Columbia Records

Columbia RecordsAfter giving more than 170 performances in 2018 thanks to his hugely popular Springsteen on Broadway show, Bruce Springsteen played only a handful of events this year. That being said, The Boss had quite an eventful 2019, releasing his first studio album in more than five years, the dramatic and cinematic Western Stars, and also co-directing a film featuring him performing the record in its entirety.

As Springsteen explained in interviews prior to Western Stars‘ release, the project was inspired by Southern California pop records of the ’60s and ’70s. The album was recorded mostly at Bruce’s home studio in New Jersey, as well as in New York and California.

In a statement, Bruce described Western Stars as “a jewel box of a record” that marked “a return to my solo recordings featuring character-driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements.”

The 13-track album was produced by Ron Aniello and Springsteen, and features contributions from Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, early E Street Band keyboard player David Sancious, and E Street touring backing singer/violinist Soozie Tyrell and keyboardist/accordion player Charlie Giordano, among many other musicians.

Western Stars was released on June 14, and debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Springsteen also teamed up with filmmaker and frequent collaborator Thom Zimny to co-direct a movie titled Western Stars that features footage of Bruce performing the album’s 13 songs, plus a cover of the Glen Campbell hit “Rhinestone Cowboy,” in front of a small audience in a 100-year-old barn Springsteen owns. He’s accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra and some of the musicians who contributed to the record, including Scialfa.

The performance segments are interspersed with sweeping, cinematic footage of the Western U.S. Springsteen also contributes a narrative voice-over, musing on his life and reflecting on the themes featured in Western Stars‘ songs, such as love, loss, loneliness, family and the American dream.

The movie, which marked Springsteen’s directorial debut, got its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 11 days before Bruce’s 70th birthday.

The flick also was shown in select theaters across North America on October 19 and 23, before getting a wide theatrical release on October 25. A soundtrack album, titled Western Stars -– Songs from the Film, also was released on the 25th.

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