A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen

As a Springsteen fan I tend to be wary of covers of his songs, some of the artists should be charged for killing his songs!

This MusiCare tribute concert is an evening of top rank artists doing cover versions of the Boss's songs. Some are better than others. By the end of the concert Springsteen & the E Street band join the stage to go through some of his hits such as 'We Take Care of Our Own', 'Death to My Hometown', 'Thunder Road', 'Born to Run' and 'Glory Days.

The first act is the Alabama Shakes who play a storming version of 'Adam raised a Cain' followed by Patti Smith with the iconic 'Because the Night.'

There are a few clunkers though, not sure if the odd artist concerned rehearse the song enough. Although primarily aimed at Bruce fans you cannot help noticing that Bruce is genuinely touched by the all star turnout.

It helps having Jon Stewart as the host for the evening who cracks some nice jokes such as the adopted New Jersey State song is all about getting the hell out of New Jersey!

A MusiCares Tribute to Bruce Springsteen (2014)

**** (out of 4)

If you're a fan of Bruce Springsteen then you're certainly going to love this tribute concert. Of course, there's nothing like hearing Springsteen actually doing the singing but the all-star line up here is certainly wonderful and I can honestly say that there's not a single weak performance, which is very rare for these type of tribute shows. For starters, the film gets off to a rocking start with Alabama Shakes doing "Adam Raised a Cain" and then we get Patti Smith doing, you guessed it, "Because the Night." From here there's one big artist after another including Jackson Browne doing a very good, slowed down version of "American Skin," Emmylou Harris doing "My Hometown" and Kenny Chesney doing an excellent take on "One Step Up," which is in my opinion one of Springsteen's most underrated songs. Elton John barely makes it through "Streets of Philadelphia" as he pretty much breaks down during the first few verses but he turns it into a very touching and memorable tribute. John Legend offers up a piano version of "Dancing in the Dark" that actually works and Mumford & Sons does good with "I'm on Fire." The highlight from the tributes has to be Neil Young & Crazy Horse going on a full blast attack during "Born in the U.S.A.." It doesn't matter if you're a Springsteen or Young fan, this performance simply rocks. After his speech, Springsteen picks up the guitar on strong versions of "We Take Care of Our Own," "Death to My Hometown," "Thunder Road," "Born to Run" and "Glory Days."