Bruce Springsteen is one of several well-known music artists who have lent their talents to the upcoming album by veteran British band The Waterboys, Life, Death and Dennis Hopper. The 25-track record, which is due out April 4, is a concept album inspired by the life of the late actor and maverick filmmaker.
Waterboys frontman Mike Scott describes the project as “the story of Dennis Hopper’s life in songs—and the story of his and our times.” Besides Springsteen, the album features contributions from Steve Earle, Fiona Apple, and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith.
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A first advance track from Life, Death and Dennis Hopper, “Hopper’s on Top (Genius),” will debut this Friday, January 10. A companion music video will be released in conjunction with the song.
The digital version of the album can be pre-saved now.
[RELATED: The Waterboys’ Mike Scott Explains the Meaning Behind Their Late ’80s Hit “World Party”]
According to Rolling Stone, Springsteen appears on a song titled “Ten Years Gone”; Apple is featured on “Letter from an Unknown Girlfriend”; Earle contributed to the album’s opening track, “Kansas”; and Goldsmith is featured on “I Don’t Know How I Made It.”
Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine and veteran punk/new wave singer Patti Paladin also appear on the album.
Mike Scott Shares More Details About the Album
In a press release announcing the album, Scott discussed some of the highlights of Hopper’s life, which served as inspiration for the various tunes.
“[Hopper] was at the big bang of youth culture in Rebel Without a Cause with James Dean; and the beginnings of Pop Art with the young Andy Warhol,” the Scottish singer/songwriter noted. “He was part of the counter-culture, hippie, civil rights, and psychedelic scenes of the ’60s. In the ’70s and ’80s he went on a wild 10-year rip, almost died, came back, got straight and became a five-movies-a-year character actor without losing the sparkle in his eye or the sense of danger or unpredictability that always gathered around him.”
Scott also noted that the song cycle “begins in [Hopper’s] childhood, ends the morning after his death, and I get to say a whole lot along the way, not just about Dennis, but about the whole strange adventure of being a human soul on planet Earth.”
Lead track “Hopper’s on Top (Genius)” focuses on perhaps the high point of Dennis’ career, when he directed and co-starred in the enduring 1969 counterculture film Easy Rider.
Life, Death and Dennis Hopper is The Waterboys’ 16th studio album. It’s a follow-up to All Souls Hill, which was released in April 2022.
The Waterboys’ 2025 Tour Plans
The Waterboys have more than 30 concerts lined up in the U.K. and Ireland in 2025. The band’s itinerary runs from a May 1 show in Basingstoke, U.K., through an August 30 performance at the Lindisfarne Festival in Northumberland, U.K.
Scott and company also is scheduled to play the Gent Jazz fest in Ghent, Belgium, on July 5.
Life, Death and Dennis Hopper Track List:
- “Kansas” (featuring Steve Earle)
- “Hollywood ’55”
- “Live in the Moment, Baby”
- “Brooke/1712 North Crescent Heights”
- “Andy (A Guy Like You)”
- “The Tourist” (featuring Barny Fletcher)
- “Freaks on Wheels”
- “Blues for Terry Southern”
- “Memories of Monterey”
- “Riding Down to Mardi Gras”
- “Hopper’s on Top (Genius)”
- “Transcendental Peruvian Blues”
- “Michelle (Always Stay)”
- “Freakout at the Mud Palace”
- “Daria”
- “Ten Years Gone” (featuring Bruce Springsteen)
- “Letter from an Unknown Girlfriend” (featuring Fiona Apple)
- “Rock Bottom”
- “I Don’t Know How I Made It” (featuring Taylor Goldsmith)
- “Frank (Let’s F—)”
- “Katherine” (featuring Anana Kaye)
- “Everybody Loves Dennis Hopper”
- “Golf, They Say”
- “Venice, California (Victoria)/The Passing of Hopper”
- “Aftermath”
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