‘Poor Side of Town’ and other connections

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There are three songs on Bruce Springsteen’s Tracks II: The Lost Albums boxed set on which other songwriters get credits. Two are “Follow That Dream” and “Johnny Bye Bye,” both from LA Garage Sessions ’83. They both borrow enough from other songs — the 1962 Elvis Presley hit “Follow That Dream” and Chuck Berry’s 1960 single “Bye Bye Johnny,” respectively — that songwriting credit had to be shared. But they are so different from the original songs that they shouldn’t really be considered covers.

“Poor Side of Town,” though — from Somewhere North of Nashville — is a bona fide cover. Though it has a very different feel, Springsteen doesn’t make any major…