When “River Deep – Mountain High” tanked in early 1966, Phil Spector retreated (temporarily) from the music industry, and with him went his signature “wall of sound.”
Well… not entirely. At the same time “River Deep – Mountain High” barely clawed its way into the Billboard Hot 100, The Walker Brothers’ Spector-ian cover of “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” soared past it to peak at #13 in the U.S. and #1 in the U.K.
The Walkers’ version of “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” is easily a candidate for the most magnificent wall-of-sound production and stands shoulder to shoulder with Spector’s best tracks. It’s no wonder that Bruce Springsteen was drawn to it.
It’s actually a cover, though: Frankie Valli recorded the original a year earlier in a slower, statelier, but still lush arrangement that failed to chart.
Valli’s original flew so under the radar that even Springsteen was unaware of it when he decided to record his own version for his 2022 vocal-centric album, Only the Strong Survive. Although Valli is certainly no slouch in the singing department, Bruce was captivated by Scott Walker’s rich Orbisonian baritone that reminded him of his early work.
“[T]here was an operatic part of my voice that I used on Born To Run and a little bit on Darkness,” he told Rolling Stone’s Andy Greene, “but then I put it away and just sang with more of a barman’s rock voice for the rest of my work life, for the most part. But on that song, I was able to bring it back again and really sing in that big, round tone that I love to use. ”
Did he ever. Bruce delivers what is easily the standout vocal performance on an album built around them. There’s not a hint of his trademark gruff or growl. This is Bruce in full croon, in a track that sounds like it belongs more on Western Stars than Only the Strong Survive.
It also features one of the strongest arrangements on the album, clearly following The Walker Brothers’ blueprint but with an expanded soundstage and an orchestral majesty befitting such a thrilling track.
It may “only” be a cover (and a safe one at that), but “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine” easily ranks among Springsteen’s finest vocal moments on record.
The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore
Recorded: 2021
Released: Only the Strong Survive (2022)
Never performed
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