Maps of Music

Magic (2007)

Where the lyrics of Magic take you, and where it was really made.

Fox News reported that Clear Channel told its classic rock stations not to play any tracks from the album, yet it still sold about 335,000 copies in its first US week.

Key places

Where Magic was recorded (2007)

Recording site Southern Tracks Recording Studio — Recording for Magic began in March 2007 at Southern Tracks Recording Studio in Atlanta and took two months. Band schedules made the sessions complicated, so the core band recorded basic tracks on weekends while Springsteen worked on vocals during the week. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Magic: fifteenth studio album by Bruce Springsteen
• Released by Columbia Records on LP on September 25, 2007, and on CD on October 2
• First album with the E Street Band since The Rising in 2002
• Topped the charts in six countries, including the US and UK
• Triple platinum in Ireland
• Two songs, 'Radio Nowhere' and 'Girls in Their Summer Clothes', won three Grammys in total

Background

• Announced August 16, 2007, after months of speculation
• Manager Jon Landau described it as a 'high energy rock' album with a 'heavy E Street Band' sound
• Consisted of new tracks, except 'Long Walk Home', which had been performed once in late 2006 Sessions Band Tour
• Most songs were written by the end of 2006
• Springsteen let Brendan O'Brien, producer of The Rising and Devils & Dust, pick the best songs
• 'Radio Nowhere' was leaked on August 22 before its planned September 4 release
• Vinyl came first on September 25 to qualify for the Grammy Awards
• iTunes pre-orders opened August 28, with 'Radio Nowhere' offered as a free download
• The Magic Tour was announced alongside the album

Recording

• Recording began in March 2007 at Southern Tracks Recording Studio in Atlanta and took two months
• Band member schedules complicated sessions, especially drummer Max Weinberg's weekday commitments to Late Night with Conan O'Brien
• Springsteen worked on vocals and production during the week
• On weekends, Weinberg, Garry Tallent and Roy Bittan recorded the basic tracks
• Other members overdubbed their parts under O'Brien's watch
• Clarence Clemons worked directly with Springsteen because of their long history together

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

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

• Pitchfork: called it 'a surprisingly complex album that hides its disillusionment deep within its music'
• Pitchfork: noted a 'weary optimism that has not diminished with age' mixed into the record
• The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll for 2007: ranked No. 9
• Rolling Stone Top 50 Albums of 2007: ranked No. 2
• 'Long Walk Home' ranked No. 8 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2007
• Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, but lost to Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Records

• UK: No. 1, Springsteen's seventh UK No. 1
• UK first-week sales: 77,692, his fastest-starting release of the 21st century
• US Billboard 200: debuted at No. 1, his eighth chart topper
• US first week: about 335,000 copies
• Fell to No. 2 for one week, then returned to No. 1 selling about 77,000 copies that week
• Ireland: triple platinum
• Two songs won three Grammys in total, making Magic the second of only two Springsteen albums with three wins, after The Rising
• US: one million copies sold by January 2009

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• 'Terry's Song' was added two weeks after the initial track listing, a memorial song for Springsteen's long-time assistant Terry Magovern, who died on July 30, 2007
• Some CD pressings pre-ordered through Sony Music or other channels did not include the extra track
• Fox News reported that Clear Channel told its classic rock stations not to play any tracks from the album, while still playing 1970s and '80s Springsteen songs
• Clear Channel responded that its stations had played the record more than others in the first days after the CD's release
• Several sources have suggested that 'Last to Die' was inspired by John Kerry's 1971 testimony to the U.S. Senate as a Vietnam Veterans Against the War representative

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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