One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen
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Artist: Various Artists
Label: Capitol
Category: Music
Average customer rating:
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 2
UPC: 724385978029
EAN: 0724385978029
ASIN: B000002UOZ
Release Date: 1997-09-23 |
One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs Of Bruce Springsteen
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Tracks:
- Something In The Night - Aram
- Downbound - The Smithereens
- Atlantic City - Kurt Neumann
- Jackson Cage - John Wesley Harding
- Wreck On The Highway - Nils Lofgren
- Johnny 99 - John Hiatt
- Seeds - Dave Alvin
- Light Of Day - Joe Grushecky & The House Rockers
- Darkness On The Edge Of Town - Martin Zeller
- Janey, Don't You Lose Heart - Mrs. Fun/Tina & The B-Side Movement
- All Or Nothin' At All - Marshall Crenshaw
- Meeting Across The River - Syd Straw
- 4th Of July, Asbury Park - Ben E. King
- One Step Up - Paul Cebar
Tracks:
- Don't Look Back - The Knack
- Protection - Donna Summer
- Human Touch - Joe Cocker
- Stolen Car - Elliot Murphy
- It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City - David Bowie
- Restless Nights - The Rocking Chairs
- Guilty - Robbin Thompson
- Tiger Rose - Sonny Burgess
- Love's On The Line - Gary U.S. Bonds
- Savin' Up - Clarence Clemons & The Red Bank Rockers
- The Fever - Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
- Seaside Bar Song - Little Bob Story
- If I Was A Priest - Allan Clarke
- Streets Of Philadelphia - Richie Havens
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Customer Reviews:
I got a kick out of this one.......2004-07-26
This two CD compilation makes for an interesting package. One Step Up is a collection of new (1997) covers of Springsteen tunes. Two Steps Back is older covers recorded by a variety of artists over the years (the earliest from 1974.) Each set has some high points worth a listen and more than a few clunkers. The fun of this type of collection is that Springsteen's songs can hold up to different arrangements and occasionally someone makes these songs their own.
One Step Up:
The good ones-
Okay, time for a sacrilege. I think John Wesley Harding's cover of "Jackson Cage" beats Springsteen's. He seems to capture the pain and suffering so much better by stripping the song down to its basic elements.
John Hiatt- Totally rocks "Johnny 99." This is why I buy these things. Some artists can really make these songs into something brand new.
Dave Alvin- I really like the reason he chose "Seeds." He makes it work.
Joe Grushecky- Has a lot of fun with one of Springsteen's minor tunes "Light of Day."
Marshall Crenshaw- "All or Nothin' At All" Puts a little rockabilly swing to it and it works just fine.
Ben E. King- I never would have put this song with this singer. I'm glad they did.
Misfires-
While I wouldn't say I hated anything on this CD; there are a few errors in judgment. Syd Straw's vocals on "Meeting Across the River" just does not convince me. Did she listen to the lyrics? Martin Zellar shouldn't have aped Springsteen so much on "Darkness," and I'm not really sure what Mrs. Fun was shooting for on "Janey, Don't you lose Heart," but if it was "lounge singer" version they achieved it.
Two Steps Back:
The good ones-
Elliot Murphy- does a nice job on "Stolen Car," adding a wistful quality to the vocal that Springsteen doesn't quite achieve on the original.
Robbin Thompson- Throwing in a rocking Gospel sound and a decent instrumental break, Thompson just kicks it on "Guilty."
Southside Johnny- Just as good as the Boss himself, with those Miami Horns raising the heat even higher.
Richie Havens- "Streets of Philadelphia" is a perfect fit for his particular talents.
The rest is OK; ranging from the bizarre (Bowie on "Saint in The City") to the curious (Covers by France's Little Bob Story and Italy's Rocking Chairs) Even The Knack don't embarrass themselves. The only truly terrible song here is the "Disco Bruce" of Donna Summer. Man, this one's just painful.
It's a mixed bag like all compilations, but I'm glad I got it.
It's A Springsteen Summer!.......2004-06-16
I LOVE Bruce! He is the best. No one has really mentioned this though: The most interesting cover on this collection is Protection by Donna Summer with Bruce on guitar and background vocals. There's supposed to be a duet of this with the two of them, which I think must have been killer. In any case, it makes you wonder what future collaborations between the two could bring about. WOW!
Bruce Lite, which can be a good thing.......2003-12-14
Bruce is Bruce and obviously I love Bruce or I wouldn't have bought this thing. It's just very interesting to hear these versions of some of the smaller elephants in Bruce's zoo.
Almost every song here the vocals pull back from Springsteen's vocal approach, which is so often self-conscious and self-important.
It's a little breath of fresh air.
I can't believe nobody else mentioned Nils' version of "Wreck on the Highway". So far, it's the most arresting thing here.
On a side note: who are these people?
I don't know who "Aram" is but he does a superb version of "Something in the Night". Really turns the song inside out, but it's still completely the same song.
Anyway, there's a lot of good stuff here. All in all, it's more like a 3.5 than 4.
Interesting revisitation.......2003-03-19
I looked over the reviews of this CD, and I am surprised that the version of Darkness is not mentioned. Nor is the Smithereens version of Downbound Train. These are my favorites. I don't know who that is singing Darkness, but it is a standout on this CD. Worth the price just on its own. And there is plenty of other music contained within this CD. I'm listening to it right now, and I can tell you that I listen to it over and over.
Springsteen fans and just good Rock and Roll fans get this one.
Springsteen is a great storyteller and this will allow you to listen to his stories from another perspective. Excellent.
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