There had been whispers over the last few days as a new Springsteen album showed up on a few online record stores. The cover - The Boss out standing in the snow - even had some speculating that we might - God help us - be getting a Springsteen Christmas album*, but the good news is that October 23rd will see a brand new studio album featuring The E Street band, which is reason enough to jump up and down, repeatedly.

We're promised a "rock album fueled by the band's heart-stopping, house-rocking signature sound" and that'll do me very nicely indeed. “I love the emotional nature of Letter To You,” says Springsteen. “And I love the sound of the E Street Band playing completely live in the studio, in a way we’ve never done before, and with no overdubs. We made the album in only five days, and it turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I’ve ever had.” Sounds good, doesn't it?

The twelve-track album features nine new Springsteen songs, as well as re-recordings of some bootlegged seventies favourites, 'If I Were A Priest', 'Song For Orphans', and 'Janey Needs A Shooter', which morphed, into 'Jeannie Needs A Shooter', a Boss co-write with the late, great Warren Zevon, back in the day. All the E Street lads and lassies are present and very much correct and the album is co-produced by Ron Aniello - who worked the faders on the brilliant Western Stars - and Springsteen himself. Take a look at and listen to the title track below, and pre-order Letter To You here.

(*I'd buy it.)