Dead man's town : a tribute to Born in the U.S.A.

"Most of the artists have not only cut back on the guitars and drums, they've also dialed back on the emotional intensity of the songs, and that does them no favors, making this music sound sleepy instead of quietly forceful. There are a few exceptions, most notably Justin Townes Earle's mournful "Glory Days," which truly sounds like the musings of a man stuck in a midlife crisis; Low's tense and atmospheric take on "I'm on Fire"; Joe Pug's gutsy if minimal version of "Downbound Train"; and Quaker City Nighthawks' "Darlington County," which treats the tune like a loose-limbed shaggy-dog story. But ultimately, Dead Man's Town is a good idea executed poorly, an effort to peel back the veneer from Springsteen's songs that manages to toss away much of the core at the same time".

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