Springsteen's Country (2025)

"Bruce Springsteen cultivated a personal connection with country music in the late 1970s, developing an obsession with Hank Williams that soon spilled over into his own music. "Nebraska", the acoustic album he recorded alone on a Tascam Portastudio, is the first public airing of this influence and he moved further into country with "Tunnel Of Love", the 1987 record that's by most measures a contemporary country record. Songs from "Nebraska" and "Tunnel Of Love" form the backbone of Ace's "Springsteen's Country", a twenty-track compilation of country and Americana artists who've cut Springsteen songs over the years. Some of these inclusions are expected: Johnny Cash opens the proceedings with his rampaging take on "Johnny 99," recorded not long after the release of "Nebraska", and the collection closes with Steve Earle's singing "State Trooper" live on stage. What makes "Springsteen's Country" such an enjoyable listen." (Sterlewine)