Bruce Springsteen has a new solo album coming out June 14. He has said “Western Stars” is a rumination on Southern California music of the ”60s and ’70s and specifically names Burt Bacharach as an influence. This song was released as the album’s second single last week. Its soaring melody and strings are surprising enough, but Springsteen’s voice — is he actually crooning? — is the real revelation here. As a number of commenters on YouTube have pointed out, it sounds like he’s going for Roy Orbison.
