If Sanne Salomonsen’s name isn’t familiar to you, you’re probably not one of my Danish readers.
Because in Denmark, Sanne is legendary. With a continuous recording career since 1973 and peak popularity in the mid-eighties, it’s easy to find parallels between Sanne and Bruce. She even has a nickname: “Rock Mama,” because of her leading status in Danish rock.
So it’s a treat to discover that Sanne actually covered one of Bruce’s songs way back on her 1991 album, Where the Blue Begins. And not just any Springsteen song, mind you–Sanne chose a seriously deep cut: “The Fever,” which Bruce wouldn’t even officially release until 1998. (Southside Johnny covered it much earlier, of course.)
There’s really only one rule when it comes to covering “The Fever.” You can speed it up, slow it down, change the mood, re-arrange it, whatever moves you… as long as you feel it.
And there’s no denying Sanne feels “The Fever.”
The musical arrangement is a bit heavy–definitely of its time–but Sanne’s vocals are the focus here. Cool and controlled through the first half, burning and passionate through the back half, Sanne pulls off a great performance, one of a very small group of covers of one of Bruce’s most under-recognized and under-rated songs.
