The Waterboys’ New Album Tells Dennis Hopper’s Story in Songs, Featuring Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Fiona Apple, and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes
Mike Scott and The Waterboys are back with a monumental 16th studio album, Life, Death And Dennis Hopper, dropping April 4 via Sun Records.
This time, the folk-rock legends are diving headfirst into the wild, fascinating life of actor and counterculture icon Dennis Hopper, crafting a 25-track opus that’s as much about the man as it is a kaleidoscopic love letter to the past 75 years of pop culture.
Leading the charge is their new single, Hopper’s On Top (Genius), out this Friday, January 10, and if the name alone doesn’t pique your curiosity, the guest list for the album definitely will. Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, and Taylor Goldsmith (of Dawes fame) all make appearances, along with Nashville’s rising Alt-Americana star Anana Kaye and The Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine.
In a press release, frontman Mike Scott broke down the concept, calling Hopper’s life “the story of our times.” He traced Hopper’s journey from small-town Kansas boy to Hollywood’s bad boy extraordinaire, touching on his roles in everything from Rebel Without a Cause to Easy Rider to his late-career rebirth as a prolific character actor.
“He was part of it all,” Scott said, listing Hopper’s brushes with Pop Art (Andy Warhol), counterculture, civil rights, and psychedelia. “The arc of his life was chaotic, tragic, but ultimately redemptive, and that’s exactly what this album explores.”
Produced by Scott alongside bandmates James Hallawell and Brother Paul Brown, Life, Death And Dennis Hopper takes listeners through every beat of Hopper’s rollercoaster existence—five marriages, ten years of chaos, and a hard-won redemption. The album begins with Hopper’s youth in Kansas, follows him through his Hollywood highs and lows, and wraps up in the stillness of the morning after his passing.
As for the songs? It’s an eclectic mix of storytelling and star power. Springsteen lends his grit to Ten Years Gone, while Fiona Apple brings her smoky intensity to Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend. There’s a touch of funk and flair with Barny Fletcher on The Tourist and deep introspection with Taylor Goldsmith on I Don’t Know How I Made It.
Scott promises the album isn’t just a tribute to Hopper but a meditation on “the strange adventure of being a human soul on planet Earth.” If that doesn’t sum up The Waterboys’ blend of poetic, soul-searching rock, nothing does.
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Here’s the full tracklist for Life, Death And Dennis Hopper:
- 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**k)
- Katherine (featuring Anana Kaye)
- Everybody Loves Dennis Hopper
- Golf, They Say
- Venice, California (Victoria)/The Passing Of Hopper
- Aftermath
Mark your calendars. This is shaping up to be one hell of a journey.
