The new Bruce Springsteen album is in fact not new at all and this is the first thing one should know before playing “High Hopes”. There’s  no “Attention! Covers and Leftovers!” writing  put all over it, but after a few tracks it becomes clear that this 18th studio effort of Springsteen doesn’t stick to a single stylistic or thematic tone. This is not so bad, but will partly convert this review into a biography focused on the background of the songs.

The “High Hopes” story begins on December 9, 2012. Springsteen called producer Ron Aniello to say that he had some songs that he wanted Aniello to work on. He presented him with a collection of demos and older songs. However, Springsteen was currently halfway through the “Wrecking Ball Tour”, which meant convening for sessions was difficult. A total of twenty songs were recorded during this period at different studios in the Us and Australia and eight were cut, including some of Aniello's favourites. Most of the demos appear to be from the 2002-2008 period.

Despite everything already said, “High Hopes” is not teeming with lost masterpieces. It’s uneven in spots, and suffers at times from an overload of Tom Morello, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist who filled in for Steven Van Zandt on an Australian tour. What’s more, Springsteen says Morello was the main drive behind this album.

And this is obvious from the first song of Tim Scott McConnell, which Bruce covered in 1995. It didn’t make it into then Greatest Hits album, but with the help of Morello it’s a single now. The other two covers are “Just Like Fire Would” by the Australians The Saints and “Dream Baby Dream” by the proto-punk duo Suicide.

The best shots in this record are “Harry’s Place”- produced by Brendan O’ Brian, in which Morello overdubs the guitar part, but the saxophone part is still the original piece by the late Clarence Clemons; “The Ghost Of Tom Joad” with its flawless influence from Stainbeck’s “Grapes Of Fury” and “Hunter”- Springsteen’s sentiment for a personal tragedy that took place in Vietnam long ago and is only inches from Bob Dylan’s approach.

Some of you will rate this album as useless, others already call it a comic and there are people who dislike Morello’s work, so “High Hopes” is one of Springsteen’s most contradictory albums, but if you put aside opinions and moanings, the only opinion, which really matters, is yours, the opinion of a fan and a follower, a devoted listener.