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The Waterboys Dennis Hopper Paul Mac Manus

Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Fiona Apple feature on new album from The Waterboys

06 January 2025, 15:27 | Written by Tyler Damara Kelly

The Waterboys have announced their sixteenth studio album Life, Death And Dennis Hopper, featuring the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle and Fiona Apple.

Life, Death And Dennis Hopper is the epic story of the trailblazing American actor and rebel told through a song cycle depicting not only Hopper's story but the saga of the last 75 years of western pop culture.

"The arc of his life was the story of our times," says band leader Mike Scott, "He 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. 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."

Produced with Waterboys bandmates Famous James and Brother Paul, the album spans 25 tracks and traces the extraordinary arc of Hopper’s life, from his youth in Kansas to his long rise, five wives, tumultuous fall, and ultimate redemption. The album also features a lineup of guests including Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, Nashville-based Alt Americana artist Anana Kaye, English singer Barny Fletcher, Norwegian country-rockers Sugarfoot, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go's, and punk arch-priestess Patti Palladin.

"It begins in his 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," says Scott.

Tracklist:

1. Kansas (featuring Steve Earle)
2. Hollywood'55
3. Live In The Moment, Baby
4. Brooke / 1712 North Crescent Heights
5. Andy (A Guy Like You)
6. The Tourist (featuring Barny Fletcher)
7. Freaks On Wheels
8. Blues For Terry Southern
9. Memories Of Monterey
10. Riding Down To Mardi Gras
11. Hopper's On Top (Genius)
12. Transcendental Peruvian Blues
13. Michelle (Always Stay)
14. Freakout At The Mud Palace
15. Daria
16. Ten Years Gone (featuring Bruce Springsteen)
17. Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend (featuring Fiona Apple)
18. Rock Bottom
19. I Don't Know How I Made It (featuring Taylor Goldsmith)
20. Frank (Let's Fu*k)
21. Katherine (featuring Anana Kaye)
22. Everybody Loves Dennis Hopper
23. Golf, They Say
24. Venice, California (Victoria)/The Passing Of Hopper
25. Aftermath

Life, Death And Dennis Hopper is set for release on 4 April via Sun Records. The first single, "Hopper’s On Top (Genius)" will be released on 10 January.

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