“High Hopes” is a strange one. Released in January 2014 it is effectively a compilation album, but it’s more than that. It’s a collection of cover versions, studio outtakes and re-recordings of songs from their previous incarnations. It’s also, strangely given its makeup, one of Springsteen’s more consistent albums since “Devils & Dust”.

Personally there isn’t a track I don’t like on “High Hopes” and there  are a couple that have become Springsteen classics. The album starts and ends with a cover version. The title song was originally recorded by LA artist Tim Scott McConnell and also later by his band The Havalinas and was suggested to Springsteen by guitarist Tom Morello (yes, the guy from Rage Against The Machine was playing with The Boss). Last song, Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream”, was something Springsteen had performed on his “Devils & Dust” solo tour and the other cover on the album is Aussie Punks The Saints “Just Like Fire Would”, again suggested by Tom Morello.

The bulk of “High Hopes is made up of previously unreleased studio outtakes. “Harry’s Place” was written during the sessions for “The Rising” and and recorded  during the “Magic” sessions. It sounds like it was unlucky to miss the cut on both. "Down In The Hole" was recorded for The Rising and includes backing vocals by all 3 of Bruce and Patti’s chldren, but it was thought to be too similar to Empty Sky and missed out. “Heaven's Wall" and "Hunter Of Invisible Game" date from 2002 to 2008 (“The Rising” to “Magic”); “Frankie Fell In Love”, Springteen has said, was recorded for “Magic” but studio footage appears to tag it as having been during the “Working On A Dream” sessions. Given the weakness of those two records how it didn’t make it on to either is baffling; “This Is Your Sword” is from 2012, pre “Wrecking Ball”; “The Wall” dates from 1998 and the wall in question is the Vietnam Memorial in Washington. One of the names on that wall would be Walter Cichon, childhood friend of Bruce Springsteen and frontman of The Motifs in mid 60’s New Jersey, of whom Springsteen said “they were gods” when talking about Walter and fellow Motif, his brother Raymond, in “Springsteen On Broadway”. Walter joined the US 4th Infantry Division during the Vietnam war and was killed in action in Kontum, South Vietnam in 1968.

There are a couple  of re-recordings of songs that have appeared in other guises on previous Springsteen records. The controversial “American Skin (41 Shots)” was first released in 2001 on the album “Live In New York City”. It concerns the death of unarmed Amadou Diallo who was shot and killed by 4 NYPD officers in February 1999. The officers were charged with second degree murder but all were acquitted causing huge criticism and accusations of police brutality and racial profiling. When news reached New York that the song was to be played at Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 10 night stand at Madison Square Garden on their 1999/2000 re-union tour former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke out against Springsteen and the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association called for a boycott of the shows and organised a rally of hundreds of police officers at the Garden. Springsteen not only played the song every night but also met with Amadou Diallo’s family.

The song itself has 3 verses, 1 concerning Amadou and the second sees a mother telling her child what to do if he’s stopped by the police, “promise Mama you’ll keep your hands in sight”. It’s a sad truth that for black men in America that is still good advice.

The version of “The Ghost Of Tom Joad” here on “High Hopes” is, to my mind, very close to being the greatest thing Springsteen has ever recorded. Yes that’s hyperbole and I’m not even sure I’m down with it myself even though I just said it, but c’mon! Listen to it, it’s astonishing. Rage Against The Machine had covered the song (badly) and RATM’s Tom Morello was invited to guest on the song at a “Magic” tour show at Madison Square Garden in 2008. Morello sang a verse and took two guitar solo’s that sounded nothing like anything you would expect from the E Street Band. When Morello temporarily replaced Steve Van Zandt on an Australian tour in 2013, this version was recorded the night before they flew from LA to Aus. I’ve opined elsewhere that this song is one of Springsteen greatest creations and much to the chagrin of a number of my Springsteen fan friends I bloody love this version of it.

“High Hopes” collects together some flotsam and jetsom but at the same time turns out to be one of Bruce Springsteen’s better albums.

The Ghost Of Tom Joad - https://youtu.be/qUhtdAOn4k0?si=ura87fn1WTjOCmdT

It’s now 2012 and, after a couple of less than stellar records, “Wrecking Ball” sees The Boss reunited with his mojo…There are some real standouts, songs that tell you The Boss is back on it, “Rocky Ground”, “Land Of Hope And Dreams”, “Jack Of All Trades”, the title track…

“Jack Of All Trades” is built out of what Springsteen calls his “magic trick”. In his “…On Broadway” solo show he explained how he wrote all those song about cars and girls and escaping and everyone ate it up and…he couldn’t even drive, that’s the magic trick. He’s so locked into and understanding of his audience that he can write about their hopes and fears and dreams, their lives, that he can work his magic with words. This “Jack Of All Trades” will mow your lawn and mend your roof, he’ll harvest your crops and strip your engine down and rebuild it ‘til it runs sweet again, he gets angry at the world but he can mend and make do, he and his will be alright. Springsteen can’t/doesn’t have to do any of those things but he sings it so convincingly you think he can, like the cars and the girls, the magic trick…and that’s why his audience, why I, love him.

“Rocky Ground” is quite unusual, it’s heavy on religious imagery again (“Forty days and nights of rain have washed this land, Jesus said the money changers in this temple will not stand”), features a gospel choir (the Victorious Gospel Choir) along with excerpts/samples from "I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord", a gospel song by the Congregation of the Church of God in Christ and recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax in 1942 and, for the very first time on a Springsteen song, a section of rapping. He allegedly attempted the rapping himself (!), but, dissatisfied with his attempts, left it to backing singer Michelle Moore. 

“Land Of Hope And Dreams” was written as far back as 1998. It was played on the 1999 “Reunion Tour” with the E Street Band, it’s on the 2001 live album “Live In New York City” and a version was recorded in 2002 during the sessions for “The Rising”. I’m not sure when this version was recorded but it was definitely prior to June 2011 as it features The Big Man, Clarence Clemons, on Sax. It is a Springsteen, nay, an E Street Band classic. There ain’t many bands that can bring this huge panoramic sound to a song but the best little bar band from New Jersey really can! When Bruce hits the section that starts with “This train, Carries saints and sinners…” and at the end Clarence makes his presence felt its eye wateringly wonderful. It’s also one of Bruces’s great road songs, he’s still travelling just like he was in “Born To Run”, there are still wheels, this time they are “Big wheels rolling through fields where sunlight streams”, but now he knows where he’s going even if that place is the undefined land of hope and dreams. It was in the set when we saw them at Nowlan Park in Kilkenny in 2013 and it felt like righteous modern day gospel music, something to make you believe…in something.

The title track is a tribute to The Meadowlands or to give it it’s actual name, Giants Stadium, an 80,000 seater football stadium in East Rutherford New Jersey (“I was raised out of steel here in the swamps of Jersey, some misty years ago”) that was originally home to the NFL’s New York Giants from 1976 and later shared with the New York Jets from 1984 to 2009 when both teams moved next door to the purpose built MetLife Stadium. Springsteen and the E Street Band played many, many shows at what came to be known as The Meadowlands and there are recordings from the stadium on “Live/1975-85” from the “Born In The USA” tour. As a Jets fan I’ve never been a fan of the lyric “Here where the blood is spilled, the arena's filled, and Giants played their games” but it’s a bloody great song.

There’s more, “Shackled And Drawn” and “Death To My Hometown” and the shockingly honest "This Depression" in particular. The Wrecking Ball tour was a joy to see when we had a great weekend away in Ireland for it. The gig itself featured video tributes to Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici who both had passed away. 

Some fans regard "Wrecking Ball" as being right up there with Springsteen's classics of the '70's...it's good but to these ears not quite that good. But from here on Bruce Springsteen is back and on a creative high. His next three albums are absolutely superb and in between those he manages to squeeze in a solo residency on Broadway. Let’s get into it shall we…

Land Of Hope And Dreams - https://youtu.be/KHpJhS99Q60?si=s12QWb8o-oeA0fBN

“Working On A Dream” was recorded right after the tour to support “Magic” and Springsteen said of it “I hope ‘Working on a Dream’ has caught the energy of the band fresh off the road from some of the most exciting shows we've ever done”. I didn’t see any of the “Magic” tour so can’t comment on the shows but the album itself I don’t find at all exciting. 

Having said that the opening song is f*cking incredible. “Outlaw Pete” is so good it was turned into a book…OK it was a graphic novel primarily aimed at children but my hardback copy of it is a treasure. Inspired by his Mom reading him tales of “Brave Cowboy Bill” as a child it tells of, well, Outlaw Pete, a hereditary bad boy who at the age of 6 months had spent 3 months in jail and robbed his first bank in a nappy and bare feet ! He eventually settles down with a Navajo girl but is hunted down by a bounty hunter. It really tells you that if you spend you time worrying about your past then that will eat up any hope you have of a future. Have a listen below if you want to know the rest, it’s epic. 

Past that and penultimate/final song “The Last Carnival” (it is really the last song of the album but on most copies you also get Bonus Track “The Wrestler”, theme tune from the film of the same name starring Mickey Rourke who asked Bruce to write a song for it. Trivia for the fans of that Stourbridge sound…the remainder of the soundtrack for “The Wrestler” was composed by one Clint Mansell) “Working On A Dream” is real slim pickings.

The two “Life” songs, “This Life” and “Life Itself”, just like much of “Magic” are OK and you already know I expect more than that. “Good Eye” is a thumping bluesy (I hesitate to call it the Blues) thing featuring distorted Bullet mic vocals and a looped harmonica wail. Most unusually for the verbose Springsteen it only has 6 lines of lyrics to fill up its 3 minutes. “Tomorrow Never Knows” is a gentle country-ish shuffle that sounds startlingly like Jason Isbell ! “Kingdom Of Days” may as well be “Your Own Worst Enemy” from the previous album.

Then there is “Queen Of the Supermarket” which is, in all good conscience, best forgotten about. The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper said of it “It just might be the worst song Springsteen has ever released on a studio album” and I’m inclined to agree (yes, even in the face of “57 Channels And Nothing On”, this is worse). How it made the album and (rumoured) outtake, if it was actually from these sessions, “Frankie Fell In Love” didn’t shall remain one of life’s great mysteries (“Frankie…” later turned up on “High Hopes” thankfully). Bruce overstretches his vocal capabilities and the song consequently sounds bloody awful.

Between this and previous album “Magic” there’s most of a decent-ish (but not great) album to be found. Many of the songs from this album and “Magic” haven’t been performed live for 10 years or more, only 2 or 3 in the past 5 years, none at all on his current world tour and three songs from this album have NEVER been played live. We’ll simply mark these two albums down as Bruce’s “wilderness period”.

Outlaw Pete - https://youtu.be/QRA6lWzCpCQ?si=YbW76En5maBzV3YE