Superchunk singer Mac McCaughan knows how to cut to the core of a song. We last saw him do it by paring down Jay Reatard’s ripping “My Shadow” into a haunted confession. Now, he strips away the synth layers and drum bursts from Bruce Springsteen’s “Bobby Jean” to reveal a new emotional core.
The acoustic strumming arguably fits the lyrics better than the blasting Born in the U.S.A. original. A regretful remembrance supposedly written upon the departure of Little Steven from the E Street Band, “Bobby Jean” pleads for one chance to say goodbye. McCaughan delivers the message like a Romeo whose Juliet has moved to Frisco. He stands on the lawn singing his heart out to a second-story room where someone he cared for used to live.
Mac McCaughan – Bobby Jean (Bruce Springsteen cover)
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It seems that when he stripped everything away he stripped away the proper lyrics too.
I like this, it’s good, but don’t front on the Born in the U.S.A. version. give me a break!
Yeah, way to miff the lyrics (and chords!) on the air, guy. That said, at least he soldiers on… it would’ve been way worse had he stopped in the middle to find his place.
Also, IMO the only thing kind of weird about Bruce’s original version is the sax tone at the end. Doesn’t it sound more compressed and mechanical than usual?