Springsteen born to rule U.S. album charts

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen whipped up some "Magic" on the U.S. pop charts on Wednesday with the eighth No. 1 album of his career, although sales fell far short of a record for the veteran rocker.

"Magic," his first collaboration with the E Street Band since 2002's "The Rising," sold 335,000 copies in the week ended October 7, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan.

As expected, it easily captured the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, sending country combo Rascal Flatts' "Still Feels Good" down to No. 2 with 168,000 units. It also opened at No. 1 on the British charts.

While it started off better than the 2006 covers set "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" (No. 2, 149,000 copies) and 2005's "Devils & Dust" (No. 1, 222,000 copies), the new release fell short of "The Rising," a September 11-themed disc that sold 525,000 units in its first week.

Of course, the music industry has been in a slump for much of the decade, and sales so far in 2007 are down about 14 percent from the year-ago period, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The best opening of 2007 so far belongs to rapper Kanye West's "Graduation" with 957,000 copies sold its first week.

Springsteen first reached No. 1 in 1980 with "The River" and returned to the top with 1984's "Born in the U.S.A.," a 1986 live boxed set, 1987's "Tunnel of Love" and 1995's "Greatest Hits." The latter debuted with 250,000 copies; the others were released before the charts were restructured in 1991 with the introduction of Nielsen SoundScan's point-of-sale retail data.

Springsteen, 58, last week launched a world tour with the E Street Band and will play a second show for a home crowd on Wednesday night in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York City.

"Magic" marks his return to the pop sound that propelled him to mega-stardom in the 1980s, but the hook-laden melodies mask lyrics portraying an America of despair and hopelessness.

Rolling Stone magazine gave it a rare five-star review, but a Wall Street Journal concert review said the E Street Band "doesn't swing much, crushes nuance, abhors space, and won't challenge the material once the song is underway."

Springsteen is signed to Columbia Records, a unit of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which combines most of the recorded-music assets of Sony Corp. and closely held Bertelsmann AG.

Reuters/Nielsen