No doubt about it: my favorite part of writing this blog is when readers send me their own covers of Bruce’s original songs.
I don’t always write a blog post about them, because the list of covers on my to-blog list is so long already (and always growing), but I do enjoy watching them.
Every once in a while, though, a reader sends me a cover that’s so good and so different that it just stops me in my tracks. That’s what happened when Nico Mirandola dropped me a line and invited me to check out his band Free Redemption, and their cover of “I’m Goin’ Down.”
Since I’m one of the more than four billion people under a stay-at-home order at the moment, I was glad for a momentary diversion, so I watched it right away. I’m glad I did, and if you take a few minutes to watch it with me, I think you will be, too.
Nico and his band gifted us with a wonderful arrangement of “I’m Goin’ Down” — familiar enough to be recognizable but fresh enough to make us listen to the song with newfound attention.
As it turns out, that was their goal from the outset. Free Redemption is a new band–they’ve only been around since 2019–formed in Italy not just to pay tribute to Bruce’s music, but to re-interpret and re-arrange it so that the listener pays new and closer attention to Bruce’s storytelling and poetry.
They certainly succeeded with this listener. What I admire most is the way Free Redemption manages to accent the song’s pathos without overplaying it. I’ve always felt that Bruce’s album arrangement–as much as I love it–is just a little too playful for a casual listener to catch the simmering frustration at its core.
Free Redemption’s version of “I’m Goin’ Down” is easily my favorite of the many, many covers of this particular song out there. Well done, Nico, and thanks for sharing your music with us! I’m looking forward to hearing your next re-invention.
Check out more from Free Redemption
Nico Mirandola, lead vocal, harmonica, guitar
Ivan Sacchi, guitar, backing vocals
Michele Leoni, bass, backing vocals
Gianluca Garavaso, drums, backing vocals
I like this version better than the original. I’m not a big fan of biusa stuff so this is a nice difference