Hello, and welcome to
Where I add one more batch of steaming hot takes onto a large pile that has been accumulating since the album leaked and reviews popped up 3 weeks ago.
Preface
This review will consist mostly of notes I jotted down while listening to the album for the first time, though a bit expanded idea wise if that makes sense. I listened to the high-res 24/96 version from HDTracks, which was definitely a step up from the singles on streaming in the lead up to this albums release.
Except in the case of the title track, I am completely unfamiliar with the original songs. Intro:
This is a weird one for me. When it was first reported back in August that Bruce was going to release an album of soul covers, I will admit I was a bit puzzled. To be fair, Bruce has been a bit all over in the past couple years. From a broadway show, to a western album, then a new E Street album. There really wasn’t any telling what was next from him.
I’ll be honest, I didn’t believe it fully. While it didn’t sound too far-fetched to be an obvious April-fool’s joke, it did seem a little odd. But this was just a rumor at the time. Bruce’s camp was stone quiet about it, and we weren’t getting any official word on the rumors. So, for the meantime, it was just smoke.
Of course, like most fires started by idiots in dry California forests, the smoke only grew from here. Seeing as we only had “Bruce will release a soul covers album” to go off of, expectations grew for what would be on it. I was expecting stuff like: Soul Man, Knock on Wood, etc. Basically, things he has covered in the past.
About a month and a half later, our first official word came in. A teaser was posted on Bruce’s twitter on Sept. 28, essentially confirming the rumor of an album of soul covers. It confirmed the following songs: Do I Love You (Jerry Butler), Turn Back the Hands of Time (Tyrone Davis), Soul Days (Dobie Gray), and Nightshift (The Commodores). The next day, we got a video for “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)”, and confirmation on tracklisting (verifying the leaked one). And a November 11th release date.
Every 2 weeks we’d get a new single drop along with a music video with a band miming to the backing track: Nightshift, Don’t Play the Song, and Turn Back the Hands of Time.
Oh, and the album leaked 3 weeks before release. But I waited until release day to hear the album in whole (plus waited to get my hands on a higher quality copy).
And that is a brief history leading us to November 11th.
Below I’ll go song by song, as mentioned these notes were mostly jotted down on my phone while listening.
Song Thoughts
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Only the Strong Survive: okay, backing is good, his vocals are kinda weird with the phrasing and timing as compared to the original. (7/10)
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Soul Days (feat: Sam Moore): immediately much better on vocals, horns great, I thought Sam would be a bit more “separated” in mix (think Bobby King on Roll of the Dice). Sam is more audible only on outro, fades out too quick on the call and response. (8/10).
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Nightshift: I prefer to original, doesn’t sound as “dated” as original. The horn hits after “talk to me” give me life. Great mix. (8.5/10)
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Do I Love You: Far too short, especially as the only single to listen to for 2 weeks. Good overall. (7/10)
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The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore: I love what he is doing with his voice on this one, he’s singing lower than he usually does. Reminds me of the Righteous Bros “you’ve lost that loving feelin”. I also love the trumpet intro. (9/10)
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Turn Back the Hands of Time: strings are great on this one, same with keys. Vocals sound a bit “forced” (see last song for the opposite example). Guitar part is great. Sounds like a song Southside would cover (8/10)
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When She Was My Girl: intro immediately reminds me of the Shaft theme song. Vocals are much better for the most part, with some exceptions where he sounds like he goes bit too far vocally. Not quite straining, but there is difference from the “ease” he has on the verses, and then his voice on parts like “she’s gone” and “there was laughter and loving”. (7.5/10)
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Western Union Man: as mentioned, the vocals are best when he sings in a lower range and doesn’t “strain” as much. Instrumental great. (8/10)
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I Wish It Would Rain: backing vocals work excellently, great high note on “eases the pain”. I did not expect the rain sound effect towards the end. (8.5/10)
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Don’t Play that Song: horns great right outta the gate. The crowd intro is odd. Vocal is a tad weak in spots, but mostly solid. (6.5/10)
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Any Other Way: I love when the horns are kickin right out of the intro. There’s an odd difference between the vocals in the verses and then the title of the song. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Just something I noticed. The bass is matching the kick drum and I like the sound of the two together. (8/10)
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I Forgot to be Your Lover: i love the bass on this. the opening guitar bit is going to bother me because I can’t place where I’ve heard it before (never heard the original). The backing singer (Sam Moore) on this is great. Bruce’s voice is great on this “sorry, so sorry”. (8.5/10)
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7 Rooms of Gloom: cooking IMMEDIATELY right outta the gate. no other notes. (9/10)
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What Becomes of the Brokenhearted: I like the backing vocals in the left channel. The mix is fairly left-sided, there’s a lot on the center and left channels, where the right channel is percussion. Great vocals. (7.5/10)
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Someday We’ll Be Together: the intro strings were unexpected. I like the intro being instrumental and backing vocals for like 45 seconds. definitely works as a “final song” on an album. The sound just leads like that, I can’t explain what makes a song sound like an “ending”. his long note on “cry” is great. The only song where the fade out feels natural. (8/10)
General Thoughts and Nitpicks
Overall, this isn’t a bad collection of songs. He definitely did better going the “road less travelled” path, by picking not super well-known songs. Rather than just covering the big hits and leaving it at that. I think it’s a better album by going the former route, rather than the latter. Of course, as an album of covers, they’re going to be directly compared against the originals and criticized heavily based solely on “well it isn’t as good as the original”. There’s no getting around that aspect of it.
For the format, all of these are mostly direct covers. They were recreated pretty much exactly, but with an ear towards modern audio standards. The mixes are definitely “fuller” than the originals, with the backing tracks providing a better “cushion” for the vocals to sit on top of. They benefit from having a wider soundscape to work in (See ‘Do I Love You’). Bruce is pretty squarely in the center of the mix, with the instruments being under him. And different parts like the horns, backing vocals, and percussion occasionally drifting out to the further stereo fields on either side.
Now, I’m coming from the perspective of not being terribly familiar with the source material (again, with the exception of the title track by Jerry Butler). So, I’m going in completely fresh listening to this album. I’m taking the album on its own merits.
As an album, it’s well executed. It is fairly clear that this album is a showcase for Bruce’s voice, he mentions this during the announcement video released with the first single. No complaints there, 95% of the time he knocks it out of the park, with the minor exception of some times where he strains his voice a bit or delves into “scream-y”/strained singing. (See parts of “When She Was My Girl”, and “Hands of Time”.)
On songs like “Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine”, “Western Union Man”, and “Brokenhearted” are where his best vocal performances lay. For the first 2 he drops down a bit to a deeper voice and it sounds more natural.
With the vocals out of the way, let’s get to the instrumentals. I’m a sucker for horns on any music and they kill it on these tracks. I love the trumpet that opens “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine”. The string section is a great addition to these tracks (Note: which was on many of the original songs, but they sound better here). As mentioned, the songs benefit from having a “wider” soundscape than some of the originals couldn’t have (usually due to the recording tech at the time). It’s much easier to place things anywhere in the stereo-field in the modern era so to speak.
Now we get to the rest, which for the most part is a solo Ron Aniello contribution. He gets 11 instrumental credits alone, basically playing everything that isn’t a horn, a string instrument, or a vocal chord (with the exception of a background vocal credit, I’m not sure where but I’ll guess in the ‘Don’t Play the Song’ crowd intro). Though, after a bit, you start to question “why?”.
Let me explain. I’ll preface by saying that Ron is in no way a bad musician, he’s obviously very talented and I don’t want this to appear like I’m shitting on him.
While yes, this wasn’t ever likely to be an E Street Band project, I’m still scratching my head as to why Ron is a one-man backing band almost. This is a Bruce Springsteen project after all, there’s probably hundreds of musicians (session players or otherwise) who would basically trip over themselves at the chance to play on any Bruce album.
In my opinion, this album would have definitely benefited from having other musicians or session players on it. Other than the horns and singers (many of which are usual collaborators with Bruce), and Sam Moore. It’s nearly entirely Ron. And, as mentioned, he’s not bad at any individual part, just not that great. Especially on the drumming more than anything, its just serviceable in many places. I will give Ron credit on the guitar part of When She Was My Girl and I Forgot to be Your Lover, I love the funky tone on the guitar on both.
Note: I believe it’s him, though it might be Bruce, I can’t find any individual song credits at the moment.
Knowing he’s on everything kind of adds to the “assembly line” feel I get listening to some of these songs. I mean more that everything is overdubbed on top since it’s a one-man band. It makes it feel more constructed rather than natural.
Compare this with the last album “Letter to You”, which was recorded with the E Street Band live, the way they used to back in the day. Sure, there are some guitar overdubs by Bruce, but for the most part, it’s a tape of the band in flight. Which worked great for E Street on that album.
And, I think this album could have benefited from an approach like that. I have no problem with overdubs, sometimes they’re necessary or add something that couldn’t be done originally. But in the case of OTSS, it seems like a solution to a problem they created. This album could have taken some notes from LTY. Get a bunch of top-notch session musicians and record it with the band in flight. Record it so it sounds like it’s skillfully balancing the tightrope between working and falling off the tracks horrifically, without a net if you will. I feel like it would have worked toward the benefit of this album.
Hell, go all the way and record it to tape like they did back on the originals. Fully recreate the recording setups too, why not? (Note: this is a bad idea).
Also, many of the fade outs on the tracks aren’t great, like they don’t feel natural. The music behind isn’t winding down, it’s simply a longer take and they cut it and start the fade out too early, like they’re just trying to get the song over with as quick as possible. It even cuts out a bit of the call and response between Bruce and Sam on Soul Days.
Another thing is how exactly these covers match the originals. Which isn’t a bad thing. But I wish they went with a different approach. Just being a cover doesn’t mean it has to follow the original note-for-note. Look at Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower” (originally by Bob Dylan), or Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” (originally by Nine Inch Nails). They both cover the originals, but also do their own thing and re-imagine the songs.
Now, I’m not saying Bruce should have gone as far as Jimi did (I basically consider his version a different song, and also a much better one). Or entirely recast the song like Johnny did. I just think there is a different way these tracks could have gone. If Bruce took the songs and stayed true to them but also made them his own. Or if he decided to stray just a bit from exact recreations.
Again, it’s a fine line, but I’m sure he could have pulled it off.
Conclusion
I’d like to mention one more time, this is not a bad album by any means. For all my nitpicking, I like many of the songs on the album. I just think the concept had wasted potential it could have executed. I think it would have benefited from session players or other musicians and a willingness to stray a bit from perfectly recreating the songs note-for-note. Though, taking it at face value, its a great collection of songs. And, for what it sets out to do, it passes that goal with flying colors.
Favorite songs: Nightshift, Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine, Western Union Man, I Wish It Would Rain, Any Other Way, I Forgot to Be Your Lover, 7 Rooms of Gloom, What Becomes of the Broken Hearted.