Western Stars is the nineteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released through Columbia Records on June 14, 2019, It was produced by Ron Aniello, who worked with Springsteen on his two previous albums: Wrecking Ball (2012) and High Hopes (2014). The album marks Springsteen’s first new studio album of completely original material since Wrecking Ball.
Springsteen said a documentary on the making of the album is being planned. However, he is not expected to do a tour for the album and announced that he will shift focus towards recording a new album with the E Street Band in the fall of 2019.
Springsteen stated in April 2019 that the album was influenced by “Southern California pop music” of the 1970s, including artists such as Glen Campbell and Burt Bacharach. Upon announcing the album in April 2019, he called it “a return to my solo recordings featuring character-driven songs and sweeping, cinematic orchestral arrangements”, with a press release characterizing it as about a “range of American themes, of highways and desert spaces, of isolation and community and the permanence of home and hope”.
1. “Hitch Hikin'” 3:37
2. “The Wayfarer” 4:18
3. “Tucson Train” 3:31
4. “Western Stars” 4:41
5. “Sleepy Joe’s Café” 3:14
6. “Drive Fast (The Stuntman)” 4:16
7. “Chasin’ Wild Horses” 5:03
8. “Sundown” 3:17
9. “Somewhere North of Nashville” 1:52
10. “Stones” 4:44
11. “There Goes My Miracle” 4:05
12. “Hello Sunshine” 3:56
13. “Moonlight Motel” 4:16
Bruce Springsteen – vocals, acoustic guitar, glockenspiel, synth strings, banjo, percussion, electric guitar, B3, piano, orchestral samples, celeste, organ solo, 12-string guitar, Mellotron
Patti Scialfa – vocals (tracks 2, 8, 9, 11), vocal arrangement (tracks 2, 8, 9, 11)
Ron Aniello – upright bass, piano, electric guitar, percussion, vibraphone, bass guitar, synth strings, orchestral samples, acoustic guitar, drums, B3, celeste, loops, synth, background vocal
Charlie Giordano – accordion (track 5), piano (track 9)
David Sancious – piano (track 2), B3 (track 6)
Matt Rollings – piano (tracks 3, 4, 8, 13)
Jon Brion – drums (track 13), timpani (tracks 10, 11), electric guitar (track 4), Moog (track 4, 5, 11), Farfisa (track 5), celeste (track 13)
Gunnar Olsen – drums (tracks 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11)
Matt Chamberlain – drums (track 2, 4, 12)
Marc Muller – lap steel (track 4), pedal steel (tracks 6, 7, 12)
Rob Lebret – electric guitar (track 4), baritone guitar (track 4)
Marty Rifkin – pedal steel (track 9)
Greg Leisz – pedal steel (track 13)
Lenny Castro – conga (tracks 4, 5), tambourine (tracks 4, 11), shaker (tracks 5, 11)
Toby Scott – loop (track 3), programming (track 3)
Soozie Tyrell – background vocal (tracks 2, 8, 9), violin (track 9)
Michelle Moore – background vocal (tracks 4, 11)
Curtis King – background vocal (track 4)
Cindy Mizelle – background vocals (track 4)
Matthew Koma – background vocal (track 11)
Curt Ramm – trumpet (tracks 2–5, 8, 11), flugelhorn (track 2)
Barry Danielian – trumpet (tracks 3–5, 7, 8, 11)
Clark Gayton – trombone (tracks 5, 8, 11)
Dan Levine – trombone (tracks 3, 4)
Ed Manion – saxophone (track 5)
Rachel Drehmann – French horn (tracks 2–4, 7, 10)
Leelanee Sterrett – French horn (tracks 2–4, 7, 10)
Alden Banta – bassoon (tracks 3, 4)
Andrew Sterman – alto flute (tracks 3, 4)
Charles Pillow – oboe (tracks 3, 4)
Luis Villalobos – violin (track 6, 10)
Avatar Strings (tracks 1, 7, 8, 10, 12):
Rob Mathes – conductor, arranger
Sandy Park – contractor
Lisa Kim (concertmaster), Hyunju Lee, Joanna Maurer, Sharon Yamada, Annaliesa Place, Suzanne Ornstein, Liz Lim, Jung Sun Yoo, Emily Popham – violins
Robert Rinehart, Vivek Kamath, Desiree Elsevier – violas
Alan Stepansky, Nathan Vickery – cellos
Stone Hill Strings (tracks 2–4, 6, 11):
Scott Tibbs – conductor
Sandy Park – contractor
Lisa Kim (concertmaster), Hyunju Lee, Joanna Maurer – violins
Shmuel Katz, Rebecca Young – violas
Alan Stepansky – cello
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