Working On A Dream - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Working On A Dream Image
Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 90 Ratings

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  • Summary: Springsteen's latest solo album is the fourth time he has worked with producer Brendan O'Brien.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 29
  3. Negative: 1 out of 29
  1. Rolling Stone
    100
    Working on a Dream is the richest of the three great rock albums Springsteen has made this decade with the E Street Band--and moment for moment, song for song, there are more musical surprises than on any Bruce album you could name.
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Hs 16th (16th!) studio album, sees him eschew such stylings and instead go for broke on telling tales and flashing his soul
  3. No Ripcord
    60
    As an addition to a remarkable oeuvre, then, Working On A Dream has its worthwhile moments, but it's as a snapshot of a window of hope from an increasingly seasoned cultural commentator that it borders on the essential.
  4. Slant Magazine
    30
    Yet despite O'Brien's anemic production, much of the blame for Working On a Dream undoubtedly lies with Springsteen himself; drained of his angry energy, he dribbles out material that's for the most part goofy and painfully bloodless.

See all 29 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 32
  3. Negative: 3 out of 32
  1. Rob274
    10
    *Sniff,Sniff* So beatifull. Bruce Springsteen has outdone himself. Also the whole album was the best out of his whole career. I think that this album may be his best yet! The song "The Wrestler" is so pretty, I wanted to hear it again and again. A solid 10/10… Expand
  2. Ricko
    8
    A great album, full of classic Springsteen tracks from start to finish. He's a lot more polished and produced than his 70's/80's heyday but beneath it all is still some masterful songwriting. The version I have has "The Wrestler" as the final track and it move the record up from an 8 to a 9. One of his nicest songs and a fitting way to end one of his best albums with the E-Street band.… Expand
  3. CRL
    6
    I'm a teenager and I love Springsteen, but this just had something missing. There were a couple really good songs, especially My Lucky Day and The Last Carnival, but they were surrounded with somewhat moving yet almost generic soft-rockish songs.… Expand
  4. JohnM
    4
    I've enjoyed a ton of Bruce's music and his concerts are spectacular, but this album is just a failure. Bruce doesn't have stories to tell or much to say personally, so empty tropes end up filling the songs instead. Which is why a bonus track ("The Wrestler") written for a movie crushes everything else here and reminds you of how great he can be. This has none of the catharsis of The Rising or the anger of Magic, whatever flaws those albums had otherwise. It's a car with no engine.… Expand

See all 32 User Reviews

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