Springsteen Includes Johnny Rivers Cover on Massive Archival Box Set

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Jul 092025
 
springsteen johnny rivers

Much has been made about Bruce Springsteen‘s new boxed set Tracks II, which includes seven previously unreleased albums recorded throughout his career. And while the box is fascinating and wonderful for all sorts of reasons, there’s only one reason we’d talk about in these pages. In the 83 songs, only one is a cover: Johnny Rivers‘ “Poor Side of Town.”

The cover appears on the Somewhere North of Nashville album, which was recorded in 1995, in some of the same sessions that produced The Ghost of Tom Joad. Though, Springsteen’s version of the song would also have fit quite nicely on Western Stars or the newly released Twilight Hours. Continue reading »

Imaginary People Delivers Upbeat Guitar-Rock Cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “State Trooper”

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Jul 022025
 
imaginary people state trooper cover

Just last month, Bruce Springsteen confirmed the existence of at least part of Electric Nebraska. (This is after denying it existed in an interview earlier in the month.) What is Electric Nebraska? It’s the fabled full E Street Band version of Springsteen‘s legendary solo acoustic album Nebraska. Nobody is yet sure if these songs will make it to the third edition of the rarities collection Tracks, which is due out in the next few years.

Just in time for this announcement, New York indie rockers Imaginary People have released an electric cover of “State Trooper” ahead of their third album coming in September. “State Trooper’ is one of the deeper cuts on the album, though it has more cover versions than you’d think. In its original version, it’s just Springsteen and his guitar, with none of the overdubs present on some of the other songs.

Imaginary People begin with a new electric guitar riff and fast-paced drums. Lead singer Dylan Von Wagner sings Springsteen’s lyrics with a frenetic, vaguely post-punky tremor occasionally punctuated with yelps inspired by the original performance. More guitars come in before everything but the bass drops out for part of one of the verses. The various instruments slowly come back in to build to a guitar solo. Then there’s another break, this time with bass and guitar before another instrumental crescendo. Springsteen’s original doesn’t have an ending it just fades out, so the band use this final jam as their ending.

It’s very classically New York guitar rock, not something most of us think of when we hear Springsteen, especially acoustic Springsteen. And though Imaginary People couldn’t have known it when they recorded this cover, it’s excellent timing on their part now that it’s possible an E Street Band version of this song exists and could potentially be released in the future. Of course, it will sound nothing like this, but that’s one thing that makes this cover enjoyable.

Listen below:

The Best Cover Songs of May 2025

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Jun 022025
 
Best Cover Songs of May
Chewy Rodriguez — Wildest Dreams (Taylor Swift cover)

This beautiful performance aired on South Dakota Public Broadcasting and, as of this writing, has 81 views, half of which are mine. (To be fair, presumably more people saw it when it aired on actual TV). But this Sioux Falls singer-songwriters beautiful Taylor Swift cover deserves a far bigger audience. It’s simply done, no frills or gimmicks, but he sells the hell out of it. Continue reading »

Cover Me Q&A: What is your favorite cover of a deep cut?

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May 142025
 

Welcome to Cover Me Q&A, where we take your questions about cover songs and answer them to the best of our ability.

cover of instrumental

Here at Cover Me Q&A, we’ll be taking questions about cover songs and giving as many different answers as we can. This will give us a chance to hold forth on covers we might not otherwise get to talk about, to give Cover Me readers a chance to learn more about individual staffers’ tastes and writing styles, and to provide an opportunity for some back-and-forth, as we’ll be taking requests (learn how to do so at feature’s end).

Today’s question, courtesy of staffer Hope Silverman:

What is your favorite cover of a deep cut?

Continue reading »

Review: Kathleen Edwards’ ‘Covers’

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Apr 182025
 

You can’t get a more direct than Covers, Kathleen Edwards’ newest short LP/long EP. It lets you know exactly what you got, even before you press play. That is commendable, but then Edwards has never been much for one to conceal her thoughts or her situation. This Canadian singer supreme has had a rocky old trail over the past decade or two, since electing to step away from critical acclaim in 2014, after four well-received albums of polished country and roots-derived songmanship.

The Ottawa coffee shop Edwards subsequently opened and ran was called “Quitters.” That might have been a self-deprecating jibe in name, but it was only later she revealed her then battle with depression had led to her tactical withdrawal from the music business. She returned to music in 2020, we all know what then came along to wreak worldwide havoc. This is her second release since her return, and her first since COVID lockdown and her eventual sale of Quitters.

The eight songs on Covers are a good mix of the likely and the unexpected, broadly drawn from Edwards’ fellow ranks of singer-songwriters. Springsteen, Petty and Pride are among the former, but songs from The Flaming Lips and Supertramp get a turn also. With backing of electric guitars, keyboards, occasional strings and a rhythm section, Edwards sings and plays acoustic. Greg Leisz and Scott Thurston are two of the accompaniments dropping by, on guitars and bass, respectively, each a sign of her esteem amongst peers.
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