Bruce Springsteen’s New Album is Almost Finished with a U.S. Tour Expected [VIDEO]

Bruce Springsteen is just about finished with a new studio album that he plans to release in early 2012, Rolling Stone reports.  Bob Seger relayed some information about the recording to the magazine that he found out from talking to the Boss backstage during the Michigan rocker's recent New York City concert.

"He's mastering it right now," revealed Seger, adding, "He's says it's really unusual and that it's the best thing that he's done in years."

Other sources report that Springsteen is planning to take the E Street Band out for a two-month tour of U.S. arenas, beginning in early March.  The stateside leg will include a stop in Austin, Texas, where Springsteen is slated to give the keynote speech at the 2012 South by Southwest festival on March 15.

So far, Springsteen and the E Street Band's only confirmed dates are in Europe, stretching from a May 13 concert in Seville, Spain, through a July 18 stop in Gothenburg, Sweden.