A CD arrived in the mail last night. It was Badlands: A Tribute To Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. As Nebraska is one of my favourite discs I downloaded it, gave it a listen and decided to buy it. A few of the songs are throwaways, but it has some standouts:

• Nebraska – Chrissie Hynde And Adam Seymour
• State Trooper – Deanna Carter
• Open All Night – Son Volt
• My Father’s House – Ben Harper

“State Trooper” and “My Father’s House” are fairly faithful recreations of how Springsteen recorded them. “Nebraska” is slower and, somehow, even starker (pardon the pun) than the original. But what really haunts me is Son Volt‘s version of “Open All Night”. It’s strung out like a honky-tonk ballad, and when it’s playing I have to stop whatever I’m doing and just listen.