Yesterday Amazon.co.uk published 30-second samples of all the songs on the new album, but as of right now they seem to have disappeared again. Possibly because within hours the samples had spread to places like YouTube and and Megaupload. Or because they weren't supposed be published in the first place.

But the cat is out of the bag and thousands of fans got to listen to the snippets. They were able to hear that the description that was recently posted on this page wasn't too far from the truth. A mix of classic E Street Band and some interesting experimenting. To these ears it sounded like it may be slightly less melodic and bombastic than Magic, but still nothing like the rather tuneless and understated Devils & Dust (I know, I know, "Long Time Comin'" is a splendid tune). However, drawing any major conclusions based on very short samples would be a mistake. Especially since the best of Bruce's music has always been the songs that didn't open up until after several listens. Heck, if I'd started out by only hearing 30-second clips of the Darkness album, I'm not sure I would have become the fan I am today. So whether you thought the Working on a Dream clips sounded promising or the opposite, just forget about them when you pop the CD in the player for the first time on January 27 (or push the Play button on your iPod).It'll be a much better experience for it.