Review Summary: Even coming in with high hopes, fans of Bruce Springsteen or Tom Morello will be impressed with Springsteen’s 18th studio release.
It’s mind-blowing that Springsteen is still making (relevant) music. Richard “I’m not a crook” Nixon was still president when “The Boss” released his first album back in 1973. Seventeen albums, 20 Grammy Award wins, and 120 million record sales later, he finally decided to release “High Hopes,” an album of B-sides and re-recordings. No one would have blamed Bruce for phoning this record in, but after multiple listens, it’s clear “phoning it in” isn’t part of his vocabulary.
The two tracks that even those only somewhat familiar with Springsteen’s work will recognize are re-recordings of “American Skin (41 Shots)” and “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” The former plays similarly to its previous iteration on his famous “Live in New York City” album, but “The Ghost of Tom Joad” sounds like a fresh piece of music thanks to Tom Morello -- of Rage Against the Machine -- and his mind-blowing guitar work. Known for his unconventional guitar distortion methods, Morello absolutely steals the show and adds yet another compelling reason to listen to the already-iconic folk song championing the ghost of the famous Steinbeck character.
Morello is present on eight of the 12 tracks, and it’s no coincidence that the two weakest songs on the album are recorded without him. Harmonica-fueled “This is Your Sword” is a tepid and repetitive attempt at reclaiming Bruce’s folksy roots, while the mind-numbingly slow “The Wall” feels like it was thrown in for no other reason than to vary up the faster pacing of the rest of the album.
However, just like on “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” whenever Morello is present, the music flourishes. Even when he isn’t stealing the show with his face-melting solos, he improves the tracks by adding another layer of depth to Springsteen and the E Street Band’s already expansive repertoire. Take the title track for example. “High Hopes” is a jazzy, fast-paced affair, with Morello’s guitar and the E Street Band’s trumpets trading places as the lead instrument while Bruce does what he does best: sing about the American Dream.
“Tell me someone, what’s the price? / I wanna buy some time and maybe live my life / I wanna have a wife, I wanna have some kids / I want to look in their eyes and know they’re gonna stand a chance.”
Fans of Bruce and Morello alike should make sure they don’t miss out on this collaboration that adds another dimension to both of their already stellar acts.
3.9/5
