FEATURE:
Bob Dylan at Eighty
PHOTO CREDIT: The Guardian (the image has been digitally manipulated)
A Selection of Great Cover Versions from Other Artists
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AS Bob Dylan turns eighty…
PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Pizzello/Associated Press
on 24th May, this will be the final feature I write to mark this important event. Rather than put out a feature about one of his albums or a side of his career, I thought I would look at cover versions of his songs. I will end with a playlist of songs from other artists. These are, what I consider to be, among the best cover version of his songs. Before bringing in an article about Chrissie Hynde, Wikipedia outlines Dylan’s influence and legacy on other artists:
“Dylan is considered a seminal influence on many musical genres. As Edna Gundersen stated in USA Today: "Dylan's musical DNA has informed nearly every simple twist of pop since 1962". Punk musician Joe Strummer praised Dylan for having "laid down the template for lyric, tune, seriousness, spirituality, depth of rock music". Other major musicians who acknowledged Dylan's importance include Johnny Cash, Jerry Garcia, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Pete Townshend, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Syd Barrett, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen. Dylan significantly contributed to the initial success of both the Byrds and the Band: the Byrds achieved chart success with their version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and the subsequent album, while the Band were Dylan's backing band on his 1966 tour, recorded The Basement Tapes with him in 1967 and featured three previously unreleased Dylan songs on their debut album.
Some critics have dissented from the view of Dylan as a visionary figure in popular music. In his book Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom, Nik Cohn objected: "I can't take the vision of Dylan as seer, as teenage messiah, as everything else he's been worshipped as. The way I see him, he's a minor talent with a major gift for self-hype." Australian critic Jack Marx credited Dylan with changing the persona of the rock star: "What cannot be disputed is that Dylan invented the arrogant, faux-cerebral posturing that has been the dominant style in rock since, with everyone from Mick Jagger to Eminem educating themselves from the Dylan handbook".
Fellow musicians have also presented differing views. Joni Mitchell described Dylan as a "plagiarist" and his voice as "fake" in a 2010 interview in the Los Angeles Times. In a 2013 interview, Mitchell, who had previously toured with Dylan and covered his songs, said that her comments about Dylan had been taken out of context. However, she still questioned Dylan's authenticity and musical ability. Mitchell's original comments led to discussions on Dylan's use of other people's material, both supporting and criticizing him. Talking to Mikal Gilmore in Rolling Stone in 2012, Dylan responded to the allegation of plagiarism, including his use of Henry Timrod's verse in his album Modern Times, by saying that it was "part of the tradition".
IN THIS PHOTO: Chrissie Hynde/PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Holyoak for The Sunday Times Magazine
As I am writing this on 13th May, I may be a little too late to include any Chrissie Hynde in the playlist (though, if I see a song surface between now and the time the feature goes live, I shall pop a song in). The Pretenders’ lead, as Rolling Stone reports, is putting out her Dylan covers album on the master’s eightieth birthday:
“Chrissie Hynde will be releasing an album of Bob Dylan covers, the Pretenders singer announced on Monday. The LP, titled Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, will be out on May 21st via BMG.
In a statement, Hynde explains that she recorded the album during the Covid-19 lockdown with her Pretenders bandmate James Walbourne.
“A few weeks into lockdown last year, James sent me the new Dylan track ‘Murder Most Foul.’ Listening to that song completely changed everything for me,” Hynde says, echoing what she told Rolling Stone about the upcoming album last summer. “I was lifted out of this morose mood that I’d been in. I remember where I was sitting the day that Kennedy was shot — every reference in the song.”She continues, “Whatever Bob does, he still manages somewhere in there to make you laugh because as much as anything, he’s a comedian. He’s always funny and always has something to say. That’s when I called James and said, ‘Let’s do some Dylan covers’ and that’s what started this whole thing.”
Hynde and Walbourne collaborated on Standing in the Doorway almost entirely via text message. Walbourne would record an initial idea for each cover on his phone before sending it to Hynde, who would then record vocals. All of the tracks were mixed by Tchad Blake (U2, Arctic Monkeys, Fiona Apple).
The album will be accompanied by a television special, Tomorrow Is a Long Time, that will give a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process for the Dylan covers. Tomorrow Is a Long Time is produced by White Light Film Productions and directed by Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, and will premiere Monday, May 24th (Dylan’s 80th birthday) on Sky Arts.
Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan Tracklist
1. In the Summertime
2. You’re a Big Girl Now
3. Standing in the Doorway
4. Sweetheart like You
5. Blind Willie McTell
6. Love Minus Zero / No Limit
7. Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight
8. Tomorrow Is a Long Time
9. Every Grain of Sand”.
To show how other artists have covered Bob Dylan’s catalogue and how they have approached his songs, the playlist at the end is an eclectic selection. I hope that you enjoy. I am a big fan of Bob Dylan and he will get a lot of love on his eightieth. Here, to end, is a collection of interpretations…
OF Bob Dylan songs.