By now, you know my refrain: If you’re gonna cover Bruce, be great or be different.<\/p>\n
But not\u00a0too<\/em> different, mind you, because Bruce has veto rights–which he exercised on Kevin Rowland’s cover of “Thunder Road.”<\/p>\n Rowland was the lead singer of Dexys Midnight Runners. (If you’re one of my UK or Irish readers, you’re probably familiar with Dexys’ string of hits; if you’re reading this from elsewhere, you probably only know “Come on Eileen.”)<\/p>\n Rowland went solo in 1988, and it did not go well. His album flopped, and Rowland lapsed into substance abuse, depression, and bankruptcy. It would take more than a decade and a great deal of treatment before Rowland tried again with an album full of covers, his 1999 release\u00a0My Beauty<\/em>.<\/p>\n Among the songs Rowland recorded for the album was “Thunder Road,” having secured permission from Bruce to include it,<\/p>\n Then Bruce heard the finished recording, and he said: um, no.<\/p>\n Why did Bruce take the unusual step of blocking the release of one of his songs after the artist had already recorded it? Take a listen and see if you can figure it out. (Warning: you won’t be able to unhear it.)<\/p>\n