New Springsteen CD, "High Hopes", Due January 14!

While the tag "hardest working man in show business" will always belong to James Brown, one must ask, "Is there a harder-working man in show business today than Bruce Springsteen?"  After all, he and the E Street Band spent the past two years relentlessly touring the globe like a man and band possessed, turning in passionate sweat-drenched sets that regularly surpassed the three-hour mark.  With the tour concluding this past September, one could not blame the man for taking a break, but the fact that Springsteen is already back with a new studio album seems to be proof-positive that The Boss has some unfinished business.

The new album, High Hopes, is due January 14, 2014 and is comprised of a combination of new tunes, covers, and re-recordings of tunes previously issued.  To this writer's ears, the covers are the most interesting aspect of this record as Springsteen shines some much-needed light on tunes by seminal punk bands The Saints ("Just Like Fire Would") and Suicide ("Dream Baby Dream").

Of course, the album's title cut was written by Tim Scott, who recorded two sorely underrated records for Sire and Geffen.  The song is not new to Boss fans, though, appearing in its original incarnation on 1995's Blood Brothers EP.  This new version was cut with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello in Sydney, Australia.

This new musical setting allows Morello's playing to breathe and shine in ways that just weren't possible in RATM and it's obvious to anyone with eyes or ears that his playing is also inspiration to Springsteen.

The only question that remains is "When does the next tour start and will Tom Morello be a part of it?"

1. High Hopes (Tim Scott) - featuring Tom Morello
2. Harry's Place - featuring Tom Morello
3. American Skin (41 Shots) - featuring Tom Morello
4. Just Like Fire Would (Chris Bailey) - featuring Tom Morello (Saints cover)
5. Down In The Hole
6. Heaven's Wall - featuring Tom Morello
7. Frankie Fell In Love
8. This Is Your Sword
9. Hunter Of Invisible Game - featuring Tom Morello
10. The Ghost of Tom Joad - duet with Tom Morello
11. The Wall
12. Dream Baby Dream (Martin Rev and Alan Vega) - featuring Tom Morello (Suicide cover)