"Land of Hope and Dreams" from Springsteen on Broadway

Gregg Chadwick
American River (for Greil Marcus)
24”x36” oil on linen 2016
Audis Husar Gallery, Beverly Hills

                

Bruce Springsteen has pre-released an album from his Springsteen on Broadway engagement.

His album announcement is accompanied by a first taste of his Broadway recording: an acoustic version of his train metaphor song "Land of Hope and Dreams." 
Lauren Onkey writes about the song on NPR Music:

"Land of Hope and Dreams" is the penultimate song of the Broadway show, an uplifting end to a night that features a lot of heartbreaking stories of characters — including Springsteen himself — who fall into isolation. Rooted in the gospel song "This Train" and The Impressions' 1965 gospel-soul hit "People Get Ready," "Land of Hope and Dreams" imagines a communal train where all are welcome — saints, sinners, whores, gamblers, thieves, lost souls, fools, kings, the brokenhearted — as it heads off to unknown future. It's classic Springsteen: grand, optimistic, spiritual and open-ended enough to be embraced by a big audience....
Springsteen has performed "Land of Hope and Dreams" often for benefit concerts and political rallies, including campaign stops for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. It seems no coincidence, then, that he's released it on the eve of the midterm elections, and into the teeth of a violent and divisive time in American life. It's an assertion that we're all in this together.