WASHINGTON: Bruce Springsteen’s 18th studio album “High Hopes” went online Sunday in the United States, nine days before its general release — and on the 41st anniversary of The Boss’s debut outing.

Television network CBS had announced it would host the Internet-only pre-release at www.cbs.com/shows/the_good_wife/springsteen after the conclusion of this week’s episode of “The Good Wife” at around 10:00 p.m. in a unique tie-in with the top-rated legal drama.

But American fans of the New Jersey-born rock ‘n’ roll voice of blue-collar America — whose first album “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” came out on Jan. 5, 1973, two years before “Born to Run” established him as a musical powerhouse — were delighted to discover the audio stream unexpectedly going online earlier in the evening.

Initial reviews were upbeat.

“Once again, Springsteen is the minister in the chapel, offering guidance, sympathy and, occasionally, a raised fist of solidarity with the dispossessed,” wrote pop music critic Tris McCall of the Star-Ledger newspaper in Springsteen’s home state.

“By the time that track draws to its haunting conclusion, you’ll likely find that despite the rocky start, the album’s familiar themes of hope, redemption and love’s ability to trump adversity have worked their magic the way they do on any good Springsteen release,” added Pete Chianca at Blogness on the Edge of Town, a blog devoted to the 64-year-old rock icon.

As a CBS spokeswoman told AFP this week, the online stream is available only in the United States, ahead of the general release of “High Hopes” on Jan. 14.

In Paris, only the title track — released in November as a video — could be heard on the website; the other 11 songs came up as “currently not available.”