Description
Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars – Compact Disc
Bruce Springsteen’s Western Stars is his 19th studio album, released on June 14, 2019 by Columbia Records. It’s a deliberate left turn in his catalog: instead of E Street-style rock or the stripped-down folk approach of Nebraska or Devils & Dust, Springsteen built this record around Southern California pop and country-pop influences from the late 1960s and 1970s, with prominent orchestral arrangements and a more “studio-crafted” sound. The album was produced by Springsteen and Ron Aniello, and it was recorded across multiple periods (with work dating back as far as 2010, then revisited and completed later).
The standard album is 13 tracks and runs about 51 minutes. Lyrically, it’s packed with character-driven, cinematic writing: stuntmen, fading stars, highway travelers, people trying to hold onto love or dignity while time and luck move against them. That’s part of why the album feels “movie-like” even before you get to the film—Springsteen leans into widescreen settings and sharp scene details rather than the more overtly political or community-centered narratives he often does with the E Street Band.
Release rollout was fairly traditional but focused: “Hello Sunshine” came first as the lead single (April 2019), followed by “There Goes My Miracle” and “Tucson Train,” with multiple videos directed by longtime collaborator Thom Zimny. The album performed strongly on the charts, debuting No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and becoming Springsteen’s 20th U.S. top-10 album.
A key part of the Western Stars era is that it also became a performance film. Springsteen and Zimny co-directed a companion film—Springsteen’s directorial debut—featuring a full performance of the album with additional narrative material; it premiered at TIFF (September 2019) and had a U.S. release date of October 25, 2019. That project reinforced what the album already suggests: Western Stars is one of Springsteen’s most carefully staged records, designed around mood, setting, and a specific sonic world rather than a “band identity.”
Brand new, never played and still in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Hitch Hikin’
The Wayfarer
Tucson Train
Western Stars
Sleepy Joe’s Café
Drive Fast (The Stuntman)
Chasin’ Wild Horses
Sundown
Somewhere North Of Nashville
Stones
There Goes My Miracle
Hello Sunshine
Moonlight Motel
