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Bob Dylan Cover Versions







Stato

Stato

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2011
6,600
Prince Monolulu said:
That Hendrix 'noise' is a poor third best.
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Dylan doesn't agree:

“It overwhelmed me, really,” Dylan told the Florida Sun-Sentinel in 1995. “He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.” http://www.covermesongs.com/2014/03/the-story-behind-jimi-hendrixs-all-along-the-watchtower.html

As with John Cale's version of 'Hallelujah', most artists who cover 'All Along The Watchtower' are covering the re-interpretation, rather than the original. I can understand a lot of people sharing Buzzer's preference for covers because Dylan's voice is an acquired taste, but, other than singing them with a different voice, few people have done things that give a completely different life to his songs. The Byrds did it with 'Mr Tambourine Man' and Hendrix did it with 'All Along The Watchtower', but I can't think of any others.

Going back to the voices, here's Emmylou:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilpWRJbZttw
 


FamilyGuy

FamilyGuy

Well-known member
Jul 8, 2003
2,384
Crawley








FamilyGuy

FamilyGuy

Well-known member
Jul 8, 2003
2,384
Crawley
Prince Monolulu said:
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���� thanks, she sang this for me once - I wrote to her via the theatre and she dedicated it to me and my wife and friends, as an encore!
 


M

marlowe

Well-known member
Dec 13, 2015
3,938
Icy Gull said:
I know it is all personal taste but by way of a challenge can you find me a version of Like A Rolling Stone or Desolation Row or Absolutely Sweet Marie or I Want You that is better?
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Your challenge led me to discover this. I don't think Dylan ever sang Desolation Row in Italian but if he ever did I think this version would give him a run for his money. I don't think it matters that you might not understand a word he is singing as I think the natural poetic quality of the Italian language lends itself perfectly to Dylan. Even the title sounds cool. "Via della Poverta", literally translated as "Street of Poverty" I believe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTBVLCCG0ow
 








smillie's garden

smillie's garden

Am I evil?
Aug 11, 2003
2,605
Icy Gull said:
I have to strongly disagree with this statement, I know it is all personal taste but by way of a challenge can you find me a version of Like A Rolling Stone or Desoalation Row or Absolutely Sweet Marie or I Want You that is better?

Also, maybe it's because I was around to hear all these songs when they were fresh rather than classics but most of the songs on this thread are not a patch on the original version by Dylan. Some notable exceptions obviously but UB40 and Olivia Newton John, for example, really?

Really enjoying this thread btw and some of the covers I haven't heard before are interesting, if not better, just IMO.
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Given your avatar choice Icy, I'm a little surprised that you didn't choose one of the handful of covers on which Calexico collaborated on the I'm Not There soundtrack. Posting this one because Basement Tapes is probably my favourite Dylan thing.

 


Super Steve Earle

Super Steve Earle

Well-known member
Feb 23, 2009
8,378
North of Brighton
marlowe said:
Although the Beatles are the most covered artists of all time I reckon Dylan beats them in terms of the number of different songs covered by other artists purely by virtue of the fact that the Beatles' catalogue was formulated within the space of just 8 years whereas Dylan's has built up over the past 55 years so naturally there are far more songs to choose from. Even if you don't like Dylan or indeed have never heard of him I'm sure that there's a song out there that you like that was written by him or that you might not even be aware was written by him. Adele's "Make You Feel My Love" being a case in point, which I didn't discover was a Dylan original until quite a while after its release.

Which Dylan cover versions do you like and do you prefer it to the original.

I'm going to get the ball rolling with this little known gem by Spirit. Listen out for the cat miaow at 4.33 which goes with the line "You used to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat, who carried on his shoulder a siamese cat"

I don't prefer it to the original as that would be too hard to beat but it's up there as one of my favourite Dylan covers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWCxAElOSxM
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Personally can't stand Adele, but give me the Garth Brooks version of 'To Make you Feel my Love' anyday.
 














K

KT17

New member
Apr 19, 2014
591
Slightly changing the terms of your question, I love 'Idiot Wind' but the bootlegged version now published under 'The Bootleg Series 1-3' is achingly the most beautiful version of this amazing song, tho' little heard. Like his cover version of himself.
 












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