Four star

THE Boss's first album of new material in seven years is an epic creation about the tragedies of September 11.

It's a very brave move to musically chronicle thoughts and feelings about events which touched people all over the world, some more intimately than others.

It could so easily have been professional suicide. But the album is sensitive, thought provoking and heartfelt.

Most of the songs are sad but they carry a message of hope and optimism which is what makes them so good. And the music is great, too.

The theme is quite obvious with tracks like Into the Fire, Empty Sky and My City of Ruins, an unreleased song written a few years previously with which he opened the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon.

Lyrics like 'The sky was falling and streaked with blood/I heard you calling me then you disappeared into dust' and 'I don't remember how I felt/I never thought I'd live to read about myself/in my hometown paper/how my brave young life was forever changed/in a misty cloud of pink vapor' make it even more obvious.Other great tracks include Let's Be Friends (Skin to Skin), You're Missing and Paradise.

MC