Bruce Springsteen album ‘lost in the mix’ hailed by fans: ‘Should be talked about more’

A Bruce Springsteen album hailed by fans “should be talked about more” after it was lost in the mix of his discography. The Boss has more than a few all-time great records under his belt, with the likes of Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run, and Born in the U.S.A. securing Springsteen‘s status as one of the greatest of all time.

Fans took to the Bruce Springsteen subreddit to share their thoughts on which of his works had been overlooked by members of the public. They settled on High Hopes, an album that has grown on fans over the last 12 years and is having more of an impact on Springsteen’s dedicated listeners now than it did on its release.

One fan took to the forum and asked: “Why isn’t this album talked about more? This album seems to get ‘lost in the mix… I know for myself, I remember feeling very underwhelmed when it was first released. I do enjoy the songs Harry’s Place and Down In The Hole, but I can’t say the rest of the album has grown on me at all these last 12 years. What’s everyone’s take on this album? Is it also one that gets lost/overlooked in your collection?”

Some fans have since issued a blunt reason as to why the album isn’t talked about all that much. One person wrote: “I think it’s generally just disliked, and that’s why no one talks about it. That’s sort of where I’m at with it. It feels like a minor work, none of the new songs really stuck with me, and I don’t really like the production he used on the remade older songs and prefer their older versions. It’s also just sort of hard to know what to make of it. With the mix of covers and older songs, it doesn’t even really feel like a proper album, more just like a weird thing he wanted to make during a period of productive touring.”

Another agreed, adding: “People don’t like it due to some combination Morello’s influence, the inclusion of older songs (41 Shots, Ghost of Tom Joad, Dream Baby Dream), and people found the newer songs to be lower-quality songwriting. For my part, I think Bruce released it so he’d have an excuse to keep touring, and what a great tour it was!

“He was having fun and we got a lot of good out of it. While I find the songwriting and trajectory of the album lacking continuity, I enjoy many of the songs. High Hopes is solid, Harry’s Place is underrated, Frankie Fell in Love is fun, The Wall hits you where it hurts, and, of course, Ghost of Tom Joad and 41 Shots are obvious masterpieces. Dream Baby Dream happens to be my 5-year-old’s favourite Bruce song, so it gets an honorable mention. But truthfully, many fans will rank this album as their least or near-least favourite. I find myself grateful for its inclusion and enjoy much of it for what it is.”

A third wrote: “Probably my least favourite post-2000s revival album. Nothing jumps out. Bruce has always been great at making albums that have a specific vibe and theme to the whole rather than just being a collection of songs. High Hopes feels like a collection of songs to me.”

Despite the lacking quality of High Hopes the album, the tour received unanimous praise from gig-goers. One person wrote: “Bruce toured South Africa for the first time with this album, and it was one of the best Bruce shows I’d been to at that point. Right in the front at the Belleville velodrome in Cape Town. It’s not an album I listen to but appreciate it was the album that brought Bruce to RSA.”

Another added: “i think it’s because it’s not really a cohesive album. instead it’s just outtakes and rearranged tracks. Also almost half the songs haven’t been played on the road so they don’t get a lot of recognition.” A third shared: “I think Bruce just really wanted a platform for American Skin and the Morello version of The Ghost of Tom Joad, but he didn’t feel like writing an entire album around them, so we got sort of a hodgepodge of older material.

“Some of it works quite well (Down In The Hole is tremendous), and some of it works even better, but doesn’t fit (The Wall is an E Street Band from an entirely different era and would have made an amazing addition to a future ‘Tracks’ release). And some of it just isn’t that good (looking at you, Harry’s Place).”