Tune du Jour: “Mansion on the Hill” – Bruce Springsteen
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Crooked Fingers vs. The National vs. The String Quartet
VOTE, COMMENT, then LISTEN TO WHAT THE MAN SAID
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The Original
Bruce Springsteen:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Crooked Fingers vs. The National vs. The String Quartet
Crooked Fingers:
The National:
The String Quartet (aka Vitamin String Quartet):
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
I like the Springsteen album Nebraska in general. But this song is not one of my favorites on that album. I just think it’s missing something, although I didn’t exactly know what that something was… until I heard the Nationals’ rendition. It’s a lone violin that this song needed. I know this borders on sacrilege, but I think the Nationals’ version is much more powerful that Springsteen’s.
This was surprisingly tough. My college roommate in SUNY Binghamton was a massive Springsteen fan, but he was very particular about what he liked. He didn’t like slow songs much. Like, he hated Mary, Queen of Arkansas from the album Greetings from Asbury Park. When Nebraska came out, I really loved it. I asked my roommate what he thought of the album, and he said, “It’s an entire album of Mary Queen of Arkansass”. That may be. But it’s a great album, especially Atlantic City, and the creepy Mr. State Trooper. This song, however, has always been a little too slow and brooding for me. I’d probably have given it to Crooked Fingers if the vocals weren’t so darn Springsteenesque. As for The National, I have a client who is really into them. She’s seen them a bunch of times. They apparently live in Brooklyn and play there a lot. I haven’t listened to any of their music, despite a fair amount of acclaim that they’ve received. I also really hate their name. They do a good version here, that lone violin adding more poignancy to the song. So I guess they get my vote. I liked the String Quartet version well enough, but I’ll tell you what would really get my vote. And I did this, so you should give it a try. Play Springsteen’s version, and the String Quartet version simultaneously. I managed to match ’em up pretty closely, and that’s the best version.
I share your old friend’s disdain for Mary Queen of Arkansas. The definition of a throw-away tune.
I like “Nebraska”, but this isn’t among my favorite tracks. A couple goodies that nobody mentioned that appear back-to-back are “Johnny 99” and “Highway Patrolman”. Odd that he has that and “State Trooper” on the same record.
There’s a great old song by Hank called “A Mansion on the Hill”.
I went back and forth between The National and Crooked Fingers versions. When it came time to vote was on the forth (i.e. Crooked Fingers) side.
Billy Bragg also covered this song.