Bruce Springsteen: Ranking His Albums From Worst To Best

16. High Hopes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRXHFYM-UFE Year Of Release: 2014 Key Tracks: High Hopes, American Skin (41 Shots), The Ghost of Tom Joad High Hopes is Bruce's last album (to date) and, like Working on a Dream, is an uneven effort. The album has an interesting production background: work on it began in December 2012 but Bruce couldn't give much time or effort to the project due to the extensive Wrecking Ball Tour that was ongoing at the time. So it was left to his producer to cobble together a bunch of his unfinished demos and outtakes. Then Bruce hooked up with Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello (who was filling in for Steven Van Zandt on the Australian leg of the tour) in March 2013. When the band weren't touring they were recording in a studio down under with their new, temporary guitarist (whose guitar work is usually a distraction and not a help). The album in its finished state is a first for Springsteen as it is a collection of covers, outtakes and reimagined versions of songs from old albums and tours. There is no new material. Some are good and some are bad. The title track, a cover of a song by underrated 90s garage band The Havalinas, is excellent and an improvement on the version recorded for the 1995 Blood Brothers EP. It's also nice to have a studio version of American Skin (although the live version is better) and a newer, electric version of The Ghost of Tom Joad. The album certainly lacks unity but there are some choice cuts to be found.