The Best Bruce Springsteen Covers Ever

 Posted by at 12:00 pm  38 Responses »
Sep 232019
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

bruce springsteen covers

To quote a Bruce song, this list has been a long time comin’. After all, twelve years ago we borrowed one of his song titles to name this site (a song that, surprisingly, doesn’t actually get covered very often). And over those twelve years, we’ve posted hundreds, maybe thousands, of Bruce covers: “Full Albums” tributes to Born in the U.S.A., Darkness at the Edge of Town, and Tunnel of Love; tributes to the tributes, honoring several classic Boss tribute records; a spotlight on the best “Born to Run” covers; and a million news posts. It’s time to pull it all together.

Appropriately enough for a man whose concerts routinely top three hours, this list is long. Fifty covers long, and even then we still found ourselves left with dozens of killer bonus tracks for our Patreon supporters. The hits are all here, of course, but Bruce’s catalog runs deep. This list includes many covers of lesser-known cuts and more recent songs – even one from his just-released solo album Western Stars. Though he turns 70 today, the man is not slowing down, and neither are the artists paying tribute to him. As Bruce famously sang, he learned more from a three-minute record than ever learned in school. Well, here are fifty artists who learned something from his three-minute records.

The list starts on Page 2.

Five Good Covers: Born to Run (Bruce Springsteen)

 Posted by at 5:00 pm  3 Responses »
Oct 312011
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

When Bruce Springsteen began to construct and record the songs that would make up his third album in early 1974, he knew the pressure was on. Following two critically-acclaimed but low-selling records, he had to produce a masterpiece or risk his career being over before he even got to make his impact on the world of pop music. Little did anyone, even Bruce himself, know at the time just what was stirring in his head, aching to get out: an 8-song magnum opus that stands almost unparalleled in the annals of rock. It’s one of the only records to earn a 10.0 rating from Pitchfork, and at least one critic has heralded its title track the greatest song ever written. We’re talking, of course, about Born to Run. Continue reading »

Song of the Day: Amy MacDonald, “Dancing in the Dark”

 Posted by at 9:00 am  10 Responses »
Jun 242010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

If you’re reading this in Europe, I probably don’t need to tell you about Amy MacDonald. Her debut album This Is the Life sold three million copies, hitting number one on the European charts. Stateside though it couldn’t even manage 50,000 and peaked at #92. The Scottish songwriter with the gorgeous lilt can’t quite seem to break in America. Come on people; you accepted Susan Boyle!

Released in March, A Curious Thing is getting a similar reception. Perhaps if people knew about the hidden bonus track things would be different. After all, there’s no singer more American than Bruce Springsteen (ok, maybe Kid Rock). Maybe people haven’t yet recovered from his Born in the U.S.A.-era media explosion. Still, MacDonald’s cover of “Dancing in the Dark” overcomes the stigma even of that awful Courtney Cox video. It’s a live take, just her and an acoustic guitar. As with much of her work, the voice makes it.
Continue reading »