To me at least, the most remarkable thing about Joe Slomp’s cover of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” isn’t how good it is (and it is damn good), it’s where it came from.
Listening to it, you’d think that Slomp was a habitue of a New York City jazz club, but Signor Slomp hails from Rome instead, and his version of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” can be found on For You, an overlooked 1995 Italian Springsteen tribute album full of daring arrangements of some of Bruce’s deepest cuts. They don’t all succeed, but the ones that do are both fresh and fantastic.
Slomp’s contribution is the standout track, a reinvention of Bruce’s 1975 classic that retains the swagger but dials up the funk. Let’s just say that in Slomp’s version, Bad Scooter doesn’t have to search very hard for his groove.
Take a listen below.
