A benefit for two reasonably worthwhile charities, I got a copy of this 2003 CD the other day when TS1 wanted a book on how to prepare for puppies from Amazon. Wide variety of performers and groups represented on the two disk set, some more familiar to me than others. The same organization also hosts an annual benefit concert in New Jersey.
Here are my short takes on the contributions:
Disk 1
- Elliot Murphy – Better Days: Bland
- Valentine’s Day – Lucky 7: Nice C&W (alt country?) interpretation
- Crazysloth – Candy’s Room: First song on the album that really reached out and struck me by adding to the original. Who are these guys? The website says it’s the side project of Cracker leader Johnny Hickman. Really like it a lot.
- The Mystic Knights – Johnny 99: Nice rockabilly reading, very different than the Nebraska version, the guitar is really strong and reminds me of the nasty tone used in a lot of late ’70s/early ’80s LA area neo-rockabilly players
- Nils Lofgren – Man at the Top: Acoustic treat and the only contribution from a member of the E Street Band, very much in Nils’ style
- Cindy Bullens – If I Should Fall Behind: Bland C&W reading
- Matthew Ryan – Something in the Night: Umm, not really my taste but very interesting, ethereal version, closer to Eno than Bruce; really, really brings a complete focus to the lyrics, that’s for sure.
- Mike Rimbaud – Atlantic City: Really like the slap standup bass on this high energy take, singer nicely adds just a hint of the anger the lyrics express
- Sid Griffin – Highway Patrolman: Folkie, not my taste, nothing special to my ears
- Billy Bragg – Mansion on the Hill: Different than Springsteen in pace and instrumental tension, reminds me of the old post-Elvis Sun Records sound, and Bragg’s voice is one that invites you in.
- Joe D’Urso & Stone Caravan – Badlands: Lighter, semi-ska beat, too pop and upbeat for this dark tune
- Steve Wynn – State Trooper: Electronica without the dance beat, or at least twisted in that direction
- Gary Lucas’ Gods & Monsters – Ain’t Got You: Similarly odd as the Wynn take on the previous song, does nothing for me except the brush stroke drumming
- Jennifer Glass – Bobby Jean: I liked this fresh-voiced, uptempo country interpretation
- The Clarks – The River: A ’90s alt rocker mixing jangly electric and acoustic guitars, slightly off vocals and a much stronger beat. Nice.
- Marc Broussard – Back in Your Arms: First out and out R&B reading by this young Louisiana singer
- John Cafferty & the Beaver Brown Band – E Street Shuffle: These guys almost broke big behind Bruce on the success of their work on Eddie and the Cruisers but couldn’t quite reach the level lyrically (IMO) and sadly just came off as another imitation. Anyway, about the song. Cafferty still has a great voice and this is a terrific tune but the band doesn’t add too much here past a nice sax solo.
Disk 2
- Elvis Costello – Brilliant Disguise: Costello in his country jacket, if you like the fit you’ll like this track
- Pete Yorn – New York City Serenade: Have to say Yorn respects the semi-folkie style of some of Bruce’s early recorded work but this has never been a favorite of mine and this doesn’t change my opinion
- Graham Parker – Pink Cadillac: GP was definitely a singer I liked back in the day, the high school day, and I used to think of Local Girls as “my song” since I never dated girls from my own school. Here he gives us a barebones acoustic guitar and vocal take that shows his voice nicely.
- Garland Jeffreys – Streets of Philadelphia: Could be a karaoke recording of Jeffreys’ voice over the original Springsteen track.
- Jason Ringenberg – My Hometown: One of the leaders of the alt-country scene and that’s what he does here. Lots of accordian, horns and warbling vocals.
- Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers – Light of Day: These guys were big when I spent my freshman year at Carnegie Mellon—Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive was a personal favorite–but never broke out from the local scene, though Joe is a close friend of Bruce’s and they have made a lot of music together in the last few years. Nothing here to prefer over the Bruce or original soundtrack versions.
- Rosie Flores – Lucky Town: Another female country singer, nice but no excitement though the song can certainly go there
- Willie Nile – I’m on Fire: This guy almost popped out of the Elvis Costello/John Hiatt/Marshall Crenshaw school of nerdy folk-pop guitarist/singers 20-odd years ago. Almost. Very nice originalreverby guitar treatment of this short but dark tune.
- Kirk Kelly – Downbound Train: Ukelele! This is one of my favorite less-popular Bruce tunes and yet I cannot listen to Kelly’s version. Worse even than the nasty ukelele opening McCartney did to Something on Concert for George!
- Patty Griffin – Stolen Car: Sweet and sad, changing the original’s piano instrumentation for acoustic underpinning and some sort of electric/slide atmospheric add-on. Nice!
- Paradise Brothers – Souls of the Departed: Nice hard rock reading of a very obscure slow Bruce tune. Big surprise: Paradise Brothers are ScottKempner, ex-Dictators/Del-Lords and Neil Giraldo, guitarist, producer, songwriter, and husband of Pat Benatar. Does not sound like a Benatar song.
- Mark Wright – Two Hearts: English singer who’s opened a few times for Grushecky. Nothing interesting which is too bad because this is a beautiful song. Love to hear, say, the Finn Brothers give it a go.
- Graziani Romano – The Promise: A tough looking Italian guy, he does justice to this mid-70s concert favorite that prefigured Thunder Road and the Darkness album.
- Format – For You: Misses the urgency of the original, turned into a pop sweet
- Jesse Malin – Hungry Heart: A glam rocker whose vocals remind me of Terry Jacks on top of a cheap drum machine
- Tom Cochrane and Damhnait Doyle – Secret Garden: Cochrane was the lead singer of Canadian band Red Rider (Lunatic Fringe), Doyle is a young pretty with a sweet voice. Nice interpretation.
- Cowboy Mouth – Born to Run: New Orleans Punkers! Me likee!
- Joe Ely – Working on the Highway: Good choice for Ely, fits his style, but I missed the bass mixed too low most of the time.
The charities, by the way, are the Kristen Ann Carr Fund, which provides grants for cancer research and seeks to improve all aspects of cancer patient life with an emphasis on adolescents and young adults, and the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, a national non-profit organization devoted to education, advocacy, and the funding of research.
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