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Listen: Low cover Bruce Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’

by Andrea Swensson

July 22, 2014

With Bruce Springsteen's iconic and top-selling album, Born in the U.S.A., turning 30 this year, a dozen artists have stepped up to record covers of the album's 12 tracks for a new compilation called Dead Man's Town. And as we reported earlier this month, two of the artists on the compilation are from Duluth, Minnesota.

We'll have to wait a little while longer to hear Trampled by Turtles' take on "I'm Goin' Down" (Dead Man's Town is due out September 16 on Lightning Rod Records), but we got a nice preview of the record today in the form of Low's cover of "I'm On Fire."

The cover starts with the same shuffling rhythm as Springsteen's original and plays on a similarly tortured, heartsick vibe, but bandleader Alan Sparhawk and wife Mimi Parker add a few of their own touches to the mix, including a whirring little organ part and an echoing fadeout that showcases Parker's mournful voice.

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Compare Low's version with the original here:

Here’s the track list for Dead Man's Town:

1. Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires, “Born in the U.S.A.”

2. Apache Relay, “Cover Me”

3. Quaker City Nighthawks, “Darlington County”

4. Blitzen Trapper, “Working on the Highway”

5. Joe Pug, “Downbound Train”

6. Low, “I’m on Fire”

7. Holly Williams, “No Surrender”

8. Ryan Culwell, “Bobby Jean”

9. Trampled by Turtles, “I’m Goin’ Down”

10. Justin Townes Earle, “Glory Days”

11. Nicole Atkins, “Dancing in the Dark”

12. North Mississippi All-Stars, “My Hometown”

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.