There's a lot to be admired in "Only the Strong Survive," Bruce Springsteen's 21st studio album. But I find myself enjoying it in dramatically different ways than, say, his 1970s-era masterworks "Born to Run" and "Darkness on the Edge of Town." Those records stirred our intellect and our emotions via the excitement of the artist's storytelling and attendant musical drama. With "Only the Strong Survive," Springsteen succeeds, simply put, by elevating our senses through the pure power of song.
Much of this album's sensory impact should be credited to the album's atmospherics. A collection of carefully selected cover versions, the LP sounds like the music and textures from soul and R&B's heyday. That's not to suggest that the album feels dated—far from it. Rather, Springsteen and co-producer Ron Aniello's careful attention to sonic detail results in establishing a soulful ambiance that draws listeners in from the snare shot that kicks the title track into being. In so doing, they establish a musical thread that drapes itself across the balance of the album—indeed, right on through to the final cut, "Someday We'll Be Together."
And then there's the matter of Springsteen's vocals, which feel right at home in the grooves of the cover versions that he has selected. With "Only the Strong Survive," he's in fine fettle as a singer, affording homage to the music and an era that has clearly existed at the heart of his life's inspiration. At times, the album makes for a dizzying array of standout vocal performances, as Springsteen reels off unforgettable takes of such 1960s classics as "Hey, Western Union Man," "Don't Play That Song," and "7 Rooms of Gloom."
As incredible as those numbers prove to be, Springsteen shifts into yet another gear altogether for "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted," Jimmy Ruffin's Motown hit. In a career filled with awe-inspiring musical highs, his vocal interpretation of "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" makes for one of his finest performances, brimming with drama and foreboding.
"Only the Strong Survive" is an album that benefits from repeated listenings, with Springsteen's cover versions taking on greater nuance with each new pass. He recently remarked that making the LP marked his effort to "do justice" to "the great American songbook of the '60s and '70s." With "Only the Strong Survive," he demonstrates his artistic debt to his American R&B and soul roots. But it proves to be more than that: By producing an album's worth of top-flight cover versions, Springsteen pays powerful homage to the songwriters and musicians who paved the way for his own vaunted place among their number.
