So it comes as no surprise that Springsteen, at 56, would find himself drawn to songs popularized by this century's foremost activist folk singer: Pete Seeger. What is surprising is the positively jubilant sound of Springsteen's first-ever collection of cover tunes. If we're talking about freedom from oppression -- this is folk music, so we are -- it seems that stepping outside of his oeuvre and into the public domain has released Bruce Springsteen from the shackles of self-imposed gravitas. While there's no denying the passion that fuels the artist's increasingly (and understandably) sober commentary, there's nothing like a hopeful tune to rally the masses.
Which is why ''We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" is neither a lark nor a happy accident. Setting up an unrehearsed 14-piece orchestra of washboard and banjo players, accordionists, fiddlers, and singers in your living room goes a long way toward lassoing the sprawling, joyful noise that fills the album, in stores today. (The ensemble will swell to 17 for the tour, which rolls through the Garden May 27.) Inspired to immerse himself in the folk hero's back catalog after recording this album's title track for a 1997 Seeger tribute, Springsteen cut this collection of protest songs, spirituals, outlaw ballads, minstrel tunes, and sea shanties during three one-day sessions at his farmhouse in New Jersey. The songs were recorded live -- horns in the hallway, the Boss calling out chord changes as the tape rolls -- and each track brims with the rambunctious, freewheeling spirit of an afternoon jam.
