Heaven's Wall

Album: High Hopes (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • This out-and-out gospel rocker couched in Biblical language is most likely an outtake from Springsteen's proposed gospel album, which he eventually scrapped for the more political Wrecking Ball. However, Springsteen felt it deserved a proper studio recording and gave the demo to producer Ron Aniello to play around. Aniello told Rolling Stone: "On 'Heaven's Wall' we took the basic track and jumped on there with overdubs. That's pretty much the original, vocal, drum and bass."
  • This was one of eight tracks on High Hopes that Tom Morello played on. The Rage Against The Machine guitarist also toured with the E Street Band during the Australia leg of Springsteen's Wrecking Ball World Tour. "He became a filter that I ran my music through," Springsteen told Rolling Stone. "He would send the songs back to me with a very current slant on them . . . He jolted those songs into the now. He's one of the few guitarists that creates a world by himself. It's like the Edge or Pete Townshend or Johnny Marr. The E Street Band is a big house, but when Tom is on stage he builds another room."
  • The New York Chamber Consort provided the orchestral instrumentation. The string section also played on three Wrecking Ball tracks as well as the High Hopes tunes "Dream Baby Dream" and "Just Like Fire Would."

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