ALBUM OF THE WEEK

ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE

Bruce Springsteen

★★III On his latest album, The Boss covers R&B and soul hits, but doesn’t offer much more than that.

Only The Strong Survive is a love letter to the music he grew up with and serves as a jumping-off point for him to showcase his gruff vocals. Opening with the 1968 hit by Jerry Butler, Only The Strong Survive, the 73-year-old sings like he is a man possessed.

Springsteen fails to create truly breathtaking new versions, instead recreating his favourite songs like a man in a bar singing karaoke very well.

He does a good job of introducing the music he grew up with to a new audience. But the singer-songwriter, who hasa a whopping 21 albums to his name, can do, and has done, better.