On November 11th, Bruce Springsteen released Only the Strong Survive, a covers album on which he reinterprets American soul classics. Apparently, the record is already the second attempt by the “boss” to record a cover album. “I recorded an entire album that I discarded,” Springsteen said in an interview. “It’s going to show up in a few other places.”
“There was some good stuff on it, but it just didn’t feel quite right,” Springsteen explained in an interview with journalist Edith Bowman. The full conversation will be published on YouTube in a few days, the site has already published in advance “exclaim.ca” some snippets. For example, Springsteen talks about the difficulty of recording covers: “It was very difficult in the beginning. I was selecting material and I was like, ‘It’s hard to sing someone else’s songs and make them sound authentic and like they’re coming out of you.’”
Very excited to share my chat with@springsteenwith you.. be available on my@YouTubechannel in the next few days x https://t.co/HjxwUs4f1f
— edith bowman (@edibow) November 13, 2022
The impetus for a soul album finally came when Springsteen stumbled upon “Do I Love You,” a relatively unknown song by Frank Wilson. “I wanted to try that, and my producer, Ron Aniello, put the track together, and the track was really good, really strong. I said, ‘Okay, if I can match Frank Wilson’s vocal range, I’ll try.'”
The song inspired Springsteen to venture into more soul songs. “I said to myself maybe I’ll gravitate towards soul because that’s how I was raised. All my big mentors have been soul musicians, Sam Moore, and of course James Brown, Smokey Robinson as a writer,” Springsteen said. “And the great singers David Ruffin, Levi Stubbs, all masters. They were all my masters and I said alright let me try to sing some of that material.”
In all, Springsteen worked on 40 songs, 15 of which ended up on the album. “I’ve gotten a lot better at picking them, but in the beginning it was a process of trial and error, ‘What am I good at singing?'” Springsteen said. “I think mostly the record is joyful and it’s a lot of fun and it’s a nod, a tribute to, like I said, all my mentors and masters, all these great records and great productions.”