Bruce Springsteen’s latest album is an interesting one. A collection of….well, I wouldn’t say a collection, more of a “coming together” of covers and shelved songs he’s had on the back burner for the last decade or so. Does that mean this is a throw-away album of uninteresting ideas? No, it doesn’t. This is very much a Springsteen album and one you need to listen to. He tells you why, here: http://brucespringsteen.net/news/2013/bruce-onhigh-hopes.
Also, here’s an hour long conversation between the Boss and Rolling Stone’s Andy Greene: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/a-54-minute-conversation-with-bruce-springsteen-20140109.
Ok, now that I’ve sent you to a couple different links, hopefully you’ve come back to see what I think about ‘High Hopes’. You did? Good. You didn’t? Ah, who needs ya?!
I’ve listened to this album dozens of times in the last couple weeks and my wife is probably getting tired of hearing me sing ‘Frankie Fell In Love’ but I don’t really care. The album is great. The title track kicks it off with bongo drums and…..Tom Morello? Yeah, he’s there, instantly recognizable with that wild guitar sound. He’s a good fit for the E Street Band on most of the songs here.
‘American Skin (41 Shots)’ is a classic and this version doesn’t dampen that effect even if it does clock in at a little over seven minutes. ‘Down In The Hole’ is one of my favorites on the album with dark imagery of coal miners and hopelessness. The industrial style drums in the intro are slow and almost misleading, leaving the beat to kick in later and remind you how good the E Street Band is.
‘Heaven’s Wall’ is one of those songs you can drive and drum on the steering wheel to. I mean, I don’t do it but ok yes I do. Morello’s solo, Weinberg’s drums and Tyrell’s violin are just a pleasure to listen to. They just jam, ok?
So, let’s talk about ‘Ghost of Tom Joad’. This is a song that Bruce supposedly always intended to be more of a rock song but couldn’t make it work on the Ghost of Tom Joad album that he released in the 90s. It appeared on that album as a more contemplative and fearful song; Bruce singing with a sense of foreboding about what was to come. I love that version. The ‘High Hopes’ version however, is different. No longer is this a song fearful of the inevitable but one that comes across with that bring-it-on attitude. Bruce, you finally turned in a proper studio version of the rock song you always wanted and it’s awesome.
Another one of my favorites, ‘The Wall’, starts off with Bruce’s excellent vocal and quiet guitar. He still has the voice he had over a decade ago and can sound both youthful and wise with time all at once.
You might be asking yourself how the ladies and gentleman of the E Street Band are still making music this good. Just don’t worry about it.
The Sax Talk 