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

Bruce Springsteen first recorded Nebraska with the full E Street Band. Known as “electric Nebraska,” it’s the holy grail for Boss collectors. Why? Because he threw out all those recordings and released the album using his solo demos instead. The bare-bones disc contains the songs and little else, inviting cover embellishment.

Take “Atlantic City.” The original features a double-tracked Bruce strumming on guitar. A nice enough performance, but not one that gives you much to grab onto. The covers, though, morphed the tune into a Springsteen classic. The Band brought in a mandolin hoedown. The Hold Steady blasted forth with some horn-infused rock and roll. Now Kingsbury comes along to bridge the gap. What starts as an acoustic strum gradually adds violin and tasteful synthesizer (it exists). It feels like it’s about to explode, but never quite boils over. Continue reading »