Check Out: The Hold Steady’s “Atlantic City” (Bruce Springsteen Cover)
Well, it’s February. We’re in the heart of winter now, and with the Super Bowl over, things are starting to look pretty grey. So what can we look forward to this month, besides the Oscars and some festival announcements? For starters, both compilations, Heroes and Dark Was The Night hit shelves this month. Both have been leaking awesome song after awesome song in preparation for each respective release, so much so that it seems they are trying to outdo one another.
Another such song has made its way into the public eye prior to the February 16th release of Heroes. This time, it’s from The Hold Steady. If you’re not familiar with the way this compilation works, 16 classic rock artists individually chose a favorite song from their own catalogues and a newer favorite band to cover the said song. Bruce Springsteen was one of these artists. Understandably, he chose The Hold Steady to take on his Nebraska classic “Atlantic City”. That they did.
Whereas the original was a stripped down acoustic ballad, The Hold Steady certainly spice it up. Essentially, they Springsteenize a Springsteen song. Adding in a signature Clarence Clemens-like sax section, Craig Finn and his friends play “Atlantic City” as if it were on Born to Run. I can’t say I favor this new take, being a huge fan of the original track, but it is interesting to see how a band who sounds like The Boss makes a Springsteen song sound more like a Springsteen song than an actual Springsteen song. Too much of a mouthful? Check it out:
Be sure to get a copy of Heroes when it hits stores on the 16th.
i thought that sequestered in Memphis song sounded like Bruce, i figured being from Brooklyn they were Bruce fans
Is it just me, or does Craig Finn pronounce it “Awanic City.” This is okay…seems a bit all over the place, or quite sure where they want to go with it. Springsteen does his own anthem version w/ the E Street Band that I like better.