When Bruce Springsteen toured Australia last year, he needed an extra guitar man because Little Steven couldn’t make the trip.
He tapped Tom Morello, with whom he’d apparently become friends since a performance together in LA in 2008.
Here they are, doing “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (from the Hall of Fame in 2009, not the Aussie tour).
I think it’s safe to say the collaboration works. Play it loud.
(Via this Rolling Stone interview with Morello, which is worth reading for lots of reasons.)
Update
In the “that settles it” department, looks like I’m buying tickets to see Bruce in the Woodlands in May, because Morello is with him for the whole tour owing at least partly to Van Zandt’s shooting schedule on Lilyhammer.
Rage’s version of Ghost of Tom Joad, Maggie’s Farm and Renegades of Funk off of their Renegades Album is prolly one of the most under rated and surprising ( what the fuck is this song doing on a Rage Album?) collection of covers you will hear.
As much as I have tried, I have never been able to like “The Boss”. Something about him looking like he is taking a dump when he plays and sounding like he is eating a bowl of noodles when he sings just bugs the fuck out of me. I recognize he is one of the great songwriters of our generation but I never got his act.
Morello reminds me of Prince in that he transcends wherever or whoever and whatever he is jamming, just because. Rock stars will rock.
Oh, indeed.