Album Review

Bruce Springsteen – High Hopes

• 13th Jan 2014

High Hopes isn’t so much a new Bruce Springsteen album as a collection of bits and pieces: some cover versions, a couple of songs frequently played live and a few old outtakes. Unlike most Springsteen releases though, there is no clear theme or structure here, and it feels like a loose cluster of tracks rather than the typically well planned and thought out album releases we have come to expect.

That’s not to say that the music isn’t interesting – and to a wider audience than just the fanatics who can tell you that Harry’s Place was recorded during The Rising sessions, or that The Wall was last played live back in 2005. Springsteen writes songs by the dozen and probably has hundreds at various stages of completion in the vaults. And some of those haven’t made it onto past albums simply because they didn’t fit rather than because they are sub standard.

Eight of the tracks here feature the Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, a now frequent Springsteen collaborator who also joined the E Street Band temporarily in Australia last year while Steve Van Zandt was busy in Norway filming Lillyhammer. There are contributions from now departed E Street Band members Clarence Clemons and Danny Frederici too.

Perhaps the best known songs here are the live favourites. The Ghost of Tom Joad, the title track of Springsteen’s 1995 solo album, was originally an acoustic song. This extended version follows the stage pattern with Morello’s slightly overlong guitar pyrotechnics added. He also sings a couple of verses, which is worthy of note as there are very few lead vocals apart from Springsteen’s own in his large body of recorded work. Morello also adds a guitar solo to American Skin (41 Shots), an excellent protest song from 1999 written after the fatal shooting of the unarmed Amadou Diallo by NYPD officers.

Of the outtakes, perhaps the highlight is The Wall. A poetic lament composed after Springsteen and his wife Patti Scialfa visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, it recalls New Jersey musician Walter Cichon of The Motifs. He was someone the teenage Springsteen looked up as a front man before Cichon joined the US Army and was killed in Vietnam in 1968. Curt Ramm’s mournful trumpet offers the perfect ending to a beautiful song.

The previously unknown Hunter Of Invisible Game is also excellent, a typically deep song with lyrics of seeking redemption. The pairing of Heavens Wall and This Is Your Sword take the theme into more overtly religious territory. Both have similarities to the gospel sounding Rocky Ground from the last studio release, Wrecking Ball, although neither is particularly memorable.

Harry’s Place is the dark tale of a local criminal boss who controls everything while Frankie Fell In Love is an upbeat song with little lyrical value but a pleasant vibe. It’s basically a short and simple feelgood song. Down In The Hole has a much slower tempo and some fine harmony vocals from Patti Scialfa add to the deep sense of longing throughout.

The cover versions on the album are all decent. Tim Scott’s upbeat High Hopes opens the album, while the sombre and atmospheric organ take on the romantic Dream Baby Dream, originally by synth punk band Suicide, with which Springsteen ended shows on the solo Devils And Dust tour closes it. Just Like Fire Would by Australian punk band The Saints is the pick of the covers, given a Jersey Shore makeover to create a rich, horn driven sound that is soulful and joyous.

High Hopes is surely something of a place filler in Bruce Springsteen’s body of work. An interesting and diverse release with a few good songs on it that will keep fans happy until the next real studio album of new material comes along. It’s not bad by any means, and there are a few tracks that are very good. But overall it doesn’t quite hit the mark as a true Springsteen album.

Venue: High Hopes
Support Band: Columbia