When Bruce Springsteen announced an album of covers and reworkings of his own material, my initial reaction was tepid, and I imagine a lot of people reacted similarly. After the more introvert Wrecking Ball (2012), an album with new material and the E Street Band in full gear would have sounded like a much better idea, after all. Imagine the surprise then, that High Hopes turns out to be The Boss’ most spontaneous sounding and solid rocking album in ages. Continue reading →