High Hopes |
 |
Released: January 14, 2014 Peak: 11 US, 11 UK, 11 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 0.21 US, 0.06 UK, 0.52 world (includes US and UK) Genre: rock |
Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.
Songs written by Bruce Springsteen unless noted otherwise. * Chart data for original versions. Total Running Time: 56:24 The Players:
|
Rating:  3.366 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)
|
About the Album: Bruce Springsteen’s eighteenth studio album is a collection of covers, outtakes, and re-recordings. He called it “some of our best unreleased material from the past decade.” WK They “don’t cohere into a mood or narrative,” AMG “oscillat[ing] between the moody and militant, particularly in the politically charged numbers.” AMG It “doesn’t have the cohesion or gilded surfaces of [2012’s] Wrecking Ball,” AMG but “ti’s rather thrilling to hear Springsteen revel in a mess of contradictions.” AMG It featured the E Street Band, including contributions from deceased members Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici. Guitarist Tom Morello also worked on the album, “proving to be a brother in arms to Springsteen,” AMG giving the album “its workingman’s politics and…cinematic sound.” AMG He originally recorded the title cut in 1995 and released it on the Blood Brothers EP. He started performing it during the tour for 2012’s Wrecking Ball, which led to him re-recording it. The Ghost of Tom Joad also originated in 1995 from the album of the same name. Tom Morello had recorded the song with his band Rage Against the Machine, leading to Morello and Springsteen performing the song together many times. WK The Wall dated back to 1998. He originally wrote it based on an idea from Joe Grushecky. It was inspired by Springsteen’s visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. He tells the story of Walter Cichon, a New Jersey musician who didn’t come home from the Vietnam War. Springsteen said Cichon was one of his early guitar mentors. WK American Skin (41 Shots) dated back to 2000 and release on the Live in New York City album. Harry’s Place was originally intended for the 2001 album The Rising. It sports “a bit of synthesized Sopranos noir that sounds much older than its ten years.” AMG Three more songs date from between 2002 and 2008: WK Heaven’s Wall, Down in the Hole, “which rides the same train-track rhythm as ‘I’m on Fire,’” AMG and Hunter of Invisible Game with its “complicated waltz.” AMG Just Like Fire Would is a cover of a 1986 single by the Saints, an Australian punk rock band. Dream Baby Dream, meanwhile, is a “strangely soothing interpretation” AMG of a single in 1979 by the protopunk band Suicide. Springsteen performed the song in 2005 to close out shows for his Devils & Dust tour. The album also includes “the rousing Gaelic rock of This Is Your Sword” AMG and “the absolutely glorious Frankie Fell in Love, as open-hearted and romantic a song as Springsteen has ever written.” AMG Rolling Stone’s David Fricke called the collection “a retrospect with a cutting edge, running like one of the singer’s epic look-ma-no-set-list gigs.” WK The Independent’s Andy Gill specifically praised Tom Morello for re-invigorating some of Springsteen’s older material. WK The album was Springsteen’s 11th chart topper in the United States, placing him third all time behind only the Beatles and Jay-Z. WK It was his tenth trip to the top of the charts in the UK, which put him in the company of the Rolling Stones and U2. WK |
Resources and Related Links:
Other Related DMDB Pages: 
First posted 8/29/2021. |
No comments:
Post a Comment