_A previous version of this article stated that Bruce Springsteen’s last concert in Champaign was in 1978. In fact, Springsteen also played at the Assembly Hall on Feb. 7, 1981. This article has been corrected._

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band played “Champaign”:http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/1978/assembly-hall-champaign-il-3d7a917.html in 1978, when the Boss was touring behind his second masterpiece, “Darkness On The Edge Of Town.”

Springsteen grew a little less romantic on that classic album, in part due to a long and drawn out legal battle with former manager Mike Appel. But “Darkness” is also the first Springsteen effort to reflect on the grim economic realities of American small towns. Whereas “Born To Run” was Springsteen’s emotional, theatrical account of hope-filled young adulthood, “Darkness” was a realist’s telling of a land of broken promises.

Springsteen’s new album, “Wrecking Ball,” which will hit stores March 6, seems to have picked up those exact feelings circa ’78. The “first single”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3Bz0d2xm7U “We Take Care of our Own” is a one part doubt-filled, one part flag-waving anthem. That formula, of course, was perfected on 1984’s “Born in the U.S.A.”

Over a dense, keyboard-driven track, Springsteen sings: “Where’s the work that’ll set my hands, my soul free … where’s the promise from sea to shining sea?” The lyrics are more straightforward and partisan than anything Springsteen has produced. Where have the middle class jobs gone? What happened to the American dream?

That is a very of-the-moment sentiment, and if pondering those weighty questions has national pride down, the song’s chorus might be able to provide some relief. “Wherever this flag’s flown, we take care of our own.”

President Barack Obama’s new campaign theme song?

Springsteen is the middle class’ crusader because he has taken up the cause of plighted small towns and failed jobs policies from an emotional and personal perspective. Politicians and policies have come and gone since Springsteen has been in the cultural lexicon, yet his major lyrical fodder has remained stagnate.

This year will certainly be a big year for the E Street Band. The group will launch a massive, stadium-level tour behind Springsteen’s 17th studio album, including a possible show at Wrigley Field. Springsteen will give the keynote address at the South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, this spring.

The tour will mostly be notable due to one rather large absence: it will mark the first string of shows without saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who died last year. The band toured in 2009 without longtime multi-instrumentalist Danny Federici, who died in 2008.

Suddenly, Springsteen — considered one of the greatest rock showmen — seems determined to ride this E Street thing out until it’s as deflated as the Rust Belt. But which came first: Did the band’s live act falter because of some key member’s health problems, or because the band’s recent releases have been formulaic (oftentimes generic) tales of the downtrodden, and anthemic, quasi-soul-stirring, patriotic numbers?

As for “Wrecking Ball,” well, fans shouldn’t hold up much hope that the new material will transcend typical partisan themes. Three tracks have been live staples for the past two tours, including “Land of Hope and Dreams” and “American Land.” The names of the remaining ten tracks written for the album give clues as to what topics they might explore. “Death To My Hometown” sounds like the working title for “Born In The U.S.A”-era single “My Hometown,” while “This Depression” and “Rocky Ground” are all too obvious metaphors for our country’s current economic status.

Springsteen said that 2002’s “The Rising” was his pick-me-up for a country ailing after Sept. 11. Though not particularly interesting or new-sounding, the anthems were much-needed and well-received. Times haven’t gotten much better since those attacks, but this go around, I doubt Springsteen will be the comforting voice he once was.

_Joe is a senior in Media._