Cover Me Round-Up: Dancing in the Dark (Part 4)

I’m serious, y’all: These things multiply fast. 

It’s only been two months since our last “Dancing in the Dark” cover round-up and I still had to whittle down a list of a dozen new ones to arrive at today’s five spotlights. That means I’m falling further behind instead of catching up, so let’s not waste any more time before diving into today’s stellar selections.

Let’s start with the highest-profile of the bunch: the Juno-winning, Canadian indie-pop band, Walk Off the Earth. With over four million YouTube subscribers and videos with as many as 190 million views, “high profile” is not an understatement.

Their fresh new cover of “Dancing in the Dark” is (IMHO) the most infectious of today’s entrants,  with an acoustic arrangement that accomplishes the impressive task of being almost as exciting as Bruce’s electric performances in concert. (Well, maybe not almost, but pretty darn fun nonetheless.)

“Dancing in the Dark” doesn’t always have to be exciting, though. At its core, it’s a song about loneliness and yearning for connection, a theme that Scotland-based Billy Reekie and Cara McBride dial directly into with their affecting duet set against a piano-led arrangement.

Billy and Cara may be sitting side-by-side in the video, but close your eyes and you’ll hear two lonely souls longing for each other. It’s a beautiful performance that highlights the versatility of Bruce’s songwriting.

Let’s linger a little in Europe and check out Jack Jarryd’s cover from his recent appearance on the Dutch radio station Qmusic. Jack’s version of “Dancing in the Dark” is the most true-to-the-eighties of the bunch, while still managing to sound fresh and timely.

Jack isn’t the only Dutch artist in today’s round-up; he’s joined by The Starlings, who also made a recent in-studio appearance and likewise performed Bruce Springsteen’s greatest hit. Their version starts out similar to Billy and Cara’s–intimate and contemplative–but around the one-minute mark, the strings enter and infuse the band’s performance with beauty and tenderness. This is a very nice cover.

Let’s end with something a little different: a cool, jazzy arrangement by 48th Street Collective, who specialize in reinventing popular songs in a format you’d expect to hear in a smoky lounge rather than a concert arena. Their version of “Dancing in the Dark” may be the least faithful to the song’s theme and message, but it sure is fun.

That’s it for this installment, but there will be more–the list of creative, inventive, and fresh takes on Bruce’s iconic songs keeps growing!