Racing in the Street is my favorite Bruce Springsteen song.
It is a ballad written by Bruce Springsteen and was originally released on his album Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978). The song has been called Springsteen’s best song by a number of commentators.
“…And “Racing in the Streets” is still perhaps the best Springsteen song ever.”
– Rolling Stone magazine
Here are 5 covers, all very expressive, all good.
Emmylou Harris:
Emmylou has covered several Springsteen songs and she always do them justice.
Rodney Crowell plays Bob Dylan – Happy Birthday Mr. Crowell!
Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album Diamonds & Dirt. He has also written songs and produced for other artists. He was influenced by songwriters Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. Crowell played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris’ “Hot Band”.
He is one of my favourite artists, no matter what genre we’re talking about. I saw him with Emmylou Harris a few weeks ago, one of the best concerts I’ve seen this year! He doesn’t get the recognition he deserves, he is one of the finest songwriters around today.
From his album, The Outsider (2005) with Emmylou, Shelter from the storm:
“My Back Pages” written by Bob Dylan and included on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan. It is stylistically similar to his earlier folk protest songs and features Dylan’s voice with an acoustic guitar accompaniment. However, its lyrics—in particular the refrain”Ah, but I was so much older then/I’m younger than that now”—have been interpreted as a rejection of Dylan’s earlier personal and political idealism, illustrating his growing disillusionment with the 1960’s folk protest movement with which he was associated, and his desire to move in a new direction. Although Dylan wrote the song in 1964, he did not perform it live until 1978.
“…But this sped-up Ramones cover of one of Dylan’s finest is delivered without a hint of irony. Every bit as simultaneously nostalgic and forward-looking as the original, it does what most punk covers of non-punk songs fail to do—it pays genuine heartfelt tribute to the original.”
– Paste Magazine
The Ramones recorded My Back Pages for the album Acid Eaters:
“Tearing through a bunch of psychedelic and garage rock classics from the 1960s, the Ramones regain much of the fun and abandon of earlier records, making Acid Eaters easily their best record in a decade; the guest appearances of Pete Townshend (“Substitute”) and ex-porn star Traci Lords (“Somebody to Love”) help make the record a blast.”
– Allmusic
Punk and Bob Dylan is a match made in heaven, angry music to angry words!
Happy birthday Tony Joe White (born July 23, 1943, Oak Grove, Louisiana, United States).
Here are two covers of Bob Dylan songs.
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
With his wife and five children
And his cabin fallin’ down
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
Your children are so hungry
That they don’t know how to smile
)