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Bruce Springsteen Releases New Covers Compilation Featuring Live Versions of Songs by The Rolling Stones, The Pogues, & More

Bruce Springsteen has released the latest installment of The Live Series, a series of archival digital albums featuring archival concert recordings by the Boss. The new album is called Songs Under Cover, Vol. 3, which, as its title implies, is a third compilation of songs by other artists that Bruce has performed in concert.

The 15-track album spans nearly 50 years, from a December 1975 rendition of the 1964 Shirelles gem โ€œSha-La-Laโ€ in Greenvale, New York, through Springsteen and the E Street Bandโ€™s cover of Ray Parker Jr.โ€™s โ€œGhostbustersโ€ theme this year at a Halloween show in Montreal, Canada.

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Songs Under Cover, Vol. 3 is available now as a digital download and via various streaming outlets.

According to a description of the album, the recordings โ€œdemonstrate Springsteenโ€™s ability to interpret songs of any style.โ€

Other noteworthy tunes on the album include a 1981 rendition of the Elvis Presley hit โ€œFollow That Dream,โ€ a 1984 performance of the Rolling Stones classic โ€œStreet Fighting Man,โ€ a 2014 cover of INXSโ€™ โ€œDonโ€™t Changeโ€ performed in the Australian groupโ€™s hometown of Sydney, and a 2024 performance of Irish band The Poguesโ€™ โ€œRainy Night in Sohoโ€ played in Dublin.

[RELATED: Bruce Springsteen Will Release โ€œNever-Before-Heard Materialโ€ in 2025]

Songs Under Cover, Vol. 3 also features an interesting rendition of the traditional tune โ€œJole Blon,โ€ which Springsteen sang as a duet with Gary โ€œU.S.โ€ Bonds at a 1981 concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

That same year, Bonds had released a comeback album called Dedication that he recorded with Springsteen and the E Street Band. The album included a cover of โ€œJolie Blonโ€ featuring Bonds duetting with Bruce.

Springsteenโ€™s 2025 Plans

Springsteen and the E Street Band wrapped up a 2024 world tour with a series of Canadian concerts that ended on November 22 with a show in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Bruce and the group will hit the road again in 2025. So far, the Boss and company have 16 confirmed European dates, running from a May 14 concert in Manchester, U.K., though a July 3 show in Milan, Italy.

A recent press release recapping Springsteenโ€™s 2024 also noted that his breakthrough studio effort, Born to Run, will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, and that his albums The River, The Ghost of Tom Joad, and Devils & Dust also will reach milestone anniversaries.

The same announcement also reported that upcoming Springsteen releases in 2025 โ€œwill include a look back at [his] storied recording career, featuring never-before-heard material.โ€

That news tidbit has sparked speculation that Bruce is planning to put out a sequel to his 1998 rarities box set Tracks.

Songs Under Cover, Vol. 3 Track List:

  1. โ€œSha-La-Laโ€ (The Shirelles, 12/12/1975, Greenvale, NY)
  2. โ€œHigh School Confidentialโ€ (Jerry Lee Lewis, 9/21/1978, Passaic, NJ)
  3. โ€œFollow That Dreamโ€ (Elvis Presley, 6/5/1981, London, U.K.)
  4. โ€œJole Blonโ€ (Featuring Gary โ€œU.S.โ€ Bonds) (Traditional, 7/9/1981, East Rutherford, NJ)
  5. โ€œStreet Fighting Manโ€ (The Rolling Stones, 8/6/1984, East Rutherford, NJ)
  6. โ€œFor Your Loveโ€ (Ed Townsend, 5/23/1988, New York, NY)
  7. โ€œTrappedโ€ (Jimmy Cliff, 12/13/1992, Boston, MA)
  8. โ€œTom Joadโ€ (Woody Guthrie, 9/25/1996, Akron, OH)
  9. โ€œLong Black Veilโ€ (Lefty Frizzell, 10/10/2006, Rome, Italy)
  10. โ€œHard Times Come Again No Moreโ€ (Stephen Foster, 5/4/2009, Uniondale, NY)
  11. โ€œDonโ€™t Changeโ€ (INXS, 2/19/2014, Sydney, Australia)
  12. โ€œJust Like Fire Wouldโ€ (The Saints, 2/26/2014, Brisbane, Australia)
  13. โ€œJersey Girlโ€ (Tom Waits, 9/3/2023, East Rutherford, NJ)
  14. โ€œA Rainy Night in Sohoโ€ (The Pogues, 5/19/2024, Dublin, Ireland)
  15. โ€œGhostbustersโ€ (Ray Parker Jr., 10/31/2024, Montreal, Canada)
(Photo by Harold Feng/Getty Images)

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