Bruce Springsteen's "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" is nothing short of brilliant! He is perfectly suited to take this body of music and interpret it in a refreshing, authentically American way.
Songs lost to my childhood are again filling my heart: "Mrs McGrath," "Erie Canal," "John Henry," " Froggie Went A Courtin'"! And the title version of "We Shall Overcome" brought me to tears.
The songs are fun, sing-a-long-able, and orchestrated to reflect a range of American musical traditions. There's the banjo led hoe-down version of "Old Dan Tucker," the sea shanty lylt of the violins in "Mrs. McGrath" with it's irrestible chorus "too-ri-aa, fol-did-dle-di-aa" repeated until you have to get up and dance a jig inspite of yourself!, and "O Mary Don't You Weep's" Acadian fiddle and Bourbon Street brass--combined with Springsteen's rough, grinding vocal interpretation and the African American chorus in the background, you walk away from this song knowning you've been to church.
Run, don't walk, and get this one!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment