When it comes to Bruce, even a “minor” album is a major event. “High Hopes” isn’t exactly high concept — its mix of covers, rerecorded songs and previously unreleased tracks makes for a quixotic odds-and-sods collection. But whether he’s reinventing the title track — a Havalinas tune he first recorded for 1995’s “Blood Brothers” — into a brassy showcase of the new-era E Street Band or giving “American Skin (41 Shots)” a masterful studio makeover, the album hits more peaks than valleys. Suicide’s “Dream Baby Dream” and the new “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” a fiery duel with Tom Morello, may sound better live, but “Harry’s Place” and “The Wall” are richly evocative, and “Frankie Fell in Love” sounds like it was plucked right out of a Jersey club. “High Hopes” is eclectic, occasionally exotic and ultimately more satisfying than Springsteen’s recent releases.
