Renaming January, Springsteenuary

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's upcoming album Working On A Dream, which comes out on January 27th, is by far the most stylistically varied set of Springsteen's career. Unlike typical Springsteen albums, the new collection features a heavy dose of pop/rock, including the title track, "My Lucky Day" -- and what might be the most infectious "Boss" song in a quarter decade -- "Surprise, Surprise."

Springsteen also builds upon the recent orchestral pop sound that he unleashed on 2007's Magic album, with the Beach Boys-meets-Roy Orbison standout "This Life." The band also updates its sound with a modern, urban-type beat that leads "What Love Can Do," and "Life Itself." Both "Good Eye" and "A Night With The Jersey Devil" mark the roughest, dirtiest blues Springsteen has ever released on an album.

He revisits the crooner-type vocals he rediscovered on Magic on the new tracks "Queen Of The Supermarket" and "Kingdom Of Days." The band also tackles a folk-based bluegrass sound on "Tomorrow Never Knows," and lends gospel-type vocal backing to Springsteen's acoustic tribute to late E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici. The song, which features Federici's son Jason on accordion, musically and lyrically recalls the 1973 track "Wild Billy's Circus Story," a signature song that featured Federici.

Springsteen will join Bono, Stevie Wonder, John Mellencamp, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, and others at this Sunday's (January 18th) star-studded We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration At The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. President-Elect Barack Obama and his family are expected to attend the concert.