High Hopes (album)
High Hopes | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 14, 2014 | |||
Recorded | March–June 2013 | |||
Studio | Thrill Hill; Thrill Hill West; Stone Hill Studio; Southern Tracks Recording Studio; Studios 301[1] | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 56:24 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Ron Aniello, Brendan O'Brien, Bruce Springsteen | |||
Bruce Springsteen chronology | ||||
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the E Street Band chronology | ||||
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Singles from High Hopes | ||||
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High Hopes is the eighteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter
named it the second-best album of 2014.The album is a collection of
Background
Springsteen said that the new music was "some of our best unreleased material from the past decade" and among his best writing and deserved a proper studio recording. Work on the album started on December 9, 2012, when Springsteen called Aniello to discuss some unfinished demos of older songs.
Songs
High Hopes was Springsteen's first studio album composed entirely of covers, outtakes and reimagined versions of songs from past albums and tours. "The best way to describe this record," Springsteen said, "is that's it's a bit of an anomaly but not much. I don't really work linearly like a lot of people do."
"Harry's Place" was written in 2001 for
"Cold Spot", "Hey, Blue Eyes", "American Beauty" and "Mary, Mary" were among the 20 songs recorded that did not make the final cut, some of which were released on the American Beauty EP.[11][7]
Release and promotion
The album was preceded by the single "
On December 28, 2013,
On January 12, 2014, the television series
On January 14, 2014, the entire episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was dedicated to Springsteen. Springsteen and the E Street Band, with Tom Morello but without Steven Van Zandt (who was filming Lilyhammer), performed "High Hopes", "Heaven's Wall" and "Just Like Fire Would". The latter song was streamed online and was not shown on television. Springsteen and Fallon, both dressed as Springsteen from the Born in the U.S.A. era, performed a parody song to the theme of "Born to Run" titled "Gov. Christie Traffic Jam", poking fun at the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. Springsteen was also interviewed.[15]
On April 4, 2014,
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 6.4/10[18] |
Metacritic | 67/100[19] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [20] |
The A.V. Club | C+[21] |
Chicago Tribune | [22] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[23] |
The Guardian | [24] |
The Independent | [25] |
NME | 8/10[26] |
Pitchfork | 4.0/10[27] |
Rolling Stone | [28] |
Slant | [29] |
High Hopes got a mixed reception from critics, with Metacritic giving it 67 / 100, based upon 37 reviews, a "generally favorable" response.[19] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote that "it's rather thrilling to hear Springsteen revel in a mess of contradictions", as the "songs don't cohere into a mood or narrative", a contrast to Springsteen's "two decades of deliberate, purposeful albums".[20] At Rolling Stone, David Fricke found that the "cumulative effect of this mass of old, borrowed, blue...is retrospect with a cutting edge".[28] For Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly it "crackles with immediacy, despite the cobbled-together nature of the material."[23] At The Independent, Andy Gill also noted the lack of "thematic unity" but lauded how "Tom Morello has re-invigorated old material".[25]
A rave review in
PopMatters concluded that there "isn’t a lack of strong songs — there are plenty here. Rather, it’s the unusual surfeit of so-so songs that undercuts the album" which "lacks a sorely missed sense of scope and unity".[31]
Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine saw Springsteen "[aligning] himself with a long tradition of folksingers" in tuning into "the deeper inequalities that inspire" the songs.[29] At The Guardian, Ian Gittins saw the album as a stopgap, but "one assembled with tender, loving care."[24] USA Today's Edna Gundersen's review ran under the headline, "Grab-bag material could hurt Springsteen's 'High Hopes'". It quoted Billboard magazine's Keith Caulfield who said, "Wrecking Ball did 196,000 its first week. It's safe to say this won't do that. But anything Bruce puts out sells respectably." Gundersen also reported Caulfield saying, of Springsteen's decision to allow his music to be used for The Good Wife, "He's doing what everyone's doing, reaching consumers that are going to buy their music."[32]
In December 2014, Rolling Stone named High Hopes the second best album (behind only U2's Songs of Innocence) on their Top 50 Albums of 2014 list.[33]
Commercial performance
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart on its first week of release, Springsteen's eleventh No. 1 and placing him third on the acts with the most No.1's behind the Beatles (with 19 No. 1s) and Jay-Z (with 13).[34] The album sold around 99,000 copies in the US in its first week, and as of October 2015 had sold 213,000.[35] The album also debuted at No. 1 in the UK, his tenth time to top that chart.[36]
Track listing
All tracks are written by
Notes
- The album was also released on 180-gram vinyl as a double LP. The CD version of the album also came packaged with the LP.[37]
- The deluxe version of the album included a limited edition DVD titled Born in the U.S.A. Live: London 2013, featuring the band performing the entire Born in the U.S.A. album in London, England, during the Wrecking Ball World Tour.
Personnel
Adapted from the album's liner notes:[38]
- Bruce Springsteen – lead vocals (all tracks), guitar (all tracks), mandolin (tracks 7, 8, 12), banjo (track 8), additional bass guitar (track 6), drums (track 11), vibraphone (track 1), percussion (tracks 1, 3, 7), percussion loop (track 6), synthesizers (tracks 6, 8, 12), organ (tracks 6, 7), piano (tracks 8, 12), harmonium (track 12)
- Roy Bittan – piano (tracks 1–4, 7, 8, 10–12), organ (track 8)
- Clarence Clemons – tenor saxophone (tracks 2, 5)
- Danny Federici – organ (tracks 5, 11)
- Nils Lofgren – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 11), pedal steel (track 10), mandolin (track 10), backing vocals (track 3)
- Patti Scialfa – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3–6, 8, 11)
- Garry Tallent – bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 9, 11)
- Steven Van Zandt – guitar (track 3), backing vocals (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8)
- Max Weinberg – drums (except tracks 8 and 11), percussion (track 11)
- Tom Morello – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 9, 10, 12), lead guitar (tracks 3, 6), lead vocals (track 10), backing vocals (track 3)
- Charles Giordano – organ (tracks 3, 4), accordion (tracks 1, 10)
- Ron Aniello – guitar (tracks 3, 7, 8, 12), 12-string guitar (track 4), bass guitar (tracks 3, 7, 8, 10, 12), drum loop (tracks 1, 3), vibraphone (track 3), percussion (track 3), percussion loop (tracks 6, 12), synthesizers (tracks 3, 6, 8, 10–12), organ (track 3), farfisa organ (track 6), accordion (track 11),
- Soozie Tyrell – violin (tracks 5, 10), additional violin (track 9), backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8)
- Sam Bardfeld – violin (tracks 6–8)
- Jake Clemons – tenor saxophone solo (track 3), horns (track 4)
- Barry Danielian – horns (tracks 1, 3, 4, 12)
- Clark Gayton – horns (tracks 1, 3, 4, 12)
- Stan Harrison – horns (tracks 1, 3, 12)
- Ed Manion – horns (tracks 1, 3, 4, 12)
- Curt Ramm – horns (tracks 1, 3, 4, 12), cornet (track 11)
- Scott Tibbs – horn orchestration (track 3)
- Jeff Kievit – piccolo trumpet (track 4)
- Cillian Vallely – uilleann pipes, low whistle, tin whistle (track 8)
- Josh Freese – drums (track 8)
- Everett Bradley – percussion (tracks 1, 4, 6), backing vocals (tracks 1, 4)
- Curtis King – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6)
- Cindy Mizelle – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6)
- Michelle Moore – backing vocals (tracks 1, 4)
- Evan Springsteen – backing vocals (track 5)
- Jessica Springsteen – backing vocals (track 5)
- Samuel Springsteen – backing vocals (track 5)
- Tawatha Agee – backing vocals (track 6)
- Keith Fluitt – backing vocals (track 6)
- John James – backing vocals (track 6)
- Al Thornton – backing vocals (track 6)
- Brenda White – backing vocals (track 6)
- Atlanta Strings (tracks 2, 9):
- Ed Horst – string arrangement, conductor
- Justin Bruns, Jay Christy, Sheela Iyengar, John Meisner, Christopher Pulgram, William Pu, Olga Shpitko, Kenn Wagner – violins
- Amy Chang, Tania Maxwell, Lachlan McBane – violas
- Karen Freer, Charae Krueger, Daniel Laufer – celli
- NY Chamber Consort Strings (tracks 4, 6, 12):
- Rob Mathes – string arrangement, conductor
- Lisa Kim (concertmaster), Quan Ge, Hyunju Lee, Jessica Lee, Ann Lehman, Joanna Mauer, Suzanne Ornstein, Annaliesa Place, David Southorn, Jeannie Wynton, Sharon Yamada – violins
- Maurycy Banaszek, Desiree Elsevier, Shmuel Katz, Robert Rinehart – violas
- Maria Kitsopoulos, Alan Stepansky, Ru Pei Yeh – celli
Technical
- Ron Aniello, Bruce Springsteen – production (tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10–12), co-production (track 6)
- Brendan O'Brien – production (tracks 2, 5, 6, 9)
- Ross Petersen, Toby Scott, Nick DiDia – recording engineering
- Rob Lebret, Kevin Mills, Geoff Sanoff, Bob Clearmountain, Dave Schiffman – additional recording
- Bob Clearmountain – mixing
- Brandon Duncan, Sergio Ruelas Jr., Chris Lord-Alge – assistants (tracks 4, 6, 9, 11, 12)
- Nik Karpen, Keith Armstrong, Brad Townsend, Andrew Schubert – assistants (tracks 1–3, 7, 8, 10)
- Brendan O'Brien – mixing (track 5)
- Tom Syrowski, Karl Egsieker, Tom Tapley – assistants
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
- Karl Egsieker, Tom Tapley, Brendan Dekora, Alex Williams, Sean Astill, Tom Astill, Jordan Power, Jack Prest, Luke Yeoman, Daniel Zaidenstadt, Benjamin Rice, Phil Joly, John Horne, Joe Viscano, Mike Bauer, Ted Tuthill, Owen Mulholland – engineering assistants
- Kyle Hoffman, Brandon Duncan – assistants
- Billy Bowers – Pro Tools
- Toby Scott – production coordination
- Shari Sutcliffe – musician contractor
- Sandra Park, Patricia Horst – strings contractor
- Kevin Buell – guitars and technical services
- Michelle Holme – art direction, design
- Danny Clinch – photography
- Edward Smith, Nyra Lang – assistants
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[80] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[81] | Gold | 7,500* |
France ( SNEP)[82]
|
Gold | 50,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[83] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Italy (FIMI)[84] | Platinum | 50,000* |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[85] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[86] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[87] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[88] | Gold | 10,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[89] | Gold | 100,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
References
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- ^ Caulfiel, Keith (January 18, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen Aiming for 11th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart – Yahoo Music". Music.yahoo.com. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
- ^ "Bruce Springsteen scores 10th UK number one album". BBC News. Retrieved January 26, 2014
- ^ a b c d e f Greene, Andy (December 30, 2013). "Bruce Springsteen Producer Breaks Down 'High Hopes': Exclusive". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ "High Hopes: Music". Amazon. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ See Critical reception, below
- ^ a b c d e f g h Greene, Andy (December 17, 2013). "Bruce Springsteen on 'Anomaly' of New Album 'High Hopes': Exclusive". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ "Brucebase – The Rising – Studio Sessions". Brucebase.wikidot.com. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ Greene, Andy (November 25, 2013). "Bruce Springsteen's New LP 'High Hopes': Early Versions of Six Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ The Official Bruce Springsteen Website (November 25, 2013). "Bruce on 'High Hopes' – The Official Bruce Springsteen Website". Brucespringsteen.net. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ Andy Greene (February 8, 2013). "Bruce Springsteen Releasing 4 New Songs On Record Store Day EP". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
- ^ "New Bruce Springsteen Album Arrives Early". Billboard. December 28, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
- ^ Levin, Gary. ""High Hopes" will also be available on the CBS website before its Jan. 14 release". USA Today. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
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- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (January 7, 2014). "High Hopes – Bruce Springsteen". AllMusic. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Anthony, David (January 14, 2014). "The Boss looks to the past for inspiration, gets lost in the process". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (January 14, 2014). "Springsteen Smothers High Hopes". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
- ^ a b Anderson, Kyle (January 6, 2014). "High Hopes, Bruce Springsteen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Gittins, Ian (January 9, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen: High Hopes – review". The Guardian. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ a b Gill, Andy (January 4, 2014). "Album review: Bruce Springsteen, 'High Hopes' (Columbia)". The Independent. London. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Cooper, Leonie (January 10, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen – 'High Hopes'". NME. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ a b Deusner, Stephen M. (January 13, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen: High Hopes". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ a b Fricke, David (January 6, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen 'High Hopes' Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Cataldo, Jesse (January 10, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen: High Hopes". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ Hopper, Jessica (January 8, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen, 'High Hopes' Review". Spin. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ Adams, Jerrick (January 14, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen: High Hopes". PopMatters. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "Grab-bag material could hurt Springsteen's 'High Hopes'". Usatoday.com. January 13, 2014. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ Eliscu, Jenny. "Bruce Springsteen, 'High Hopes' – 50 Best Albums of 2014". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 22, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen Scores 11th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200". Billboard.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
- ^ Michaels, Sean (January 20, 2014). "Bruce Springsteen scores 10th No 1 album with High Hopes". The Guardian.
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- Sony Music Entertainment. 2014. 88843015462.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
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External links
- High Hopes at Discogs (list of releases)