Maps of Music

Working on a Dream (2008)

Where the lyrics of Working on a Dream take you, and where it was really made.

Working on a Dream gave Springsteen his ninth US No. 1 album even though it drew mixed reviews and the lowest Metacritic score of his 2000s run.

Key places

Recorded and mixed in Atlanta (2008)

Recording site Southern Tracks Recording Studio — The album was recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia, according to the Discogs credits. The studio is the main recording site listed for the album. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording in Hollywood (2008)

Recording site A&M Recording Studios — Additional recording for the album was done at Henson Recording Studios, listed in the credits as in Hollywood, California. The point marks the studio's location in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording in New York (2008)

Recording site Clinton Recording Studios — Additional recording for the album was done at Clinton Recording Studios in New York City. The point is set at the city centre, so the exact studio building is not fixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Additional recording at Avatar (2008)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Additional recording for the album was done at Avatar Studios in New York. The point is set at the city centre, so the exact studio building is not fixed. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sixteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen
• Released January 27, 2009 through Columbia Records
• Topped the charts in nine countries, including the US
• In the US it was Springsteen's ninth No. 1 album
• Produced by Brendan O'Brien, who also produced The Rising and Magic
• Steve Van Zandt said it completed a trilogy that began with The Rising (2002)

Background

• Officially announced with a track listing on November 17, 2008
• Grew out of work the band did while completing Magic
• Encouraged by Brendan O'Brien, Springsteen began a new album and wrote several songs in the following week
• Most songs were recorded with the E Street Band during breaks on the Magic Tour
• Most songs were finished in just a few takes, unusual for Springsteen
• Danny Federici, who died in April 2008, was the last founding E Street Band member to contribute new work
• Federici's son Jason also appears on the album

Recording

• Core band for most tracks: Springsteen, Max Weinberg, Garry Tallent and Roy Bittan
• Other members' contributions were added later
• Recorded and mixed at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia
• Additional recording took place in New York, Hollywood and New Jersey studios
• Track lengths range from over eight minutes for the opener Outlaw Pete to under three minutes

Cover

• Danny Clinch shot the cover photo and band portraits

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Artist

Formation

• Born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey; grew up in Freehold, New Jersey.
• Inspired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, began playing with local bands in the 1960s, including the Castiles, Steel Mill and the Bruce Springsteen Band.
• Formed the band that became the E Street Band in October 1972; the name came into use in September 1974.
• Signed to Columbia Records in 1972 by John Hammond; debut album Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. released January 1973.

Members

• Performs solo and with the E Street Band, his backing band since 1972.
• Long-time members include Clarence Clemons, Danny Federici, Steven Van Zandt, Roy Bittan, Max Weinberg and Patti Scialfa.
• Clemons died June 18, 2011; Federici died in 2008.

Career

• Born to Run (1975) brought worldwide fame; Born in the U.S.A. (1984) became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
• Won an Academy Award in 1994 for "Streets of Philadelphia"; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999.
• Has sold more than 140 million records worldwide; holds 20 Grammy Awards and a Special Tony Award.
• The 2023–2025 tour with the E Street Band was among the highest-grossing tours in history.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Metacritic gave it 72 out of 100, the lowest of Springsteen's six albums released in the 2000s
• The New York Times welcomed a more hopeful, less bleak Springsteen after the first tracks came out
• Rolling Stone gave it five stars and compared its scale and ambition to Born to Run
• Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times said the best that could be said was that it is boisterously scatterbrained, exhilaratingly bad
• Greg Kot of The Chicago Tribune called parts of it a silly self-parody but praised My Lucky Day and the title track
• Pitchfork agreed with Van Zandt that it is the final installment of the trilogy
• Richard Williams in The Guardian noted adventures into areas not previously associated with Springsteen

Reappraisal

• Spanish Wikipedia summarizes its reviews as similar to those of its predecessor Magic
• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called it a companion piece to Magic
• Erlewine wrote that the production sounds small and limited even with many small details
• Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone called it the richest of the three rock albums Springsteen made with the E Street Band in that decade

Records

• Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
• Sold 224,000 copies in its first week in the US, ending a seven-week run by Taylor Swift's Fearless
• Springsteen's ninth US No. 1 album, tying The Rolling Stones for fourth-most
• Also debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums, Top Digital Albums and Top Internet Albums charts
• Over 3 million copies sold worldwide and over 585,000 in the US as of September 2010
• Reached No. 1 in seventeen other countries

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The Wrestler was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and went on to win it at the 66th Golden Globe Awards on January 11.
• The album version of The Wrestler, without the end-credits string introduction, went on iTunes on December 16, ahead of the film's opening in major US cities.
• A Night with the Jersey Devil first appeared on Springsteen's website in October 2008 with a Halloween-themed video, but later press releases dropped it.
• Frankie Fell in Love was recorded during the album sessions but not released, and was later reworked for the 2014 album High Hopes.
• Springsteen released the graphic novel Outlaw Pete in November 2014, based on the opening track of this album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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