Bruce Springsteen fans decide on The Boss’ best cover songs of the last twenty-five years

Bruce Springsteen fans are deciding on The Boss’ best cover songs, and have pointed out tracks from Prince to Bob Dylan.

With a wide berth of songs from the last twenty-five years to choose from, many selections came from previous tours by The Boss and The E Street Band. Taking to r/BruceSpringsteen with their suggestions, fans of the legendary songwriter have shared plenty of recommended listening experiences. A post to the subreddit reads: “What’s Bruce’s best new cover of the 2000s? What’s Bruce’s best cover song that he started doing after around 2000? Not the Detroit Medley, Twist & Shout or other covers that he has been doing since forever, but songs he started covering in the last 25 years or so.”

One user suggested: “Purple Rain.” Another replied: “Saw him perform it live!” A third added: “Me too, second night at Barclays Center, Brooklyn NY. Think April 25, 2016.” Others fondly remembered their own experiences with the song, with another user adding: “I saw him open with it night one, and it was amazing. I was expecting Bruce to do something to honour Prince but I never would have expected him to open with Prince’s signature song of all things and knock it out.”

Another tribute cover from Springsteen was tipped by fans, who say his nod to Shane McGowan on tour last year was one of his best performances. They wrote: “I loved his cover of Rainy Night in Soho that he played at his Irish gigs last year, in tribute to Shane McGowan.”

A second user replied: “Love Nick Cave’s version from the funeral didn’t know this existed thanks.” A third added: “This! I was at Kilkenny and he opened with it, it’s the earliest Bruce has made me cry! I guess he wanted his first song on Irish soil since Shane’s passing to be a Shane song as I believe they played it at the end of the Dublin shows?”

What's Bruce's Best New Cover of the 2000s?
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Another has pointed to the Devil’s & Dust tour of 2006, where Springsteen would often play a cover of Dream Baby Dream by electro-punk band Suicide. One user wrote: “I have always enjoyed Dream Baby Dream, but offhand I don’t know how much it has been played live.” A second added that Springsteen played the song seven times on tour, adding: “He started playing it right at the end of the High Hopes tour.”

Some were left stunned by Springsteen’s work on Only the Strong Survive, and having the chance to hear his cover of Nighshift has split fans. One wrote: “Nightshift is pretty good. I think it’s the best off of the soul album.” Another added: “Not my favourite song, and I didn’t really care for the soul album but it was incredible hearing it live.

“They took that song to a whole new level. Made me want to hear them do all the songs off of the soul album live.” Another shared their hopes of hearing the Only the Strong Survive material live too, adding: “My favourite recent cover of his is The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore from Only The Strong Survive. Not sure if he ever did it live, but his cover of it is phenomenal. Especially the vocals.”