“Everything dies, baby that’s a fact.” Bummer. Bruce Springsteen‘s “Nebraska” was loaded with portraits of desparation and, clearly, “Atlantic City” was no exception. That’s why hearing Benjamin Francis Leftwich’s version of the track came as such a surprise: everything dying has never sounded so uplifting.
When Benjamin sings “now our luck may have died and our love may be cold but with you forever I’ll stay”, it’s “with you forever”, rather than chilly death, that you’ll be focussing on. Bruce’s urgent strums and trademark vocal crackle (love or loathe it) are gone. Benjamin’s replaced them with a warm acoustic guitar line that’s given room to breathe [read:echo] and smooth vocals that’ll wash over you. Topping this all off is a gorgeous harmony over the once-mournful-now-hopeful chorus.
There’s nothing complicated going on, but collectively it’s just enough to convert “Atlantic City” from a song for big thoughts on late night drives into a soothing soundtrack for reassuring a loved one. Certainly it’s got me curious for Ben’s debut album “Last Smoke Before The Snow Storm”, set to land in June. Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out as dour as the title suggests. Stream the cover below and hit the website link for more from Ben.
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