A riff in search of a song, both “Tonight” and “Break My Heart” point the way to an underappreciated Tracks outtake.
Author:
Ken Rosen (2080)
One time only: Bruce joins Roy Orbison on one of Roy’s earliest and most influential hits.
Ken Tizzard of The Watchmen contributed a deeply empathic cover of “Devils and Dust” to a Newfoundland radio station’s Springsteen tribute.
Bruce calls it “an annoying fan favorite” and certainly not one of his. But in this blogger’s opinion, “The Fever” is one of the E Street Band’s finest moments on record.
One time only (that was captured, at least): Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band take a break from rehearsing new Darkness Tour songs with an impromptu cover of The Yardbirds’ classic “Heart Full of Soul.”
One time only: Bruce stands in for Bono at a surprise World AIDS Day benefit concert in Times Square, in a callback to the band’s famous 1987 video.
Southern rocker Rod Melancon perfectly translates “57 Channels” to the stage without losing the original’s dystopian, alienated spirit.
Dripping in symbolism and gorgeous imagery, “Moonlight Motel” is lyrically Bruce Springsteen’s best song. Full stop.
One time only: watch Bruce perform a re-written cover of a classic Percy Sledge hit.
Bruce surprised a literal hometown crowd by dropping by the opening of a new exhibit dedicated to his early life.