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Bruce Springsteen’s latest album is being marred in controversy. Not the content itself; that’s actually pretty cut and dry. It’s generally an optimistic set that doesn’t tackle anything controversial or generally substantial. He’s being marred in controversy through things like shady ticket sales from Ticket Master and selling a best-of set exclusively through Wal Mart right before the release of this album. So with those issues, a Super Bowl halftime show, and some huge support for our new President- the boss doesn’t just have a lot of staying power, he’s might be more relevant now than he’s been in the past 15 years. That’s why his latest album “Working on a Dream” isn’t necessarily a weak album from the boss, but just a subtle sub-note on his discography. All together “Working on a Dream” has a lot of alt-country qualities to it- from the abstract story-telling song “Outlaw Pete” to the depressing story of “The Wrestler.” Ryan Adams would be proud of this album’s songwriting grit. That said, apart from the alt-country vibe to this record there’s nothing out of the ordinary with this album. It’s typical late-career Bruce Springsteen. Some weird content mixed in with some heartfelt content that he’s always done best. Brendan O’Brien really didn’t seem to have that much of an effect on how this album sounds as a final product. Perhaps it was cleaned up a little too much, but he still did a decent job. “Working on a Dream” comes at an interesting point in Springsteen’s career, too bad the product isn’t as interesting as everything surrounding it.