HARTFORD, Connecticut (Reuters) - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their latest U.S. tour on Tuesday androcked their way through several cuts from the newly released"Magic," a collection of songs that mix an up-tempo pop-rocksound with stinging social criticism.

Fans at the sold-out Hartford Civic Center were sent into afrenzy as the band took the stage and launched into "RadioNowhere," a hard-driving cut from the new album officiallyreleased earlier in the day, the first album for Springsteenand his long-time backing band since 2002's "The Rising."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer hit the road as a solo actin 2005 behind his somber "Devils and Dust" album, and lastyear the New Jersey native released "We Shall Overcome: TheSeeger Sessions," a fiddle- and banjo-infused collection ofAmerican folk songs. The latter won the 2006 Grammy Award forBest Traditional Folk Album.

But rock and roll was front and center this evening as the58-year-old and his bandmates, some bandmates since he was ateenager, ripped through several anthems from the Springsteencatalogue including "Badlands," "Born to Run" and "The PromisedLand."

Introducing the new song "Living In the Future,"Springsteen told the crowd that in addition to cheeseburgers,French fries and motorcycles, the United States was now knownfor voter suppression, illegal wiretapping and attacks on theConstitution.

"These are all the things that are happening here thatshouldn't be happening here," he said.

The refrain from "Last to Die," also from the new album,left little doubt about Springsteen's opinion of the U.S.-ledwar in Iraq. "Who'll be the last to die for a mistake, whoseblood will spill, whose heart will break, who'll be the last todie?" he sang.

One of the new songs not from "Magic" was "Town CalledHeartbreak," a cut from band member and Springsteen spousePatti Scialfa's latest solo album, released last month.

The band included Clarence Clemons on saxophone and percussion; Roy Bittan and Danny Federici on keyboards; NilsLofgren on guitars; Garry Tallent on bass; Max Weinberg ondrums; and guitarist Steven Van Zandt, who gained additionalfame on HBO's "The Sopranos." Also on stage was violin playerand backup vocalist Soozie Tyrell.

Springsteen and the E Street Band will wind their wayacross the U.S. through mid-November before starting amonth-long tour of Europe in Madrid on November 26.

While no further dates have been announced, fans andindustry watchers expect the announcement of more tour legsthat will keep the band on the road well into 2008.