MUSIC REVIEWS
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN'S DEVILS AND RUST

Bruce Springsteen's 2005 release, Devils and Rust, is an outstanding collection of songs about the agony, anguish, distress, misery, pain, and bitterness life on the brink of disaster. In Devils and Rust, the artist has created the songs with a distinct acoustic flavor and elected to create a solo sound that is different from the Bruce Springsteen of E-Street Band fame. This CD-noir is very reminiscent of The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) and the haunting Nebraska (1982). If you liked these musical endeavors, then you will like Devils and Rust. Devils and Rust contains 12 songs and is a "dual disc;" it has DVD features on the other side of the CD.

In the CD Devils and Rust, Springsteen relies on his story telling abilities and acoustic guitar to carry the songs. In "The Hitter" Springsteen describes a boxer returning home and telling his mother about taking a fall, getting his jaw broken, and tales of woe from the ring. "Matamoros Banks" is a distressing story about death during a border-crossing incident. The title cut "Devils and Rust" is about a war in which both sides bitterly fight each other to the death in God's name.

The entire CD is full of tragedy and heartbreak. Other songs on note include a song about a hooker in Nevada called "Reno," "Maria's Bed" about a performer that comes home after a long road trip, "Silver Palomino" that deals with a young son's loss of his mother, "All I'm Thinkin' About," "All The Way Home," and 'Black Cowboys."

The album was produced by Brenden O'Brien, Burce Springsteen, and Chuck Poltkin. Other artists on the CD are Brendon O'Brien on bass, Chick Poltkin on piano, Steve Jordan on drums, and Soozie Tyrel on violin. The CD was released on Columbia records. This is a great CD.

The new Judy Collins CD released in 2004 is a collection of songs by the great songwriter and performer Leonard Cohen called Democracy. The CD features the still fabulous soprano voice of Judy Collins singing 14 of Cohen's songs. The songs span several decades of both artists' lives from the 1960s to the 1990s. Songs on the CD include "Bird On The Wire," "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye," "Sisters of Mercy," "Story of Isaac," "Joan of Arc," "Priests," and the ever emotional, "Suzanne." The collection does contain new Cohen material. "A Thousand Kisses Deep" and "Night Comes On" are new songs, as is the title track "Democracy."

Judy Collins first introduced the Canadian Leonard Cohen to the US audiences in 1967 when she put "Suzanne" and 'Dress Rehearsal Rag" on her sixth album In My Life. They have had a productive musical relationship for years.

Democracy was produced by Judy Collins and is found on Rhino Records. Give this CD a listen; you may hear something you like.

In other music news several music retailers, including Canada's largest chain HMV, have severed ties with Maverick Records' artist Alanis Morissette over her decision to sell her latest CD through Starbucks. Morissette chose to give the coffee chain exclusive rights to her 10th anniversary acoustic edition of Jagged Little Pill for the first six weeks of its release. On 13 June, HMV pulled the singer's records and other merchandise from its shelves in protest.

Morissette indicated that she was not trying to offend the traditional retailers by offering her album through Starbucks. The singer contended that, "My intention certainly was not to ruffle feathers in that department although it's inevitable obviously. I have had a really sweet and positive relationship with retailers my entire career." However, the singer said she believes Starbucks is the right place for her fans to access her latest album. She went on to add, "When people walk into Starbucks there's a real openness and a focus to behold and take in whatever may be on that counter, and I think this record is a special record."

Morissette in the middle of her 'Diamond Wink Tour' in support of the acoustic album.

The Rolling Stones made a similar faux pas in the retail music industry in 2003, when they offered their DVD Four Flicks exclusively through Best Buy for the first four months of its release. What ever happened to the old adage, "Ya dance with the one who brung ya?"