---
product_id: 123448827
title: "Western Stars"
price: "$63"
currency: NZD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/123448827-western-stars
store_origin: NZ
region: New Zealand
---

# Western Stars

**Price:** $63
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** Western Stars
- **How much does it cost?** $63 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
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## Description

LP includes two 150-gram vinyl"&"nbsp; This collection of songs takes his music to a new place, drawing inspiration in part from the Southern California pop records of the late "&"lsquo;60s and early "&"lsquo;70s. The album was recorded primarily at Springsteen"&"rsquo;s home studio in New Jersey, with additional recording in California and New York. "&"ldquo;This record is a return to my solo recordings featuring character driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements," says Springsteen. "It's a jewel box of a record." The 13 tracks on Western Stars encompass a sweeping range of American themes, of highways and desert spaces, of isolation and community and the permanence of home and hope. Ron Aniello produced the album with Springsteen and plays bass, keyboard, and other instruments. Patti Scialfa provides vocals and contributes vocal arrangements on four tracks. The musical arrangements include strings, horns, pedal steel and contributions from more than 20 other players including Jon Brion (who plays celeste, Moog, and farfisa), as well as guest appearances by David Sancious, Charlie Giordano, and Soozie Tyrell."&"nbsp; Bruce Springsteen"&"rsquo;s recording career spans over 40 years, beginning with 1973's "&"lsquo;Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ."&"rsquo; He has garnered 20 Grammys, won an Oscar and a Tony, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, received a Kennedy Center Honor, and was MusiCares"&"rsquo; 2013 Person of the Year. Springsteen"&"rsquo;s memoir "&"lsquo;Born to Run"&"rsquo; (Simon "&"amp; Schuster) and its companion album "&"lsquo;Chapter and Verse"&"rsquo; were released in September 2016, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November 2016. His historic 236-show run of "&"lsquo;Springsteen on Broadway"&"rsquo; at Jujamcyn"&"rsquo;s Walter Kerr Theatre in NYC ran from October 2017 to December 2018, and also yielded an accompanying soundtrack album and Netflix special. "&"nbsp; "&"nbsp; "&"nbsp; "&"nbsp;

Review: Is this the greatest album... ever made??? - Yeah you heard it here first. After about 20 listen-throughs, I am still having a very visceral reaction to this album. With those 'voice of my generation' years ('73-'87) so far in the rear-view mirror, I sometimes forget what it felt like. This album does not belong to 2019, or (IMO) 1969 either, it just feels, well, timeless. At times clumsy, shlocky, poetic, perfect, vast, intimate, heartbreaking, so many things, but in the end- human. Right now I wish I could go see Bruce do this live at some theater with all the instrumentation that occurs on it (that's really when you know an album is truly good- when you want to see it performed.) Of course the critics will get it wrong; I did a little browsing of some of the 'professional' reviews, and no-one has even gotten close to the bottom of it yet (what a surprise!) What started with side two of 'The Wild, the Innocent, and the E St. Shuffle' has now come full-circle, and it's a great ride. P.S. On a side note, k.d. Lang should run, not walk, to the nearest studio and cover 'There Goes My Miracle.' Some Further Thoughts (7-29-19) OK, so after letting the album 'settle in' over the past few weeks (yes, I'm still listening to it way too much), I am quite happy with my initial knee-jerk review. Of course, it will take some time to decide if it truly is 'the best ever.' Without even getting into the gorgeously anachronistic soundscape of the thing (though why Bruce chose this particular 'feel' for it does, I think, connect with its message), there is one overarching theme that I haven't heard mentioned, and it is that it's not just about someone in the autumn of their life, but of an aging artist (albeit a hugely successful one) still grappling with the creative process- the self-doubt, the miraculous spark of creation that disappears all too quickly, and now, most importantly, the mortality of one's art ('miles to go are miles away'.) And let's face it, in his chosen field, pop music has the shelf-life of a gnat. It's right there, in the opener- the hitchhiker is a metaphor; it's his music he wants you to give a lift to. And of course in the incredible closing cut ('she was boarded up and gone like an old summer song'.) The stones/lies in his mouth, on his tongue- songs. In 'Somewhere North of Nashville', is he actually thinking about himself, and how long, in the grand scheme of things, 'his song' will last? He wants so much to believe those western stars will shine again, will be immortal (which, in a way, harkens all the way back to Atlantic City- 'everything that dies, some day comes back' ) On this level, it becomes something quite personal, and even more fascinating. It's been interesting, also, to read other people's thoughts about it, though some of the ludicrously negative things written in regard to its authenticity (he's from Jersey!!!) are laughable; my favorite western is 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance', and I'm quite sure John Ford was never a cowboy. I read recently that Bruce made a performance film of the album, which I suppose is the next best thing ( it really is a shame he's not going to tour this.) If he does an encore, does anyone have a guess? My choice, especially considering the presence of David Sancious on the album, is 'New York City Serenade' (listen to your junkman- he's still singin'.)
Review: A Late-Career Masterpiece Brings the Vocals Front and Center - What is remarkable about Bruce Springsteen is not simply that he's one of the finest singer songwriters we've ever been privileged to hear, but the fact that over the course of what is now more than forty-five years his music has remained relevant, staying true to its essential folk-rock core while, incredibly, continuing to break new ground. In 1975, speaking of "Born to Run," he famously remarked that he "wanted to sing like Roy Orbison." All these years later, we at last get to hear the most relaxed and melodious vocals he's ever committed to record, with singing that recalls the golden age of sixties pop music as much as it does Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie. On the first single, "Hello Sunshine," in particular, I could scarcely believe that the voice was Bruce's, at first. And yet his tonality has lost none of its distinctiveness, and remains instantly recognizable. The songs themselves blend elements of classic pop, folk, and country to produce a laid back and intimate set that seems closer to solo acoustic classics like "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" than it does to "Born to Run" or "Born in the USA," and yet has a richer feel than any of those records. Springsteen's soaring rock anthems have often been characterized as magnificent--and rightly so--but here, for the first time, both the music and the vocals achieve what can only be called elegance. As always the lyrics, gritty and full of life, yet deft, imagistic and carefully crafted, show him to be a real poet in the truest sense, a writer whose eye for telling detail and innate sense of language has once again produced verses that, stripped of the music, could easily find a life of their own on the printed page. The world depicted on "Western Stars," one of drifters, hitchhikers, stuntmen, and working people searching for love in Sleepy Joe's Cafe, is Springsteen at his best; it is a landscape both vibrantly alive and deeply American, and we are all of us the better for the fact that he allows us to share it. Long live the Boss! This album is a gem, and he is a national treasure.

## Images

![Western Stars - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/810DM4-ynZL.jpg)
![Western Stars - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71G42ynpBkL.jpg)
![Western Stars - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/710DbElRqhL.jpg)
![Western Stars - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71rQ7WX6SsL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Is this the greatest album... ever made???
*by B***Y on June 18, 2019*

Yeah you heard it here first. After about 20 listen-throughs, I am still having a very visceral reaction to this album. With those 'voice of my generation' years ('73-'87) so far in the rear-view mirror, I sometimes forget what it felt like. This album does not belong to 2019, or (IMO) 1969 either, it just feels, well, timeless. At times clumsy, shlocky, poetic, perfect, vast, intimate, heartbreaking, so many things, but in the end- human. Right now I wish I could go see Bruce do this live at some theater with all the instrumentation that occurs on it (that's really when you know an album is truly good- when you want to see it performed.) Of course the critics will get it wrong; I did a little browsing of some of the 'professional' reviews, and no-one has even gotten close to the bottom of it yet (what a surprise!) What started with side two of 'The Wild, the Innocent, and the E St. Shuffle' has now come full-circle, and it's a great ride. P.S. On a side note, k.d. Lang should run, not walk, to the nearest studio and cover 'There Goes My Miracle.' Some Further Thoughts (7-29-19) OK, so after letting the album 'settle in' over the past few weeks (yes, I'm still listening to it way too much), I am quite happy with my initial knee-jerk review. Of course, it will take some time to decide if it truly is 'the best ever.' Without even getting into the gorgeously anachronistic soundscape of the thing (though why Bruce chose this particular 'feel' for it does, I think, connect with its message), there is one overarching theme that I haven't heard mentioned, and it is that it's not just about someone in the autumn of their life, but of an aging artist (albeit a hugely successful one) still grappling with the creative process- the self-doubt, the miraculous spark of creation that disappears all too quickly, and now, most importantly, the mortality of one's art ('miles to go are miles away'.) And let's face it, in his chosen field, pop music has the shelf-life of a gnat. It's right there, in the opener- the hitchhiker is a metaphor; it's his music he wants you to give a lift to. And of course in the incredible closing cut ('she was boarded up and gone like an old summer song'.) The stones/lies in his mouth, on his tongue- songs. In 'Somewhere North of Nashville', is he actually thinking about himself, and how long, in the grand scheme of things, 'his song' will last? He wants so much to believe those western stars will shine again, will be immortal (which, in a way, harkens all the way back to Atlantic City- 'everything that dies, some day comes back' ) On this level, it becomes something quite personal, and even more fascinating. It's been interesting, also, to read other people's thoughts about it, though some of the ludicrously negative things written in regard to its authenticity (he's from Jersey!!!) are laughable; my favorite western is 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance', and I'm quite sure John Ford was never a cowboy. I read recently that Bruce made a performance film of the album, which I suppose is the next best thing ( it really is a shame he's not going to tour this.) If he does an encore, does anyone have a guess? My choice, especially considering the presence of David Sancious on the album, is 'New York City Serenade' (listen to your junkman- he's still singin'.)

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Late-Career Masterpiece Brings the Vocals Front and Center
*by R***H on June 14, 2019*

What is remarkable about Bruce Springsteen is not simply that he's one of the finest singer songwriters we've ever been privileged to hear, but the fact that over the course of what is now more than forty-five years his music has remained relevant, staying true to its essential folk-rock core while, incredibly, continuing to break new ground. In 1975, speaking of "Born to Run," he famously remarked that he "wanted to sing like Roy Orbison." All these years later, we at last get to hear the most relaxed and melodious vocals he's ever committed to record, with singing that recalls the golden age of sixties pop music as much as it does Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie. On the first single, "Hello Sunshine," in particular, I could scarcely believe that the voice was Bruce's, at first. And yet his tonality has lost none of its distinctiveness, and remains instantly recognizable. The songs themselves blend elements of classic pop, folk, and country to produce a laid back and intimate set that seems closer to solo acoustic classics like "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" than it does to "Born to Run" or "Born in the USA," and yet has a richer feel than any of those records. Springsteen's soaring rock anthems have often been characterized as magnificent--and rightly so--but here, for the first time, both the music and the vocals achieve what can only be called elegance. As always the lyrics, gritty and full of life, yet deft, imagistic and carefully crafted, show him to be a real poet in the truest sense, a writer whose eye for telling detail and innate sense of language has once again produced verses that, stripped of the music, could easily find a life of their own on the printed page. The world depicted on "Western Stars," one of drifters, hitchhikers, stuntmen, and working people searching for love in Sleepy Joe's Cafe, is Springsteen at his best; it is a landscape both vibrantly alive and deeply American, and we are all of us the better for the fact that he allows us to share it. Long live the Boss! This album is a gem, and he is a national treasure.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ For fans of '70s Easy Rock and Country Rock
*by T***X on July 20, 2019*

I have loved Bruce Springsteen's music since I was a child and heard "Born to Run" for the first time. But as much as I love his harder rock sounds, my favorite albums are "Tunnel of Love" and "The Rising". I tend to like more contemplative, melancholy music, I gues. Add "Western Stars" to that list. I've been playing it nonstop for the last two weeks (I never review an album unless I've listened to it enough to absorb the music and decide if it works for me or not), and while it has a few weaker spots, for the most part it is excellent. It borders on folk country at times without ever actually crossing that line, and it features nice melodies and meaningful lyrics. Interestingly enough, I find the back half of the album (the final six songs) to be the strongest of the bunch, but for the most part I like every single song and performance. A very strong album in a discography filled with great albums. I would highly recommend this one to fans of early '70s rock. And Bruce's vocals are easily the best I've heard on any of his albums. He's got a great voice, but on this album he stretches vocally in ways I didn't realize he could, especially on the excellent "There Goes My Miracle", a hybrid of Seventies melancholy and Phil Spector's Sixties triumphs.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Western Stars
- Letter to You
- Only The Strong Survive

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*Product available on Desertcart New Zealand*
*Store origin: NZ*
*Last updated: 2026-03-05*