Working on a Dream

Bruce Springsteen - Working on a Dream
Critic Score
Based on 29 reviews
2009 Ratings: #385 / 923
User Score
Based on 76 ratings
2009 Rank: #293
Liked by 2 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
Entertainment Weekly
A handful of tunes make it clear that Springsteen still sees a creeping darkness on the edge of town.
100
Rolling Stone

Working on a Dream is the richest of the three great rock albums Springsteen has made this decade with the E Street Band — and moment for moment, song for song, there are more musical surprises than on any Bruce album you could name.

90
Consequence of Sound
Climb on to your pony, hop on to your Harley, or strap yourself in to your Thunderbird and let his songs propel you into the painted sunset of the Jersey shore.
84
Time Out London
Ignore the generic title and off-the-peg song names, this is Springsteen’s best LP since ‘Born in the USA’.
83
Beats Per Minute
Age is no obstacle for the E Street Band and its ringmaster. He’s not afraid to let you know, he’s just going to keep working on new dreams.
80
Evening Standard

Bruce Springsteen has written an album that dwells on love and optimism instead of political discontent. The effect is like a superhero looking down on a society safely returned to normality, saying “my work here is done”.

80
The Irish Times

As he approaches his 60th birthday in September, Working on a Dream proves that Springsteen and his doughty crew remain a vital positive force in a changing world.

80
Record Collector

Another formidable collection, as Bruce continues to record in the most prolific vein of his career.

80
The Observer
On his 24th album, Springsteen reaches for the simple power and unabashed romanticism of early pop.
80
Mojo

Take heart and enjoy The Boss's galvanising newie--Mr. Motivator is back.

80
Uncut
His 16th full-length recording is by some distance, Springsteen's weirdest, and most constantly startling to date.
80
The Guardian

Although Working On a Dream was recorded almost immediately after the completion of Magic, apparently provoked by Springsteen's inability to stop writing songs, there is no sense of haste or superficiality.

80
Sputnikmusic

Working on a Dream manages to simultaneously define the past eight years and their up and downs, and also define the present, with hopes of an exciting new future. And, because of that, it succeeds completely.

80
NME

‘Working On A Dream’, his 16th (16th!) studio album, sees him eschew such stylings and instead go for broke on telling tales and flashing his soul; the soul of a global phenomenon who, this year, turns 60.

67
A.V. Club

Working On A Dream is arguably the best-sounding album Springsteen has made since Born To Run. Just don't look too hard at the lyric sheet.

60
No Ripcord

Working On A Dream has its worthwhile moments, but it's as a snapshot of a window of hope from an increasingly seasoned cultural commentator that it borders on the essential.

60
SPIN

Without anything to push against, one ofrock’s most eloquent lyricists is in the awkward position of having little of interest to say.

60
AllMusic
It's possible to listen around this production and hear the modest charms of the songs, but the album would be better if the sound matched the sentiment.
60
PopMatters

Working on a Dream is not only a worthy album, but also an enjoyable one. But when you’ve built a career on inspiring nothing less than transcendence, is enjoyable really a worthy goal?

60
Q Magazine
While mostly perfectly acceptable as individual songs, the 13 tracks don't really stack up as an album, not one that gets close to his best anyway.
59
Coke Machine Glow
This isn’t progress, it’s pleasant, capable, effortless stagnation; the dream’s already finished and we can’t, for the love of everything, recall what it was about.
58
Pitchfork

Here the Boss settles into some sense of contentment on Working on a Dream, as if that Dream had already been achieved.

50
Spectrum Culture

Working On a Dream doesn’t have the weight and gravity of “statement” albums like The Rising or Devils and Dust bearing down on it, it’s an easier listen that sometimes borders on the innocuous or incidental.

50
Tiny Mix Tapes
We ask a lot of Bruce Springsteen, but something tells me he probably likes it that way.
50
Drowned in Sound

The final recording both chronologically speaking and on the album's track listing, 'The Wrestler' is both a teasing insight into future bounties to come and a hint at what might have been if Working On A Dream had perhaps been created with less haste.

30
Slant Magazine

Working on a Dream is a toothless album whose fascination with good vibes leaves it feeling soft and expressionless.

Dief88
80

Fav Tracks:
Outlaw Pete
Working on a Dream
The Wrestler

50

Favourites:
Outlaw Pete,My Lucky Day,Working On a Dream

25

Favourites: My Lucky Day, Working On A Dream and The Wrestler

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