From a Ron Aniello interview from 2013 talking about High Hopes & in these two questions, it seems obvious to me that he can only be speaking of Western Stars.
Bruce said he wrote a whole bunch of songs before Wrecking Ball, but I suppose he didn’t want to dip into those for this album.
Those were about 30 or 40 songs. They were very unique for him, unlike anything I’d ever heard. That’s what I wanted to do originally, to help arrange those or give him ideas or look for some inspiration. Those are lovely songs, but none of them are on this record.
How would you describe the sound of those songs?
I hope Bruce doesn’t slaughter me here, but I would compare them to Aaron Copland. It has a very open landscape feel and I guess . . . You wouldn’t call it country. It’s just very hard to describe. You’ll just have to wait. I’m actually working on some of the songs now and going through them. He’s looking for a way to approach that album.