Cover Me, Northcote: Radio Nowhere

(Thanks to friend of the blog Doug Watson for pointing me to this one.)

“Radio Nowhere” doesn’t get nearly as much cover love as it deserves (although Town Bike’s spectacular version still rates as one of my all-time favorite Springsteen covers).

But Canadian singer-songwriter Northcote (a.k.a. Matthew Goud) gave “Radio Nowhere” some attention back in 2016 with his wonderful B-side rendition.

Goud’s voice is often compared with Bruce’s, and “Radio Nowhere” fits him like a glove. His acoustic arrangement works perfectly, his lone guitar highlighting the isolation that resides at the heart of Bruce’s song but that is subsumed by the original’s uptempo rock arrangement.

Goud’s vocals are no less fiery and passionate than Bruce’s electric original, however. Even in this stripped down cover, “Radio Nowhere” rocks.