Bob Dylan’s “Tempest” Vs Bruce Springsteen’s “Wrecking Ball”

I thought it might be fun to compare Dylan’s latest album: “Tempest” to Bruce’s last album: “Wrecking Ball.”

First of all, they were both discovered and signed to Columbia records by the same brilliant man…John Hammond Sr. Dylan in the early sixties and Bruce in the early seventies. Just think, if it weren’t for John hammond Sr. the entire makeup of Pop music would have been quite different. And don’t think Mr. Hammond didn’t have to go to bat for both of these artists because he did. Dylan was referred to as: “Hammond’s folly.” That was only in the very beginning. Bruce had it a little easier but still took awhile to get some traction. But once both of these artists really got going, there was no stopping them back in the day. Now, things have changed a little again.

Instead of me hammering on either one of these great artists short comings, I thought I would just write about the songs I liked on both albums. Tryin’ to keep it positive.

First, BOB DYLAN: “Tempest.”

I found four songs off this album worth mentioning. My favorite cut is number one: “Duquesne Whistle.” It’s no surprise to me that Dylan chose to put this song first on the album. Even with it’s Mickey Mouse cartoon intro, it still has quite a bit of charm. I first heard the song on ND when one of the Editors put the video to the song up. The video was an absolute riot and reminded me a little of something Dylan might have done 30 years ago. He was only sort of in the video if you know what I mean? Anyway, both the song and the video are great!

“Soon After Midnight:” Sounds like a 1950’s medium ballad melody.

“Scarlet Town:” Cool dark mood kind of like Leonard Cohen’s latest work.

“Tempest:” This of course is Dylan’s great attempt at taking on the tale of the Titanic sinking. Great historical research here! Bob never did like to think small.

Second, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: “Wrecking Ball.”

Ironically, I also found four songs worth mentioning off this album too. Four for four…a tie!

“We Take Care Of Our Own:” This sounds like a classic Bruce rocker that he will still be playing live ten years from now. And somehow it will sound better then than it does now?

“Death To My Hometown:” This song sounds like it was written with a hurdy gurdy maybe? Very much an Irish jig with one of Bruce’s classic rock spins thrown in.

“This Depression:” A very honest confession of sadness by Bruce. Reminds me of “Nebraska” a little.

“Rocky Ground:” Some cool hip-hop production that only Bruce could pull off without sounding tacky. 

To summarize, these are both good albums to listen to but my question is: how do they stack up against what both of these artists produced in the 1970’s? If you were there…you know what I’m implying.