Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

More than a few eyebrows were raised when word got out that Bruce Springsteen would release an album of traditional folk and protest songs, most of them popularized in the late 50s and early 60s by Pete Seeger. And I mean traditional -- we're talkin' "Erie Canal," "Froggy Went A-Courtin'" and "Eyes On The Prize" here. What a wonderful relief it was, then, to hear the results of these sessions, for which Bruce invited a bunch of crack New York musicians -- including banjo, fiddle and accordian players -- out to his New Jersey farm for what amounted to a flat-out hootenany. While it's a far cry from any material that Bruce would have written, or that you've ever heard him cover before, there's no denying that this is some of the most joyous, exuberant music the man has made in years, and it's hard not to break into a big smile when you listen to it. "John Henry" is a raucous romp, "Pay Me My Money Down" sounds like an outtake from The Basement Tapes, and "Mary, Don't You Weep" would fit right into the Sunday service at the A.M.E. church next door to my house. And throughout, the Boss sounds like he's having himself a ball. If you don't like this, then you just don't like good old American music.

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD: How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?, and consider it a bonus track. This song isn't actually on the album (unless you buy the special edition that was released months later). It was added to the repertoire when Bruce hit the road for a tour with this band, and after Bruce, with the government's inept response to the Katrina disaster fresh in his mind and a trip to Jazz Fest on the horizon, re-worked the lyrics in the third and fourth verses a bit. I offer it here because I think it's the very best thing Bruce did with the Seeger Sessions Band, they played the hell out it every night, and -- for those of you who still don't know what this project sounds like -- it's still very representative of the wonderful music on the album. This recording is from a May 10, 2006 performance at St. Luke's in London that was broadcast by the BBC.