Bruce Springsteen
High Hopes

2014 has just begun, and I already have the best rock album of the year in my hands. Clearly, this is a derogatory remark towards the albums that have yet to be released. But I am more than sure that to publish a better one would take a miracle. Not that "High Hopes" is a masterpiece, but if we compare it to the music that's on the radio, then yes, it’s a masterpiece.

On January 14, the 17th album of original work by Bruce Springsteen, "High Hopes," is released, just under two years after the beautiful "Wrecking Ball." Since 2012, the New Jersey artist has been touring America and Europe, so this album seems more like a pretext to continue the tour and fill stadiums and arenas around the world. This new album has made many fans raise their eyebrows from the start, as it turns out to be the most unusual in Bruce's career. The reason is that the album comprises 3 covers, 3 more well-known tracks, and songs shelved in the last 10 years. Yet surprisingly, this turns out to be a great album of pure rock. Let's start with the covers: "High Hopes" kicks things off. The song was already played in 1995 during the "Greatest Hits" sessions. This version is less raw thanks to the brass section and Tom Morello's strong and decisive guitar. The latter is the true muse of the album. The guitarist and frontman of Rage Against The Machine had already played on two songs from "Wrecking Ball" and followed the Boss on various tour dates. Now we found him in a good 8 songs.

The second cover is "Just Like Fire Would" and it introduces itself as the most radio-friendly song of the album. It was a great idea to dust off an old success of the Australian group The Saints and turn it into a rock ballad in pure E Street Band style. The brass section and Morello's guitar give the right boost to the song that gives the album a touch of freshness. The third cover, which closes the album, is "Dream Baby Dream" by Suicide. Bruce used this song to close the "Devils And Dust Tour" in 2005, alone on the organ. Before the album's release, a video surfaced online, set to the song's notes, showing images from the concerts and the faces of the thousands of people who have followed him for years. Without those images, the song loses its pathos. However, it remains a pretty worthy closing although perhaps it is the album's weakest point.

Now, let's move to the already known songs. "American Skin (41 Shots)" dates back to 2000, the year of the reunion tour with the E Street Band. The song narrates a sad episode where the police fired 41 shots, 19 of which hit an innocent African American. It was a great idea to release it on an album and give it a studio version worthy of the song's beauty. Morello's guitar solo mixes beautifully with the sax of the lamented Big Man. The other two known songs are "The Ghost of Tom Joad" and "The Wall." The former is more famous as it even gave the title to the 1995 album of the same name. Now we find it in a completely transformed version. The original was acoustic and whispered; this version is hard and angry. Tom Morello duets with Bruce in a couple of verses and performs a guitar solo at the end of the song that gives it almost a progressive flavor. The second song, however, was written together with friend Joe Grushecky and had already been performed five times live in an acoustic version. The song is the most touching on the album, and we have the pleasure of hearing Danny Federici on the keyboard, who passed away in 2008. The song tells the story of a soldier's death. The lyrics present no rhetoric and are very touching and heartfelt.

And now the unreleased songs. "Harry’s Place" dates back to the recordings of "The Rising" in 2002.  It has nothing to do with "Mary’s Place" either musically or lyrically. The E Street Band is there, but it isn't fully felt. Despite this, the song is catchy right from the start. With that mix of bass and synthesizer and the sax of Big Man blending with Morello's guitar. Brendan O’Brien’s production is palpable. "Down In The Hole" is another outtake from "The Rising" probably discarded because it’s too similar to "Nothing Man" although this one is much less touching. It takes several listens to fully appreciate it. "Heaven's Wall" is the triumph of the outtake. The epitome of a filler. It’s worth noting that it’s an outtake from "Working on a Dream." That should say it all. It’s a song designed to be placed in the middle of a concert with that "Raise Your Hands" repeated endlessly to engage the audience. However, the song turns out to be fun and catchy, even if it lacks that carefree way of singing that made "Waitin’ On A Sunny Day" a highlight of the concerts and could have repeated itself.

"Frankie Fell In Love" seems to bring back a Bruce from thirty years ago. Here, suddenly, he seems young again, singing of love and youth enriched by an unlikely conversation between Einstein and Shakespeare. It feels like listening to an outtake from the period between "The River" and "Born In The USA." Great track. "This Is Your Sword" is disorienting with its Celtic flavor. In line with some pieces from "Wrecking Ball." This too presents itself as a filler, and probably the lyrics were written in a few hours. However, it results in being extremely pleasant. "Hunter of Invisible Game" is, according to producer Ron Aniello, one of the greatest songs Bruce has written in recent years. A splendid acoustic ballad with mystical lyrics. The presence of the violin and Morello's guitar is essential. At the end of listening, the album amazes for being continuous in its discontinuity. Given the covers and revamps, the risk of producing a mess was high. Yet, even this time, the Boss managed to give us an album, which certainly won’t go down in history, but will surely be destined to be the best rock album of 2014. I still have several months ahead to be proven wrong. But I strongly doubt it.

Happy listening.