It probably wasn’t much of a happy holiday for Bruce Springsteen.
Just weeks before the launch of his 18th album, “High Hopes,” online retailer Amazon dropped the ball and accidentally made it available for a few hours, causing the album to leak.
But it’s probably the best Christmas present that impatient E Street Band fans could have hoped for. And that includes us. Here’s our track-by-track rundown.
“High Hopes” ★★
Bruce comes out of the blocks with a brassy, boisterous take on a song originally recorded by folk-blues outfit The Havalinas. A solid if unremarkable start.
“Harry’s Place” ★★★½
The streetwise feel of Springsteen’s early albums is resurrected for this creeping masterpiece. “Harry’s Place” is clearly a seedy, dangerous den of criminal activity, but The Boss’ seductive description makes you want to be there all the same.
“American Skin (41 Shots)” ★★★
Following the shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo in 1999 by four New York police offers, Springsteen began performing this powerful take on the incident. He revived it during gigs in the wake of the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012, and at long last, it gets a full and affecting studio version.
“Just Like Fire Would” ★★
A spirited chronicle of life on the road that stays faithful to the original by Australian punks The Saints. The E Street Band do it justice, but even so, it feels like filler.
“Down in the Hole” ★★½
Written during the sessions for Bruce’s post-9/11 opus “The Rising,” the ghosts of New York City’s past are audible in this mournful account of a narrator literally digging for a lost loved one amid the ruins of a city.
“Heaven’s Wall” ★★
Bruce goes gospel in this spiritually themed rocker, but for all the exuberance, it doesn’t quite satisfy, either lyrically or musically.
“Frankie Fell in Love” ★★½
A rowdy rocker that encapsulates love and life in Anytown, USA. It’s an obvious throwback to the E Street Band’s glory days, and could have fit in perfectly on “The River” or “Born in the U.S.A.”
“This Is Your Sword” ★½
The E Street Band are in full bluster while puffed-up declarations of solidarity rise proudly through the lyrics, but “This Is Your Sword” is still the kind of song Bruce and the boys could knock out in their sleep.
“Hunter of Invisible Game” ★★★
The string-heavy arrangement might not grab you on first listen, but it’s the wonderfully ambiguous lyrical themes of delusion and salvation that will keep you coming back. Bruce’s skill as a wordsmith obviously hasn’t deserted him.
“The Ghost of Tom Joad” ★
This bro-rock travesty tramples on the quiet poignancy of the 1995 original, thanks to completely unnecessary guitar solos from Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello. It’s a live favorite, but jars badly on record.
“The Wall” ★★½
Bruce’s stately and moving tribute to an old Jersey Shore musician named Walter Cichon, who was dispatched to serve in Vietnam but never returned. “You and your rock ’n’ roll band were the best thing this s - - t town ever had,” he remembers. But within this personal tribute lies an acknowledgment of the unfulfilled potential of all who died in the war.
“Dream Baby Dream” ★★★
For years, Springsteen has been known to perform his hymnal version of “Dream Baby Dream” — a signature song for the cult New York electro-punk group Suicide. Here, it serves as a bright and beautiful end to “High Hopes.”
“High Hopes” is released officially on Jan. 14. Pre-order now on iTunes.