1.14.2018

Through the Empires of Dust I Chant Your Name: High Hopes

Tonight:
(2014)

Bryan: We have arrived at Bruce's last full album of original (mostly) new material. There will be two last posts next weekend, one for Chapter and Verse and some other wrap-up odds and ends, and one annotated version of the Updated Rankings. But for studio album purposes, the wild ride that began with 1973's Greetings from Asbury Park stops here. 

I have neither snazzy intro nor opening remarks from Bryant this time around - though here's a link to his post on "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" that I keep hoping to get to properly - so let's just jump right in.
"High Hopes"

 Bryan: 3/5 Who'd have thought Tom Morello could blend in this well with Bruce and the gang? The song's not bad but not incredibly memorable for me.

 Bryant: I just wrote about this song a few weeks ago when I listened to the Blood Brothers EP version, and I’d already halfway forgotten that it’s a cover song. It just sounds like a Springsteen song to me, albeit one that’s received a Tom Morello sheen and some Sessions Band spiffification. 3.5/5 Good stuff.

Bryan: 3.75/5 Interesting different sort of tune for Bruce, and the distorted guitars really add the crucial element.

 Bryant: I’m blushing on account of Bruce’s pottymouth on this one. I joke, but I’m sure some of his older fans probably did frown when he dropped not one, not two, but three eff-bombs. I’m not onboard with what Morello does here; he’s not helping the song much. 2/5 If there is such a thing as a fight between “Mary’s Place” and “Harry’s Place,” I’m Team Mary all the way.

 Bryant: Interesting! I really like what Morello does here. But I'm Team Mary, as well. I like the idea of cage-matching the characters from Bruce's catalog. That'd be a fun post all of its own. 
"American Skin (41 Shots)"

 Bryan: 2/5 Musically, not bad - of all the versions, the one I prefer I guess. But the context bugs me. What happened to Amidou Diallo is different enough from what happened to Trayvon Martin (to pick one of the disingenuous obsessions from a certain corner of our media-academe) that it makes me a little uncomfortable. Plus, it's just such a different environment. I guess my thinking is this: being superficially antiracist/ superwoke, within a narrow range of media choices/ triggers, is kind of the hallmark / default position of a certain type of brain-dead reactionary these days. For Bruce to basically expand this song "in the context of 2012" or whatever he says, is to approve of such brain-dead reactionaries/ defaults. (More likely, he - like many liberals of his or even our own generation - just isn't aware of the distinction.)  "hey, here's this song" not only dilutes the message of the original, it tacitly approves a very disingenuous approach to a serious topic. I don't like having to wrestle with all of this stuff just to get to the message/ feel of the song. 

 Bryant: Those processed vocals at the beginning nearly run this off the rails for me before it even gets going good. What’s that all about? At what point did producers think it sounded cool for vocals to sound as if they were coming from a telephone that was submerged in Crisco? At what point did audiences embrace it? In any case, I love this song … but I do not love this recording of it. So this is an odd case for me, and I’m torn as to how to score it. I’ll go for 2/5. Bruce’s vocals are vastly superior on the Live In NYC version, and I’ll take the soothing uplift of a Clarence Clemons sax solo over the admittedly-fine guitar solo here any day of the week. Clarence is not present, but Jake Clemons is … briefly; the mix actually allows Morello’s guitar to come in over the top of him and then OVERRIDE HIM. This is not an acceptable use of saxophone on a Springsteen album, even if the Clemons in question is not Clarence. And while the live version seems appropriate in length to me, this studio version feels interminable. Weird!


"Just Like Fire Would"

 Bryan: 3/5 Not bad.

 Bryant: *shrug* 2.25/5 Another one I forget is a cover.


 Bryan: 4/5 Really like this one. Almost sounds like he's sampling "I'm On Fire" and singing/ performing new stuff over it. And close enough to that where I think it might have been his intent, even. I guess this and "Harry's Place" were written for The Rising but ended up here. I like them better here so right call.

 Bryant: I kinda wish this had been a cover of that Tom Waits song from The Wire.  More of those telephone vocals at the beginning. I bet Brendan O’Brien did that, the sonofabitch. It’s almost worse when he flicks that switch off and Bruce’s vocals suddenly turn normal. I mean, why do any of that? I agree that the song sounds like a sequel to “I’m on Fire.” I wonder if you aren’t meant to literally think this is about the same guy. That’d be an interesting way to try to evoke the impact of 9/11. I do like this song. 3/5 I’d be higher on it if not for the way it opens.
"Heaven's Wall"

 Bryan: 3/5 I'd like this one more if there was a tad less repetition. I don't know how many times is too much - I call it the "We Built This City" rule - but I know it when I hear it. Still nothing really bad going on here.

 Bryant: I don’t like the chorus at all.  It’s okay when Bruce does it, but when the choir does it, it’s just not for me. This song is alright, though. I also find it to be guilty of the “We Built This City” maxim – which for me is the “Rock and Roll All Nite” maxim – but not to such a degree that it wrecks the song. It gets close, though, and then some of the other production choices walk it right up to the edge of that happening. 1.75/5
"Frankie Fell in Love"

 Bryan: 2.5/5 It's okay but doesn't do much for me. 

 Bryant: Instinctively, I suspect that this song means something to Bruce autobiographically that I don’t know. It feels like a sequel to some song of his from the eighties. It’s okay. 2.25/5

 Bryan: Very true on this feeling like a sequel. It isn't, so far as I can tell, but yeah, it definitely feels like it should be. I hope it's about Frank Stallone. 
"This Is Your Sword"

 Bryan: 2.5/5 Ditto.

 Bryant: Not bad. 2.5/5 I wonder if somebody has edited a Game of Thrones video to this. Probably so.

Bryan: 4/5 Quite like this one and am eager to watch the short film. 

 Bryant: This is indeed pretty great. 3.75/5

 Bryan: (months later) Okay, I have now seen it. Not bad. It makes a good double feature with the music video / short-film-by-another-name for "I'm On Fire." It's basically post-apocalyptic Bruce looking through some personal effects and walking through the ruins with a torch and an ax and such. 

Directed by Thom Zimny and also starring Danielle Panek as "Woman."


 Bryan: 4/5 I much prefer it like this with lots of eruptive solos and cymbals and such. Probably too long. 

 Bryant: I mean, whatever, but did this really need to be rerecorded? It’s good; not to the level of the original for me, but I’ve certainly got no issue with somebody preferring this take. There are live versions with Morello to satisfy that urge, though, so why put this on an album? Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind (even a little bit), I just wonder how decisions like that get made but “The Fever” could go unreleased for thirty years. 3.95/5 This rocks. I can’t give it a score equal to the original, but I’ll get very close.

Bryan: 4.15/5 Pretty moving tune.

 Bryant: This is another winner, in my book. 3.5/5

Bryan: 4.75/5 Man do I love this. I've never heard the original, although Suicide is one of those bands I've always heard about. I need to delve into them one of these days. I didn't think there was another 4.75 in the catalog and happy to discover I'm wrong. Strong end to the album here.

 Bryant: I’ve never heard the original (which is true of the other covers on this album).  Doesn’t seem like the sort of thing that would have been recorded by a band called Suicide.  I should probably look it up just so I have a better handle on what Springsteen did here. But for now, I kinda don’t want to. This is pretty great. 3.5/5
~
Bryan: Total 40.65 Average 3.39 Well! Strong finish here, good collection of tunes.

 Bryant: 33.95 total, 2.83 average. A more robust score than I expected, but it’s not unearned; a few songs excepted, this is a strong collection.

But wait, there's more!
Also 2014, a vinyl-only DVD Special Features for High Hopes sort of deal.

"American Beauty"

Bryan: 1.75/5 Not much to this one. The melody, riff, title, and vibe are all kind of generic. Not a great vocal.

Bryant: I don’t even like this as much as you do. Bruce’s vocals are awful. 1.5/5 And that might be generous.

"Mary Mary"

Bryan: 3/5 I like this one. Good lyrics, sparse arrangement used to good effect.

Bryant: Doesn’t really go anywhere, but as a sort of sketch, it works just fine. 2.25/5 I like the background vocals and the production in general.

"Hurry Up Sundown"

Bryan: 2/5 "A fun piece of modern power pop" as Bruce describes it. It might be that, I have no idea, but it doesn't ring my bell.

Bryant: I think Bruce and I have different ideas of what modern power pop is. This does virtually nothing for me. 1.75/5 


Bryan: 3.5/5 When I first heard about this - a song about the Bush-era abuse of prisoners in Iraq, released in the middle of the Obama-era - I thought Great, another circle jerk for fellow travelers. I say this as a fellow critic of Bush-era abuse of prisoners, just not necessarily the constant harping on about one side of the aisle. But once I heard it, I liked it quite a bit. I try my damnedest to not let the "before" POV influence how I evaluate it as a song/ part of Bruce's catalog. I think it's easily the best song here, and the rather pretty music conflicts well with the harshness of the imagery/ lyrics.

Bryant: I’m not paying close enough attention to the lyrics on these more recent songs for me to have noticed what this song was about if I had not already read it via your comments.  I’d probably just think it was about kinky sex. Bruce might have intended that, which is a satisfyingly dark thought. I’m probably one of those fellow travelers you mention, by the way. I’m not politically active enough to actually count for much in that regard, but if it’s a binary proposition with Democrats on one side and Republicans on the other – it isn’t, but it sure does seem like it most of the time – then I’m team blue. I hear what you’re saying and all, but the other team wants to build a wall between here and Mexico, so what I know for 100% certain is that I don’t want to buy what they’re selling. If the other team is selling even 75% bullshit, then that still puts me 25% in the plus column until a better option comes along. Mainly, though, I just want to sit in my apartment and not be a part of any of that mess.  

Bryan: Likewise I hear what you're saying, as well. Like Kirk with the no-win-scenario, I just don't believe in binary opposition. But if my hand was forced, my own math would add up differently. For pretty much the same reasons, though.

Bryant: Anyways, this is a good song that may grow on me with repeat listens. 2.5/5

~
Bryan: Total 10.25 Avg 2.56 I like that Bruce does this sort of thing, but I don't always love the results.

 Bryant: 8 total, 2.00 average. I’m happy to hear new Springsteen music even if it’s just so-so. Philosophically, I admire him for putting this out as a vinyl exclusive. (Not counting digital downloads, of course.) In general, it’s pretty cool that vinyl has experienced a resurgence. Supposedly the same thing has started to happen with cassettes, of all things. Nostalgia is fun for everyone, I guess, even if it’s a nostalgia for a thing you never took part in to begin with. 

Bruce with Mom.

UPDATED RANKINGS:

Bryan:

Lucky Town 2.15
Greetings from Asbury Park 2.19
Magic 2.27
The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.44 
American Beauty 2.56
Working on a Dream 2.71
In Concert / MTV Plugged 2.82
Tracks 2.83
Chimes of Freedom 2.86
Wrecking Ball 2.86
Blood Brothers 2.88
Human Touch 2.9
The Promise 3.08
Book of Dreams 3.1
Hammersmith Odeon, London 3.1
The Rising 3.3
Devils and Dust 3.36
High Hopes 3.39
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.43
Live in New York City 3.5
Loose Ends 3.63
Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.65
We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.67
The River 3.71
Tunnel of Love 3.8
Darkness on the Edge of Town 3.82
Live ’75 - ‘85 4
Live in Dublin 4.11
Born to Run 4.41
Nebraska 4.5
Born in the USA 5.4

Bryant:

Human Touch 1.7
American Beauty 2.00
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 2.04
Lucky Town 2.15 
Working on a Dream 2.23
The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.46
Magic 2.46
Devils and Dust 2.48
Book of Dreams 2.58
Chimes of Freedom 2.69
In Concert / Mtv Plugged 2.75
Greetings from Asbury Park 2.75
Wrecking Ball 2.77
Tracks 2.81
High Hopes 2.83
Blood Brothers 2.9
The Promise 2.99
The Rising 3.1
Live in Dublin 3.22
Tunnel of Love 3.35
We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.37
Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.38
The River 3.39
Live in New York City 3.48
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.68
Live ’75 - ‘85 3.7
Loose Ends 3.92
Born to Run 4.35
Darkness on the Edge of Town 4.4
Nebraska 4.63
Born in the USA 4.88

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1.13.2018

Sleep Well My Friend, It's Only Our Bodies That Betray Us In the End: Wrecking Ball

Tonight:
(2012)

Bryan: Bryant and I continue our Springsteen listenthrough with Bruce's 17th studio album, the last to feature the nevertheless-immortal Clarence Clemons. The massive tour that followed a) featured Jake Clemons and a full 17-piece band, b) included Tom Morello on the Australian leg of it (as Little Steven had film commitments for Lilyhammer) and c) lasted so long it turned into the High Hopes tour when it resumed after Christmas break in early 2014, from where this rendition of "Staying Alive" comes from. (Holy moley.)

Jake, Bruce, and Tom.

Bryant: R.I.P., Big Man.


"We Take Care of Our Own"

Bryan: 2.5/5 Starts with a "Wild Honey" reference, but the song quickly goes in its own direction. Not a bad production/ arrangement but not a fave. I hate when songs get picked for presidential campaigns, regardless of candidate, and this is no exception. Keep rock and state separate! An unpopular position perhaps given how popular such things appear to be. Anyway, kind of trite music/ broad sentiments, on top of that, and it equals meh for yours truly. 

Bryant: I like this more than you do, perhaps if only because Brendan O’Brien was otherwise engaged during the recording of this album. Also, let’s face it, because the political stuff doesn’t gall me like it does you. Hell, sometimes it even WORKS for me! This is sort of one of those times. Although lately, it seems to me like the message of America is “We take care of our own, if you count as ‘our own,’ which a lot of you don’t. And we’d like to take you out back and beat you, quite frankly.” So while I admire Springsteen’s stance and support it and believe in it as a long-run thing, I have a hard time feeling cheered by it. Still, good song. 3/5

 Bryan: It's an interesting choice, too, for a convention call-to-arms, as the verses paint a few bleaker tones into its more anthemic qualities. Much like "Born in the U.S.A." almost 30 years before it, which Reagan's people wanted to use for his '84 campaign, an idea Bruce shut down with extreme force. (Opinions vary on all of this sequence of events.) I support unequivocally his right to do whatever he wants, with either song, in any circumstance, of course.


Bryan: 3.25/5 Seems like it could've been on the Pete Seeger album. I like this one, though like the opener it's the sort of tune you can get from any number of bands/ productions. 

Bryant: A lot of this album sounds like it came from the same place as We Shall Overcome, doesn’t it? Fine by me. 3/5

 Bryan: You're right, it's not just this song but most of the album. Perhaps most especially...

"Shackled and Drawn"

Bryan: ... re: Bruce becoming a Celtic neofolk outfit. Music for Natural Wonders and other fine shops at the mall or Sunday afternoons on NPR. 3/5

Bryant: This is pretty great. 3/5 I was higher until that gospel vocal comes beaming in from some other planet right at the end. 


"Jack of All Trades"

Bryan: 2.25/5 Fantastic outro, the rest is okay.

Bryant: Not a bad song at all. I’m with you on the 2.25/5. If this were on The Ghost of Tom Joad, it’d be a mild standout.


Bryan: 3.5/5 (Keep reading to see why this score is not bold-faced! OMG! - editor) Ditto to all of the above, but I like the sort of happy Irish music juxtaposed with the lyrics. Gentrification is the same the world over. Play this for any number of cultures in any number of eras and there'd be no language barrier. Well, beyond the actual one that might prevent them from relating to it.

Bryant: I like the attitude and sound of this more than I like the actual song, but it’s fine. 2.5/5

 Bryan: You know, that's an important distinction to make. So I decided to listen again with that in mind and ended up with 2.75/5. (Here it is, kids! - editor) A bit higher than yours but not by much. Still a fun little tune. 

"This Depression"

Bryan: 2/5 I feel kind of bad only giving this one 2 stars, as it seems a rather all-on-his-sleeve confession sort of piece from Bruce and here I am saying "(shrugs) Decent." But so it goes.

Bryant: You hear this as a confessional? Hmm. I tend to assume it’s him singing about a character, like on “Jack of All Trades.” You could be right, though. But I agree this is nothing special. 2/5

Bryan: You're probably right about that, actually. I listened to it again with that in mind, and I couldn't quite figure out why I assumed it was a confessional. I mean, there's the rhyme in the chorus, but that'd be dumb of me. I hope it wasn't just that! I honestly can't remember - I assume Bruce is often circling his depression issues through song, I guess. The dangers of biography and projection. Unchanged score, alas.


Bryant: Something tells me he’s not talking purely about a stadium… 4.25/5

Bryan: Or Miley Cyrus. 3.5 Not bad and a little more punch in the lyrics than previous.


"You've Got It"

Bryan: 2.5/5 Simple little tune - I like it, tho. 

Bryant: Not bad. 2.25/5


Bryan: 2.75/5 Ditto. Like the neo-celt stuff, this sort of vibe/ production seems a natural enough evolution of the Bruce aesthetic. (Even the "rap" and sampled, recurring chorus fits here - a general sort of open the doors and invite in/ elder statesman thing more than embracing a production fad, as it might have been in the 90s.) I like the horns.

Bryant: I want to love this, and can’t get there. 2.25/5 I respect it, and like it, but can’t get my arms around it.


Bryan: 3.75/5 Might be scoring this one a little too low. I like this version quite a bit, though, and it and the next are a great one-two punch to end the album. Like Bruce, when Clarence's live-sax-part is cut into this studio version and "fills the room," I get tears in my eyes. Got to agree with Will Hermes on this one: "It's an object lesson in the sort of hard-bitten pop optimism that Springsteen's made into a secular religion, and it's also a fitting farewell to a friend."

Bryant: I love the Live in NYC version, and to me, this studio version pales in comparison. But you can pale quite a bit in comparison to that and still end up in a good place. A 3.75/5, for example. I don’t think the production here is bad, but I could have lived without some of the drum loops and gospel backing vocals and whatnot. Whaddaya need a gospel-sounding background vocalist for when you’ve got Patti Scialfa at your disposal?!?

Bryan: It's a fair question. He likes the gospel backing singers the last 10 years or so, doesn't he? Like the celtic stuff, it works okay for me, myself.


Bryan: 3.25/5 I like the little breaks in this one but again it's more of a found-structure deal more than essential Bruce to me. (I like saying "it's found structure, though, isn't it? I think I know what it means, but I probably don't.) Sounds good to hear him doing it, though, and I like the lyrics. 

Bryant: I’d be okay with Bruce just straight-up covering “Ring of Fire.” He kind of gets close here, doesn’t he? I don’t love this. 2.25/5


~
Bryan: Total 31.5 Average 2.86

Bryant: Total 30.5 Average 2.77 My copy has a couple of bonus tracks.

“Swallowed Up (In the Belly of the Whale)” – Weird intro to this one. And it lasts for pretty much the entire song. So I guess not so much a weird intro as a weird song. I admire him for going for something different every once in a while, but this does very little for me until the violin shows up toward the end, and that’s only because I like violins. 1.75/5

“American Land” – Damn, I need to re-rip this CD. The MP3 of this I’ve got has a bunch of digital static at the beginning. That’s no way to respect this awesome song! I believe I previously stated that this version was with the E Street Band, but that’s only partially true, I guess. It’s pretty great, no matter who’s playing it. It could be a pack of leprechauns for all I care. 4.5/5 (If anything, that’d make me like it more.)

UPDATED RANKINGS:

Bryan:

Lucky Town 2.15
Greetings from Asbury Park 2.19
Magic 2.27
The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.44 
Working on a Dream 2.71
In Concert / MTV Plugged 2.82
Tracks 2.83
Chimes of Freedom 2.86
Wrecking Ball 2.86
Blood Brothers 2.88
Human Touch 2.9
The Promise 3.08
Book of Dreams 3.1
Hammersmith Odeon, London 3.1
The Rising 3.3
Devils and Dust 3.36
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.43
Live in New York City 3.5
Loose Ends 3.63
Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.65
We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.67
The River 3.71
Tunnel of Love 3.8
Darkness on the Edge of Town 3.82
Live ’75 - ‘85 4
Live in Dublin 4.11
Born to Run 4.41
Nebraska 4.5
Born in the USA 5.4

Bryant:

Human Touch 1.7
Hammersmith Odeon, London '75 2.04
Lucky Town 2.15 
Working on a Dream 2.23
The Ghost of Tom Joad 2.46
Magic 2.46
Devils and Dust 2.48
Book of Dreams 2.58
Chimes of Freedom 2.69
In Concert / Mtv Plugged 2.75
Greetings from Asbury Park 2.75
Wrecking Ball 2.77
Tracks 2.81
Blood Brothers 2.9
The Promise 2.99
The Rising 3.1
Live in Dublin 3.22
Tunnel of Love 3.35
We Shall Overcome: The Pete Seeger Sessions 3.37
Greatest Hits (New Tracks Only) 3.38
The River 3.39
Live in New York City 3.48
The Wild, the Innocent, and the E Street Shuffle 3.68
Live ’75 - ‘85 3.7
Loose Ends 3.92
Born to Run 4.35
Darkness on the Edge of Town 4.4
Nebraska 4.63
Born in the USA 4.88

 Bryan: That's all she wrote for Wrecking Ball. Roundabout the release of American Beauty, Bruce, Inc. opened the archives for a slew of live shows and other releases. All worth listening to and all worth covering, of course, but early on in this project we decided not to dive into all of it but mainly stick to the new releases of original material (with some exceptions.) Either way, we are nearing the end of this little project. 

Not quite there, yet, though, don't bang your head against the desk in despair! I'll hopefully have High Hopes (with its American Beauty chaser) up tomorrow, but if it doesn't happen, there might be a sighting of the rare Tuesday-or-Wednesday Night Springsteen round these parts. Heck, maybe there'll be both. And there'll be a couple more after that. To rock and roll!
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