The songs of Bruce Springsteen have been re-born in the able hands of 38 indie, folk and under-ground acts, including the Wave Pictures, Darren Hayman (ex-Hefner), Glam Chops (with Eddie Argos from Art Brut) and even a fiddle solo from the Velvet Underground's Doug Yule. The double album is named "Play Some Pool, Skip Some School, Act Real Cool" (a line from the classic "Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)"), and is brought to you from the ever reliable where it's at is where you are label. These acts have been inspired by Springsteen’s woodsman folk, tender ballads, fist-pumping anthems and emotional rock; their interpretations of Springsteen’s back catalogue �" from the classics to the rarely visited side roads �" reveal the breadth of The Boss’s influence and the inspiration his rich career gives to many bands from different strands of today’s underground.
If a handful of highlights had to be picked from this treasure trove of talent they would undoubtedly include the Wave Pic-tures' stripped bare anti-folk reading of "Racing in the Street" (a track they had so much fun recording they did ten more Springsteen covers, which will be given away with the lead single); Matador Record's new signing Jennifer O'Connor turning the
bombast of "Cover Me" into a beautiful Joni Mitchell-like folk ballad; Jeff Mellin excitingly bringing Doug Yule out of retire-ment to play fiddle on his version of "Brilliant Disguise"; Help Stamp Out Loneliness going all creepy Nico fronting Stereo-lab on CD 2 opener "I'm On Fire", and Fergus Lawrie (ex Urusei Yatsura) and the Violence Jack Off rendering "No Surren-der" completely unrecognisable behind walls of Sonic Youth feedback on the closing track. Along the way the Boss is rein-terpreted as glam stomper (Glam Chops), drivetime AM radio singalong (Darren Hanlon), epic dreampop fragility (Jeniferever) and a girl fronted beachboys barbershop gone country (Piney Gir)... Yup, it's an album of highlights... "where music and passion are always in fashion".