When Keith Moon died, Pete Townshend said that, in a way, The Who had been given a gift in that they were no longer shackled to their history and could make any kind of music they wanted. It might be that the late Danny Federici and Clarence Clemons gave Bruce Springsteen a similar gift in that he no longer has to write the kinds of songs he wrote for the E Street Band in the past. He can write any kind of songs he wants and have the E Street Band play them which they are more than capable of doing. His new album “High Hopes” and his last album “Wrecking Ball” are different from the records he’s made in the past and he has used elements that he hasn’t used much before including loops, scratching (via Tom Morello’s guitar), Celtic instruments and gospel choirs. (Speaking of Tom Morello, he’s all over this album appearing on 8 of the 12 tracks.) The new songs on Bruce’s latest offering are covers (the title song by L.A. based band The Havalinas and “Just Like Fire Would” by Australian punk band The Saints) and tracks from the last 10 years or so that never found a home anywhere else and there are echoes of songs from across Bruce’s whole career. They range from the kind of hard boys that Eddie and the Magic Rat went up against on “Born to Run” in “Harry’s Place”; “Down in the Hole” which sounds like an outtake from “The Rising”; “Heaven’s Wall” which, along with “This is Your Sword” (a testament to the power of love), is reminiscent of the inspirational songs on “Wrecking Ball”; “The Hunter of Invisible Game” (from the soundtrack to an imaginary post-apocalyptic movie); and “Frankie Fell in Love” which could have appeared on “The Promise,” the set of outtakes from the “Darkness on the Edge of Town” sessions, and which displays Bruce’s sense of humour which we don’t often see any more on record. (It’s a different story in his live shows.) There is also a song that could have been on “Magic” in “The Wall”, a song inspired by Bruce’s friend Joe Grushecky and a visit Bruce made to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. (If you don’t know Grushecky’s work you owe it to yourself to check him out. A Pittsburgh school teacher by day he leads a rock and roll band by night and makes great records when he’s not otherwise engaged.) Of the two previously released songs, a new studio version of “41 Shots” is similar to the live version on “Live in New York City” but the new electric version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad” is significantly different. It’s a true duet with Bruce and Tom Morello trading verses and guitar solos and brings to the fore the anger that was bubbling under the surface of the predominantly acoustic version. Not surprising, I suppose, with the guitarist from Rage Against the Machine on board. Along with new friend Morello, some old friends reappear including Clarence Clemons and Danny Federici with the sound of Danny’s Hammond organ on “The Wall” breaking your heart just like in the old days. The horn section includes Clarence’s nephew Jake Clemons on tenor saxophone, saxophonists Stan Harrison and Ed Manion from the old Asbury Jukes and Clark Gayton from the Seeger Sessions tour band on trombone. “High Hopes” ends with a version of the synthesizer duo Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream”, a song that Bruce has been performing since the “Devil’s and Dust” tour in the mid 00’s. It’s a song that urges it’s listeners to open up their hearts and keep the fire burning and we can use as many of those songs as we can get in this day and age. “High Hopes” doesnt have an overriding theme like some of Bruce’s previous albums but neither did “Born in the USA”. Bruce has given us an excellent album to hold us over until the next major statement, whatever that may be. Long may he be “Born to Run”.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 21:21:07 +0000
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