Bruce Springsteen – Repo Man Review 

Like some maddened chef behind a mastermind buffet, Bruce Springsteen brings yet another taster serving of his upcoming Tracks II: The Lost Albums. The Boss’ listeners are in no short supply of material, with dozens of unreleased tracks set to be put out there next month, with the context of their recording, what kept them locked in the vault so long, to be shared too. Repo Man comes from a period of real quality for Springsteen. Around the time he was writing The Ghost of Tom Joad, one of his current century miracles, he put together the songs which make up the unreleased album, Somewhere North of Nashville. Opener Repo Man serves as a touching entry into what could have been a swinging revival of countrified pop, had it been released at the time. Twenty years on from its first recording, and it still sounds floaty and thrilling.  

A short and staggering track which owes a debt to the rockabilly ways of Chuck Berry, Repo Man recalls a life of danger. Whether it is inherently dangerous beyond class betrayal to lift items from the homes of those in struggle is not up for debate on this whirlwind piece from Springsteen. Repo Man is a knock at the career of a man who repossesses what he can, where he can. Those shouts of “it’s the repo man” are a cry of warning to those in the area, but with the tremendous, countrified guitar tones, the song takes on a whole new life. An overlap in sessions means Repo Man serves as a nice sister song to The Line, a tremendous song featured on The Ghost of Tom Joad. Those songs featured on Somewhere North of Nashville appear to be leftovers, a burst of energy which overtook Springsteen who hits a purple patch, gathers the best, and releases that. The rest are left to lie.  

Repo Man does sound lyrically simple but the shortness of it, the instrumental thrill, is what keeps it alive. There is an undeniable fire burning within Repo Man which means it does not sound out of place at all in the context of other, more popular releases. Throw it into a mix with The Rising and The Ghost of Tom Joad in there and it becomes a transitional song, a palette cleanser from the head of the kitchen. His hors d’oeuvre-like offerings ahead of the release of seven albums worth of material are admirable. Little whets of the whistle before the whole project comes crashing through our speakers. Repo Man is a fun piece of work, a chance to hear The Boss in what appears to be a freed and liberated studio.  

An energy-filled offering from the vault, and we should be lucky to get even that. Springsteen is at his very best when he is having fun, but also passing comment. He fails to do the latter convincingly but brings on such an instrumental thrill that it is hard not to enjoy Repo Man. A lighter flourish, one with convincing instrumental parts to it. Pistol-wielding maniacs hunting down a man repossessing personal items, the cold-hearted gaze at those in positions of novel power, that is what Springsteen brings into play here. There is an Americana style, a heartland rock softening with country and ragtime-like piano works found within, and it makes this Springsteen piece a treat of a listen.