Bruce Springsteen: Only the Strong Survive, album review — good-humoured performance toes the line

Bruce Springsteen names his covers albums as though they were wrestling matches. The first was We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, which came out in 2006. It set him loose on traditional songs popularised by folk revival leader Pete Seeger. Springsteen hollered them with a twang in his voice and gleam in his eye. The music was a spirited knees-up involving fiddles, banjos and horns, with a sprinkling of stardust. They were too sturdy to be overcome, these old-timey classics from yesteryear, but they sounded proud as punch.

Only the Strong Survive is Springsteen’s second covers album. This time he has turned his attention to soul music. There are 15 songs, mostly from the 1960 and 1970s. The title track was originally a hit for the singer Jerry Butler in 1969. It is a classic of Philly soul, the sophisticated style that emerged in Philadelphia at a time when Springsteen was cutting his teeth in the bars and clubs of New Jersey’s rock circuit. “Only the strong survive!” he cries in his affectionately faithful rendition. No attempt is made to wrestle the song from Philly to Asbury Park.

The Seeger Sessions sought to reinvigorate its source material but Only the Strong Survive takes a respectfully nostalgic approach. Arrangements are beefed or tidied up but not reimagined. Springsteen is joined by his touring brass section the E Street Horns, a string section, and backing vocalists. His co-producer Ron Aniello plays a number of instruments. A distinguished guest also turns up — Sam Moore, former member of the classic soul duo Sam & Dave.

Moore joins Springsteen on Dobie Gray’s “Soul Days” and William Bell’s “I Forgot to Be Your Lover”. The 87-year-old is in good voice, although he is used sparingly, more as a back-up singer than co-lead. Meanwhile, Springsteen turns in a good-humoured performance.

He unleashes his rock-and-soul roar on the Four Tops’ “7 Rooms of Gloom”, a grand old Motown stomper, and essays an ornate 1960s baritone on The Walker Brothers’ “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore”. A rare high note is reached on The Temptations’ “I Wish It Would Rain”, which also features him hollering the line “I’m a man and I’ve got my pride” with manly force, a more typical Springsteen register. But he does not try to imprint himself on this genial set of covers. To really fly, they need more of the wrestler’s character and less of the admirer.

★★★☆☆

‘Only the Strong Survive’ is released by Columbia