Taylor Swift, Charli XCX and most recently Bruce Springsteen. What do these artists have in common? Surprisingly, all three have announced album releases throughout the pandemic.
Springsteen’s next studio album, Letter to You, will be released 23 October with the title track now out as a single and video. Despite turning 71 on September 23, the artist shows no sign of slowing down, enjoying one of the most productive periods of his professional career.
Following on from his 500 word autobiography in 2016, Born to Run, Springsteen enjoyed a 236 show residency on Broadway and a live album Springsteen on Broadway in 2018. Heading back into the studio, the album Western Stars followed in early 2019, which preceded the live performance movie of the same name, co-directed by Springsteen himself.
Letter to You is Springsteen’s first album with long-time collaborator’s The E Street Band since 2014’s High Hopes.
Judging from the single, the new album signifies a shift back to the E Street Band sound, after the dreamy 1970s West Coast vibe of Western Stars. It was announced that the twelve-track Letter to You long play will contain three songs that were outtakes from albums recorded in the 1970’s: “Janey Needs a Shooter,” “If I Was the Priest,” and “Song for Orphans”. The entire track listing is below.
Letters To You:
01 One Minute You’re Here
02 Letter to You
03 Burnin Train
04 Janey Needs a Shooter
05 Last Man Standing
06 The Power of Prayer
07 House of a Thousand Guitars
08 Rainmaker
09 If I Was the Priest
10 Ghosts
11 Song tor Orphans
12 I’ll See You in My Dreams
Whilst 2020 has seen a dearth of live music, there have already been some strong album releases. Letter to You has reunited Springsteen with the E Street Band, and it is sure to be hotly anticipated by his loyal following.
Words by: Andrew Butcher