Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin, a cover compilation that benefits Jesse Malin‘s medical care, comes out next month. We’ve heard renditions of Malin’s songs from Bleachers and Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong from the album, and here’s another track, Bruce Springsteen‘s version of “She Don’t Love Me Now” from 2015’s New York Before the War. He’s backed by Malin’s band, with Jake Clemons on saxophone, and you can hear it below.
“Bruce gave it that Stax-soul-thing that we were dreaming of when we recorded the original,” Malin says. It’s so surreal to me.” He adds, “Bruce’s generosity, honesty and support are equally as powerful as his songwriting and performing. Bruce is one of the guys. He walks it like he talks it. You spend some time with him, and it feels like you’ve known him for years. He’s like my friends in Queens, sitting around talking about Sinatra, the Clash, and the Pogues. He has that passion and excitement for life.”
“While I was working hard on my recovery at a clinic in Argentina, I had no idea that my friends and the producers of this record were reaching out to so many great artists to have them do versions of my songs,” Malin continues. “When I heard these versions, especially ‘She Don’t Love Me Now,’ it took me out of a dark time. I felt excited about life again, in a way that only music can do.”
Silver Patron Saints is available for pre-order now, and proceeds go to Malin’s Sweet Relief artist fund to help fund his medical treatment; he suffered a spinal-cord stroke in 2023 that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
Malin is also making his return to the stage with guest-filled hometown shows at Beacon Theatre on December 1 and 2. His band will join him, along with a bunch of special guests, including Lucinda Williams, Rickie Lee Jones, Jakob Dylan, Butch Walker, J Mascis, Adam Duritz and David Immy of Counting Crows, Alejandro Escovedo, and hosts Michael Imperioli and Mary-Louise Parker on night one, and Lucinda Williams, The Hold Steady, J Mascis, Adam Durtiz and David Immy of Counting Crows, Butch Walker, Willie Nile, Tommy Stinson, and Adam Weiner of Low Cut Connie on night two, with more to be announced.
Springsteen, meanwhile, recently squashed rumors that his current tour would be his last, and he’ll be on tour through the fall and in 2025.