Watch: Bruce Springsteen sings 'The Weight' as homage to The Band's Levon Helm
Do you like it better than the Black Keys/John Fogerty version?
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Since Levon Helm’s death April 19, various artists have been paying tribute to the Band’s drummer, whom many consider the greatest singing drummer in rock. As rocker Dave Edmunds once said: “Drummers shouldn’t sing unless they’re Levon Helm.”
At the second weekend of Coachella, John Fogerty joined The Black Keys for a bluesy, spirited version of “The Weight” on April 20.
Last night at Newark's Prudential Center, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band also performed a lovely version of “The Weight.” As Springsteen concert attendees know, he’ll often take requests from fans’ signs and this apparently was one such request. However, given the quality of the version, and the horn arrangements and backing vocals, it is incredible to think that they had never played the song before and were working it up on the spot. Plus, kudos to whomever handles Springsteen’s teleprompter because that roadie got the lyrics cued up pretty darn quick.
[More after the jump...]
Fans who were at the show are speculating that when Springsteen leaves out a few words in the last verse, he was choking back tears. It’s hard to tell from this video, but there’s certainly a lot of blinking going on there.
In his intro to the song (not audible on this video, but all over the internet on videos that aren’t as close up), Springsteen said of Helm (whom he refers to as “Levin”: "He was one of the greatest, greatest voices in country, rockabilly and rock & roll...Levon's voice and drumming was so incredibly versatile. He had a feel on the drums...it comes from a certain place in the past and you can't replicate it."
New Jersey.com blogger/Springsteen expert Stan Goldstein reports that Springsteen and Helm performed “Up on Cripple Creek” and “Lucille” together at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. on Aug. 21, 1987.
Which version do you like better? Or is Helm's version still the best?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login Signupmgrabois
May 3, 2012 at 7:13PM EST Reply to CommentSpringsteen also rehearses songs and then looks for a sign in the audience so he can do it "by request".
melinda EXACTLY! I'm kind of hinting at (though perhaps not well enough) that I think that's EXACTLY what happened here. The song is too polished (although admittedly still a little ragged) for it not to have been rehearsed to me...
May 3, 2012 at 7:16PM ESTmgrabois He did that a lot on his previous tour in 2009, when he had a spot in each concert for some requests. Some were legitimate "stump the band" types, while other songs had been soundchecked on earlier dates - and the fans, via the internet, knew what he had practiced and so requested those. If you don't know what happens behind the scenes, it's quite fun.
May 3, 2012 at 7:44PM ESTmgrabois Oh, and then he goes and pulls out "Bishop Danced" from his early back catalog, which he hasn't played live since 1973. That's why I love his concerts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NEF-333IH2U
May 3, 2012 at 7:52PM EST