Ace Records continues its quest to offer variations on a theme by exploring country interpretations of the music of Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen's Country will collect 20 covers of The Boss, some familiar (Johnny Cash's "Johnny 99," Steve Earle's live take on "State Trooper"), some offbeat (a take on Tunnel of Love opener "Ain't Got You" by Solomon Burke, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's version of beloved outtake "From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)"), and some altogether lesser known (Americana acts like Lera Lynn and The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow interpreting "Fire" and "The Rising"). The set was compiled by Sean Rowley, a well-known British DJ/presenter who happens to be one of the men on the album cover of Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. (Rowley previously assembled Ladies Sing The Boss for Ace.)

While Springsteen's New Jersey heritage is one of the foremost facts about him, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer's passion for story songs and occasionally rootsy arrangements makes him an easy fit for the country genre. Four of Springsteen's Country's tracks were first released on 1982's Nebraska, a shockingly spare collection of stark narratives conceived as four-track demos and released as such when full-band versions proved unsatisfying. That occasional spareness repeated itself on albums like Tunnel of Love (1987), the follow-up to his pop blockbuster Born in the U.S.A. (1984), or 1995's The Ghost of Tom Joad; even as he returned to the full-throated glory of The E Street Band, Bruce still made room for explorations of what could be considered country's past, from the early 20th century folk of We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (2006) to the modern countrypolitan exercises of Western Stars (2019). (Two of the seven offerings in the forthcoming Tracks II: The Lost Albums box - Somewhere North of Nashville and Inyo - explore different facets of the country sound as well.)

Springsteen's Country also makes room for interpretations of songs that didn't strictly fit the country mold upon original release, from the latter-day favorites "The Rising" and "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" to "If I Should Fall Behind," "Racing in the Street" and even "Fire," a Top 10 hit for The Pointer Sisters before Bruce ever put a version to tape. (One track, Sonny Burgess' "Tiger Rose," has never been released by Springsteen at all, stemming from the same mid-'90s period as The Ghost of Tom Joad.) The timing is certainly right for an exploration of one of rock's most beloved icons: beyond Tracks II, 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of his commercial breakthrough Born to Run, and this fall will see the release of Deliver Me from Nowhere, a biopic focused on the creation of Nebraska that'll star Emmy and Golden Globe winners Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) and Jeremy Strong (Succession) as Springsteen and his longtime manager Jon Landau.

Springsteen's Country will hit record stores in the U.K. on May 30, with the U.S. receiving it a week later. The full track listing is below. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)

Springsteen's Country (Ace Records CDTOP 1661 (U.K.), 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Johnny 99 - Johnny Cash
2. Tougher Than the Rest - Travis Tritt
3. Atlantic City - John Anderson
4. All That Heaven Will Allow - The Mavericks
5. Sad Eyes - Neal Coty
6. One Step Up - Kenny Chesney
7. The Price You Pay - Emmylou Harris
8. If I Should Fall Behind - Paul Ansell
9. Fire - Lera Lynn
10. Tiger Rose - Sonny Burgess
11. Ain't Got You - Solomon Burke
12. Stand on It - Mel McDaniel
13. Reason to Believe - The Beat Farmers
14. From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come) - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
15. Darlington County - Jeff Stevens & The Bullets
16. Girls in Their Summer Clothes - Doc Walker
17. I'm on Fire - Town Mountain
18. Racing in the Street - The Breakmen
19. The Rising - The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow
20. State Trooper (Live @ Park West, Chicago, IL - 7/9-10/1987) - Steve Earle

Track 1 from Johnny 99 - Columbia FC 38696, 1983. Springsteen's version from Nebraska - Columbia TC 38358, 1982
Track 2 from No More Looking Over My Shoulder - Warner Bros. 47097, 1998. Springsteen's version from Tunnel of Love - Columbia OC 40999, 1987
Track 3 from Nobody's Got It All - Columbia CK 63990, 2000. Springsteen's version from Nebraska
Track 4 from What a Crying Shame - MCA Records MCAD-10961, 1994. Springsteen's version from Tunnel of Love
Track 5 from Legacy - Mercury 088 170 161-2, 2001. Springsteen's version from Tracks - Columbia CXK 69475, 1998
Track 6 from No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems - BNA 07863 67038-2, 2002. Springsteen's version from Tunnel of Love
Track 7 from Cimarron - Warner Bros. BSK 3603, 1982. Springsteen's version from The River - Columbia PC2 36854, 1980
Track 8 from Love Conquers All - Viceroy Music VRCD101, 2008. Springsteen's version from Lucky Town - Columbia CK 53001, 1992
Track 9 from Have You Met Lera Lynn? - Slow SR001, 2011. First performed by The Pointer Sisters on Energy - Planet P-1, 1978. Springsteen version first available on Live/1975-1985 - Columbia C5X 40558, 1986
Track 10 from Sonny Burgess - Rounder CD 3144, 1996. No version by Springsteen has ever been released
Track 11 from Nashville - Shout! Factory 826663-10179, 2006. Springsteen's version from Tunnel of Love
Track 12 from Just Can't Sit Down Music  - Capitol ST-12528, 1986. Springsteen's version from "Glory Days" single - Columbia 38-04924, 1985
Track 13 from Tales of the New West - Rhino RNLP 853, 1985. Springsteen's version from Nebraska
Track 14 from The Rest of the Dream - MCA Records 6407, 1990. First performed by Dave Edmunds on D.E. 7th - Arista SPART 1184 (U.K.), 1982. Springsteen version first available on The Essential Bruce Springsteen - Columbia C2K 90773, 2003
Track 15 from Bolt Out of the Blue - Atlantic 90556, 1986. Springsteen's version from Born in the U.S.A. - Columbia QC 38653, 1984
Track 16 from Go - Open Road Recordings ORCD 7223 (CAN), 2009. Springsteen's version from Magic - Columbia 88697 17060-2, 2007
Track 17 from Heroes & Heretics - Town Mountain Enterprises (no cat. #), 2008. Springsteen's version from Born in the U.S.A.
Track 18 from When You Leave Town - self-released BR21603 (CAN), 2008. Springsteen's version from Darkness on the Edge of Town - Columbia JC 35318, 1978
Track 19 from 'recovered' A Live Benefit Concert - self-released (no cat. #), 2021. Springsteen's version from The Rising - Columbia CK 86600, 2002
Track 20 from "Someday" 12" - MCA Records, 23693, 1987. Springsteen's version from Nebraska