<P> The release of the first two songs prompted The New York Times to proclaim Springsteen as "more hopeful, less bleak" than on his previous album Magic . It saw this go - around of the Springsteen persona manifesting "the voice of an honest striver redeemed by love and hard work ." E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt sees Working on a Dream as part of a trilogy with The Rising and Magic: "They make sense together in terms of sound, concept and writing style . The three records have been a projection more toward the pop - rock form--this one more than the other two ." </P> <P> The album's opener, "Outlaw Pete", which some observers felt borrowed a central riff from Kiss's 1979 disco hit "I Was Made for Lovin' You", is more than eight minutes long, while two others clock in at less than three minutes . </P> <P> Listeners considered it one of Springsteen's most stylistically diverse efforts overall . The album recalls some of Springsteen's earlier efforts, as "The Last Carnival" has been interpreted as a sequel to "Wild Billy's Circus Story" from 1973's The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle . 1960s production flourishes are omnipresent, including ones derived from Wall of Sound, girl group, British Invasion - era Top 40, Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds, and The Byrds and "Eight Miles High". </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Professional ratings </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Aggregate scores </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Source </Th> <Th> Rating </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Metacritic </Td> <Td> 72 / 100 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Review scores </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Source </Th> <Th> Rating </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Allmusic </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Blender </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Billboard </Td> <Td> (favorable) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Entertainment Weekly </Td> <Td> (A) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> The Guardian </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> NME </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> musicOMH </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Pitchfork Media </Td> <Td> (5.8 / 10) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> PopMatters </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Rolling Stone </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Spin </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Bruce springsteen i'm working on a dream