Those outside of the New York music scene may not be all that familiar with Jesse Malin. The punk and hardcore pioneer turned gritty troubadour of the streets never really had a mainstream hit, despite writing some of the most melody-rich songs of the last two decades, beginning with his 2002 debut, The Fine Art of Self Destruction. Nonetheless, he’s made fans of some heavy hitters: On 2007’s Glitter in the Gutter, he duetted with kindred spirit Bruce Springsteen, and wrote and recorded his 2019 LP, Sunset Kids, with Americana songwriting giant Lucinda Williams.
Both singers lend their voices to Silver Patron Saints: The Songs of Jesse Malin, a massive tribute album that finds more than 35 artists —Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, Bleachers, the Wallflowers, Susanna Hoffs, Alejandro Escovedo, Tom Morello, Ian Hunter, Butch Walker, and Counting Crows, among them — putting their spin on 28 Malin compositions from throughout his career. An observational, poetic songwriter with a knack for effortlessly weaving pop-culture Easter eggs into his lyrics, Malin excels at giving voice to dreamers, hustlers, and unrelenting believers. He’s been all three himself, especially the latter since suffering an exceedingly rare spinal stroke in 2023 that affected the use of his legs. Silver Patron Saints, produced by Diane Gentile and David Bason, arrives as a benefit album for Malin’s recovery, with all proceeds going to his Sweet Relief artist fund.
The record — available digitally and as a three-LP vinyl set — takes its name from a lyric in the Glitter in the Gutter track “Prisoners of Paradise,” rendered here by Bleachers. In Jack Antonoff’s hands, what Malin envisioned as a hard-charging rock number becomes a woozy, atmospheric trip immersed in reverb and layered vocals, and sets the tone for an album where reinvention is encouraged.
Hoffs adds some Bangles “Manic Monday” vibes to “High Lonesome,” Tommy Stinson and his daughter Ruby transform “Ridin’ on the Subway” into sonic cinema (complete with live subway sounds), and Spoon recast “The Way We Used to Roll” as indie rock, without losing the bite and swagger of the original. Aaron Lee Tasjan’s “Shining Down” is played here as a gorgeous hushed prayer.
Dinosaur Jr. get especially creative on one of Malin’s signature songs, the ode to the outer borough, “Brooklyn.” J Mascis replaces the song’s acoustic engine with his inspired noodling and delivers the lyrics slightly behind the beat.
Silver Patron Saints also contains more faithful versions of Malin songs. The Hold Steady power up “Deathstar” with slashing guitars and frontman Craig Finn’s sing-speak vocals: “Well she finally met a man and she moved into the light/she got a little money cause he dresses to the right,” he barks in Malin’s commentary on capitalism and conservatism. Graham Parker, whose “Three Martini Lunch” Malin often covered, finds the country core of “Greener Pastures,” a highlight of the 2021 double album Sad and Beautiful World. And Counting Crowes provide an exhilarating version of “Oh Sheena,” a gliding power-pop number that features singer Adam Duritz in impeccable form.
To wrap up the album, a trio of punk kingpins pay tribute to Malin’s groundbreaking work in the bands Heart Attack and D Generation: Rancid are all spit and fury on “No Way Out”; Agnostic Front tear through “God Is Dead”; and Murphy’s Law, led by Malin’s longtime ride-or-die Jimmy G, cover “Frankie.” The attitude is real.
While the curious will likely jump directly to Springsteen’s soul-man reading of “She Don’t Love Me Now,” a groovy vamp that originally appeared on New York Before the War, or Armstrong’s faithful rendering of “Black Haired Girl,” a blast of pop-punk from Glitter, listeners would be wise to dig into the whole of Silver Patron Saints. They’ll unearth not just some golden songs, but an understanding of the distinctly New York craftsman who wrote them.
