SMI New Music Preview: Glen Hansard – ‘Drive All Night’ EP

By Alicia Kamenick on November 27, 2013@corianderstem

Glen Hansard has been covering Bruce Springsteen’s “Drive All Night” in live shows for a while, but it wasn’t until this past summer, when he joined Bruce onstage in Kilkenny, Ireland for a live version that it spurred him to put it on record.

A portion of the proceeds from the 4-song EP Drive All Night will go towards the non-profit charity Little Kids Rock, which the late Clarence Clemons participated in. Which is fitting, as the 8-minute cover features Jake Clemons (nephew of Clarence, and current member of the E Street Band) on saxophone, as well as additional vocals by Eddie Vedder.

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The EP’s other three tracks are original, including the pretty “Pennies In the Fountain” with its gentle piano and stand-up bass, and the a capella “Step Out of the Shadows.”

There are no surprises here. But that’s not a bad thing. For fans of Hansard, this is a pleasant way to pass the time until his next full-length album and tour.

Alicia is a Midwest transplant who loves Seattle but misses thunderstorms. Her musical obsessions began when her coolest aunt gave her a copy of K-Tel’s Rock 80 album for Christmas when she was 7. She spent many years studying piano and voice, but the force of rock and roll won, so while she still sings in a local chorale, her true musical passions lie more with The Beatles than with Beethoven. When she’s not working at her job in HR, she can be found singing bad pop songs at the top of her lungs … although sometimes she does that