When albums and music become extremely personal, the artist runs the risk of either cutting himself as a sympathetic figure or alienating the intended audience. In the case of Karylle, the title Time for Letting Go says it all, given her recent personal history; while with Bruce Springsteen, expectations always run high, given his “legend“ status in the music industry.
Karylle — Time for Letting Go (PolyEast Records). Having had the chance to speak to Karylle as this CD had its genesis, I know she was much more interested to release an album of original material than follow the formulaic route of covers and remakes. Luckily for us, the finished product is a mix of the two concepts, and we still get a good taste of her composing skills. Tracks such as I’ll Never Get Over You Getting Over Me, Almost Over You, Leaving Yesterday Behind, and a remake of Regine Velasquez’s You’ve Made Me Stronger all point to a savvy marketing ploy of using her recent highly publicized break-up and “moving on“ mindset. But the real surprise for me were the self-penned songs like Minamahal Kita and Hulog Ng Langit, as they showed depth and maturity, and augurs well for that next album, which hopefully, will allow her to showcase more of her own songs. It is ballad time on this CD, with her voice in fine form.
Bruce Springsteen — Working On A Dream (Columbia Records). The Boss regularly complains about how the critics don’t seem to like his albums when he’s in a happy mood, or things seem to be going well in his life, and the songs reflect that. They seem to prefer the angry, downcast, or depressed Bruce and it’s only then that the superlatives roll out, calling him a troubadour for the times. Well, Working finds Bruce in happy mode, and there’s a strong element of “country“ in the music. While I don’t agree with the critics lock, stock and barrel, if Happy Bruce means songs with really lame lyrics like Surprise, Surprise, I do have to raise my eyebrow. Fortunately for us, there are tracks like What Love Can Do, This Life and Tomorrow Never Knows to bring my eyebrow back to its rightful place. This may not be the best of Bruce, but it is serviceable output, just what we’ve come to expect and hope for more.