“Walk Like a Man” is one of Bruce Springsteen’s loveliest songs, but the studio track that appears on Tunnel of Love is one of his most dated.
It’s not like the drum machine and prominent synths squelch the tenderness of the song, but it screams “eighties” like few other songs in his catalog.
I’ve always felt there was a gorgeous acoustic guitar arrangement hiding somewhere that would better reveal the song’s heart. Australian country singer Brent Parlane must have thought so too, because he found it, recorded it, and released it on his 1999 album, The Closest.
Parlane’s cover is beautiful both in arrangement and performance, with a wistfully nostalgic harmonica solo replacing the original keyboards in a way that Bruce would almost certainly approve.
