The Springsteen Universe is alive and buzzing this morning.

The experts in this area tell me the new Bruce Springsteen album is a collection of cover of R&B classics and some lesser known songs. One of them, Dobie Gray’s “Soul Days.”

The title of album, experts say, is a cover of Jerry Butler’s “Only the Strong Survive.” I’d be happy to hear that since the documentary I made with Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker about classic R&B in 2002 had the same title.

Some other titles are said to include songs by the Four Tops, Jerry Butler, The Temptations, and Aretha Franklin. There’s said to be a cover of “What Becomes of the Broken Hearted,” as well that I can’t wait to hear. There’s also a cover of Frank Wilson’s “Do I Love You.” The only title I didn’t see was “Expressway to Your Heart,” which Bruce has famously performed many times (see below).

Bruce is a soul aficionado from day one. He loves Sam Moore of Sam & Dave, and Gary US Bonds. He’s put an R&B inflection into most of his songs, and of course the horn work by Clarence Clemons is legendary (and not too shabby by nephew Jake).

If all this pans out on November 11th it will make for a very happy holiday. What a nice gift while we wait for the big E Street Band album this winter, and the tour!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.