from your rear speakers, but when you turn the DSP effects off the sound coming from the rear speakers also turns off. Alas, you come to the conclusion that the DVD producer, for God only knows what reason, did not see fit to put any sound on the two rear channels. Now, you're a little more than irritated.

So, you pick up the "Dual Disc" packaging and read the label: "All 12 songs in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround sound and PCM stereo." It would have been more honest to write: All 12 songs in 3.1 Dolby Digital Frontal sound and PCM stereo.

Okay, your sarcasm got the best of you and soon you calm down some, flip on your system's DSP, and listen to the music. Not bad. You wish that you could listen in surround without the coloration of the DSP effects, but you'll live with it...after all this is The Boss, and the songs here are pretty good.

When you're finished listening to all 12 songs you decide to then watch the "filmed acoustic performances," which are also on the DVD side. When the first one begins playing you immediately notice that the sound is now only coming from your stereo speakers (it's playing in PCM stereo). So, you stop the performance and go back to the menu to check the playback mode. Yep, 5.1 is still selected, so you go back and begin playing the first performance again. Stereo!!! And, after playing several of the videos you realize that that's all you're gonna get from the videos, stereo.

Bruce's art, his music, on this album is good, perhaps great, but the marketing crap (misleading packaging and labeling) and poor production significantly detract from what had the potential to be an awesome recording.

Understand, I love Springsteen. Born to Run is my second favorite album of all time. I have seen him live over a dozen times. I personally think he is the single most important American rock and roll artist ever (with apologies to Elvis, Chuck Berry and Dylan). I even loved Nebraska, so don't tell me it's an E-Street band thing or a rock versus folk thing, but this album is unlistenable.

Some reviewers have called it beautiful and powerful. That's rubbish. There is a complete absence of melody on this record, as was the case with much of The Ghost of Tom Joad album (with a huge exception being "Youngstown" - a great song). The apparently willful attempt to alter his singing style to sound like Woody Guthrie or Jimmy Rodgers is just frightening. Dylan could pull it off, Bruce just disappoints. But it's the songs and lack of anything remotely resembling melody that makes this record a failure. Believe, I listened to Devil & Dust 10-15 times in hopes of finding what I am apparently missing. I couldn't. I thought The Rising was a nice album. I even liked the Devils & Dust solo tour (Bruce is a powerful performer, and maybe even more commading when it's just him on stage), but I doubt this CD will ever find its way back into the player.

As much as I loved the features and music from Bruces' 30th anniv. Born to Run package, I disliked Devils & Dust. I am about 2 weeks older than Mr.Springsteen and have most of his music, seen him preform 6 times. the last in early 2002. I enjoyed the acoustic parts of the concert and the RIsing cd very much. But this one excapes me and doesn't touch what I love about his lyricism, use of instrumentation, and ability to put simple concepts into complex settings, or complex feelings into simple yet elegant lyrics...on Devils he puts highly personal and obscure messages into obscure settings. I wish for more poetry as found on his first three albums and tunnel of love. I hope others will find these songs more personal to them, I just can't find my way into them, didn't like Nebraska or Tom Joad either.
sorry, Bruce...
seadog

There was a post from another reviewer about waiting for jams in slot-loading players...well, here you go. I would love to buy this CD, but I can't, because the new Fiona Apple DualDisc jammed my six-disc Rockford Fosgate in my 2005 Nissan when I put it in my player in the record store parking lot! And it took two months to have my CD player replaced. Anyone who buys this format must know you are taking a 50-50 chance in damaging your CD player. I had to buy Fiona again on iTunes and then burn a cd for my car. A real ripoff.

I hate giving Bruce one star, but this rating will get others to read this post and hopefully not ruin their Nissan car stereos.

Following up on "The Rising," this is a great album that truly showcases his songwriting ability. Particular favorites include the title track, "Long Time Comin'" and "Maria's Bed."

I read quite a few comments and no one seems to notice how Bruce has no voice left. Especially noticeable on "All I'm Thinkin' 'bout." He gets away with this b/c he's the Boss. anyone else would flop due to a cracking/lost voice.

I think why the iPod-owning reviewers are having problems transferring this "Dual Disc" to their iPods is that it may be Copy Protected with that sneaky DRM thing Sony and some other record labels are using.

David Byrne (known from the music group "Talking Heads") cautions against buying this and a list of about 20 other CD's/Dual Discs which he says can all wreak havoc on your computer if you try to play them. Mr. Byrne is telling his friends not to buy any CD's made after the Foo Fighter's "In Your Honor" was released, unless they will never put them in a computer. "In Your Honor" was released almost a year ago.

And that's saying a lot, considering that Nebraska is the best album of his career. Of particular interest is the song Reno, the gutsiest song he's ever recorded.

While nowhere near his greatest masterpiece (Born to Run fits that bill), Devils & Dust can easily lay claim to being Bruce's best solo album, finally dethroning Nebraska. It's a vivid depiction of heartache, the future, and the unknown by this master. Thumbs way up.

I just got an iPod and started putting all my music on it. No problem with anything except this disc. Musicmatch doesn't work, iTunes doesn't work, Sonic doesn't work - nothing even sees the CD in the player. You won't know until you try it in your CD player whether it works or not. I love the music, but I will never buy another DualDisc and probably not another Bruce Springsteen album unless he works with his studio to figure out how to allow us to exchange this useless disc for a real CD.

First off, before I get into what I think about this album, I just want to say that I love the E Street Band. They're one of my all-time favourite Rock n' Roll bands, and they can put on a hell of a show! However, "The Rising" just didn't do it for me. There were a few songs on it that I particularly liked, and nothing I particularly disliked, but nothing that really blew me away either. It was one more for the collection, and that's all (sorry Bruce). Devils & Dust, however, is an instant Springsteen classic! This is raw, uncompromising, at times ugly, at times beautiful, HONEST music. It's always a brave decision when an artist decides to make music about real life (without any sugar-coating) because a lot of people can't seem to handle reality.

Musically, this album carries on the tradition of the likes of "Nebraska". You know, that stripped-down, "lo-fi", predominantly acoustic guitar type of sound. Can you dig that? If not, I hear the new Kenny G album is very good.

Lyrically, these songs sometimes take us to a dark place. A place of disillusionment, anger, bitterness, and fear. A place where the "good guys" don't always win, where sometimes dreams don't come true and sometimes there are no happy endings. A place that isn't always safe, politically correct and inoffensive. A place called REALITY. I'll tell you a bit more about this place in a moment, if you havent already stopped reading.

Now listen up, and you might learn something. There seems to be some confusion, and maybe I can help clear it up. There has been some talk about the song "Reno" possibly being "offensive". Frankly, I find this a little unreasonable. Granted, it's not the kind of thing you should play at your 7-year-old's birthday party, but I'm speaking to the adults here. True music (and more appropriately, true ART in general) should never be subject to any PC rules, or forced to be "safe" and "inoffensive", otherwise it is at best pap, at worst propaganda. People, this is real life. That's what art is supposed to be about, one way or another. If you are an adult who cant handle it, or find it offensive, that's due to your own insecurity regarding the subject matter, not any wrongdoing on the part of the artist. It's never a mistake to make honest music about real life. Bruce doesn't argue or judge, he just tells the stories.

Another thing there seems to be some confusion about is how to separate the art from the artist. Just because Bruce sings songs whose protagonist is disillusioned, angry, or bitter, that doesn't mean that Bruce is disillusioned, angry, or bitter. I'd say Bruce sings in the "first person" on very few, if any, of these songs. However, the fact that some people may see it that way is simply a testament to Bruce's ability to bring his song's characters to life. To make their stories, however disturbing, ring true. It's this fact that makes this an awesome album. I strongly recommend it!

I have a Windows XP computer with iTunes and it rips fine into iTunes. This disc has a DVD side and a CD side both silver colored. If you have problems just flip the disc over.....

One of the reasons I bought this disc was to try the new Dual Disc format. As stated on the back the disc is not compatable with all CDs and DVD players.

The video does not work on Windows Media Player. Even Real Player caused noise to come out of the rear channels on the 5.1 video.

Power DVD which is primarily DVD player software worked fine for the short Video. Sony must have used encryption to prevent copying the video portion. O yea SONY who also brought rootkits to our computers....
Other DVD software players may work also on your computer, but it works fine on stand alone players connected to a TV.

The 5.1 Music mix worked fine on my computer using Media player and Real Player and you can see the lyrics on the screen. The only problem was with the short Video. I will buy more Dual Discs if the sound is fixed for the video content. For the price of a CD you get a regular CD version AND a 5.1 mix on the other side.....NICE.


Well I could moan one of Springsteen's tales from this disc but I want to rock. Technically the 5.1 mix Rocks....
I don't really need another Tom Joad II CD but this is Bruce's country side and only the Boss can make me like country!

another excellent collection of songs from the boss. Lots of atmosphere and soul, especially my favourite track 'devil+dust'.
bravo!

to Devils and Dust ... Bruce is the soul of what's good and evil in the Usa ... A warrior that knows war is the road but not the answer to redemption ... He bears the naked truth emotionally in every tune , happyness being a state of dumness that we all want but do not know what it is ... A deep study of humanity looking for itself ... A masterpiece ...

1.) Devils and Dust: the title track, and the best song on the album. Putting aside its striking resemblance to 'Blood Brothers', from Greatest Hits, this is a great song in its own right.

2.) Matamoros Banks: Linda Ronstadt would love this song... Best song for lyrics on the album. Also the most meaningful song on the album.

3.) Long Time Coming: Ignoring the rather terrible lyrics, this is a fun tune.

4.) All I'm Thinkin' About: Bruce doesn't sound like himself in this song, nonetheless it is very good.

5.)The Hitter: Solid.

6.)All The Way Home: Although it seems like a decent song, the whole thing sounds like an introduction or an interlude...

7.)Leah: A decent song, but the tune doesn't stick with you.

8.)Silver Palamino: A fairly good tune, and decent lyrics, but... It's just not Bruce at his best.

9.)Black Cowboys: Yeah, I know, this is giving this song a bad rap. But... I really don't like it, meaningful lyrics and all.

10.)Maria's Bed: OK, but nothing special... This is classic Bruce filler.

11.)Jesus Was an Only Son: As a Jew...

12.)Reno: borderline offensive. A mistake (but I'll admit, the tune's decent).

We, long ago, confessed to be lacking any and all objectivity when it comes to this artist. Bruce is our Willie Mays, our Picasso, our Mother Teresa. But here goes anyway: With `Devils & Dust', Bruce has, once again, sent the E-Streeters into exile (with the exception of a cameo by Danny Federici and, of course, background vocals by `the little lady') in order to record a more varied, more intimate, more subtle, and, we'd say, more personal record than the structure and sound of the E-Street Band seem to allow. Unlike his albums with the band, `Devils & Dust' does not immediately pluck you by the ears and hit you in your gut. Instead, these songs seem to insinuate more of themselves into one's consciousness and pleasure centers with each listen. `D & D' resembles its predecessors `Nebraska' and `The Ghost of Tom Joad' in tone and, particularly, the manner in which Springsteen brilliantly conveys the thoughts, emotions, and lives of the ordinary, the forgotten, the downtrodden, the human. In many songs he does this by assuming the role of a particular character-an American soldier, a motherless Texas teen, a fallen boxer, et al-with detailed intimacy and a startling ring of truth. The album's template may have been the talking blues of Dylan and Woody Guthrie. The `Dust' in the album's title brings Guthrie to mind, as do the song's country-folk format, their western settings, even the drawl Springsteen employs on songs of this nature. We once called Steve Earle, "Springsteen with a twang". Here that can be said of Bruce himself. There are some arresting and delightful changes of pace on `Devils & Dust', like the frank portrayal of, shall we say, a commercial, sexual encounter in `Reno', or the new and thrilling whispered falsetto he uses on the backwoods rocker `All I'm Thinking About'. While some of the tracks are instrumentally and tunefully spare, others are beautifully and surprisingly fleshed out with strings, mariachi horns, vocal chorales or the sitar, tambora, and electric sarangi of producer Brendan O'Brien (who also produced `The Rising'). Although we are not yet in love with every cut on `Devils & Dust', we expect to be eventually. After all, it is Bruce.