Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band go back a long way – they first played together almost five decades ago, in 1972. Springsteen selected the members of this band to back him on his debut record, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J, and since then they’ve recorded and toured for a number of his albums. Letter To You is the first studio album that Springsteen and the E Street Band have played together on since 2014, and the magic between this group of musicians is still going strong.

Incredibly, this is Springsteen’s twentieth studio album. The nine tracks on Letter To You convey the sweeping, dramatic Americana that feature on all of Springsteen and the E Street Band’s most beloved songs. They are not in any way reinventing the wheel here, but why should they? There is a bit of the hi-octane vibe of ‘Born to Run’, some of the effortless jamming of ‘Blinded by the Light’, and a dash of the lighters-in-the-air anthemic potential of ‘The Promised Land’. And while things are slightly toned down in this latest offering (understandably so – most of the band members are in or approaching their seventies) the energy isn’t diluted, it’s refined. A working relationship of forty-eight years is no quiet feat, and Letter To You is a wonderful example of experienced musicians working together like a finely tuned machine but still having a great deal of fun with their craft.

If you are a fan of Springsteen and the E Street Band, wanting to relive the glory days (pun absolutely intended), Letter To You will find a place in your heart and on your turntables.

Ellen Cregan is the marketing coordinator.