And what of "Sweet Jane" as sung by the ethereal voice of Margo Timmins of the Cowboy Junkies on their album The Trinity Sessions? It's amazing and gives the song a whole different, and softer, spin. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Velvet Underground’s version and adore Lou Reed but it’s good to have an alternate take that actually works. Call me crazy, but I like options.
There have been songs that Dylan wrote for others, songs that he specifically wrote to be covered like “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” which he originally wrote for Nico to perform. Still, it is the Dylan version of “I’ll Keep It With Mine” that I will always remember — well, any version that I’ve heard of his. (For the record, Judy Collins beat Nico to the punch before Nico recorded the song. Collins had somehow elbowed in.)
Regardless, the point is, I like Dylan’s version despite the fact that he wrote it for someone else, which is sort of entertaining. I think the only cover of his songs that come to mind right away that I do like are “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” which has been done by some good people – Eric Clapton, for example. “If Not for You” is another; George Harrison recorded it first on his All Things Must Pass album before it came out on New Morning.
So as with math, then, there are exceptions to every rule and I’m sure if I sat and thought more I could think of other songs of his that have been well-covered and that I like, but I cannot say this of the recent Bryan Ferry CD.
Bryan Ferry seemed an odd person to be doing Dylan in the first place, given the difference between Ferry’s mellifluous “Slave to Love/Avalon” sound versus Dylan’s “All I Really Wanna Do/One More Weekend with You” sound. One is soft and smooth, the other is harder, not so easy to get used to, and Dylan is likely an acquired taste. One does not immediately take to Dylan, I think. You may like one or two of his songs initially, but that’s it. For those I know who really like Dylan, they came to him slowly at first, then loved one album, hated another, then back again, and so forth. But then he morphs from album to album, so just when you think you’ve got him pegged enough that you can say, “I like Dylan” he is a whole new Dylan. You may like the old Dylan, the new Dylan, even what you think or can guess a Dylan of the future may be, but it’s hard to pin him down and no doubt this is intentional. Dylan is nothing if not a restless spirit. As for me, I’ve liked pretty much all his albums now – or have come to over time.
Article comments
1 - Bill Sherman
Bryan Ferry has tackled Dylan in the past: one of the highlights of his first solo covers album, for instance, was his rollicking version of "A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall" while the more recent Frantic contained versions of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." I still recall the howls of dismay from many Dylan lovers in the 70's over Ferry's campy use of a cooing female chorus on "Rain," but without having the vaguest idea whether this is true, I've always imagined Dylan himself getting a small chuckle over it.
2 - Holly Hughes
I think it is the mark of a great songwriter that other people can sing any of his songs, do something different with it, and come up with a whole new and interesting recording that ALSO works. So what if it's not "better" than the original -- if it succeeds on its own terms, then I say "Bring it on." I hear what you say about the writer giving it the definitive interpretation, but then that's like saying the only company that should ever perform Chekhov or Shakespeare were the troupes they originally wrote their plays for. Once the muse has visited, there may be dimensions to the work that even the creator could be unaware of.
Having said that -- I haven't heard this album and I cannot imagine Bryan Ferry doing a creditable job on these great Dylan songs. Maybe he should have stuck to less well-known tracks where the temptation to compare isn't so strong.
3 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
author's note: since i wrote this i have heard a couple more Dylan covers and one that stands out because i didn't expect it and rather like it is "Knockin On Heaven's Door" by Avril Lavigne, which i only recently heard and came as a surprise. It's good because her take is so different, in the way that Margo Timmins interpreted "Sweet Jane" - the same song enough, but still maintaining the original integrity of the song.
Doubtless there are many others. The main point I wanted to make here was that in my view, Ferry did not pull it off. Others have and have done so well, and we alll know that Dylan has written songs for others and performed with Johnny Cash etc. - all of which was good - but the Dylanesque album just didn't work for me.
I'd be curious if any other Dylan people out there like it or to hear another take. I must be missing something here, but then, i don't know how the record is selling. As with most things Dylan, it will probably sell well for it's commercial value, but i expect simply be for collectors and not much listened to - i could be wrong. Am I?
4 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
Hi Holly: you and i don't disagree... as i said, there are many great Dylan covers and even great songs that Dylan wrote specifically for others to perform. IT would be absurd for just Dylan to do Dylan (even if I personally am mostly a purist, there are covers i really like a lot.... ).
The main point here was to review "Dylanesque" and i like Ferry - a lot - but in this incarnation, he fails, or flops or whatever you want to say... it just doesn't work - and that's too bad because i wanted to see him succeed, so i was rather looking forward. The trouble was that Ferry didn't allow himself to be just Ferry; he tried to be something else (i don't know what to call it other than "not quite on the mark") -
Yes, you're totally right about Shakespeare, same with Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Carroll adaptations - which are endless - we need or want differnt interpretations and some are simply amazing and take us far from the original and may even be better but they are by definition derivative or interpretive which again, is all good - i just wish Ferry had done a better job. I was on his side...
oh well.
but we agree, you and I.
5 - Steve
Interesting article, Sadi. I wondered what that album would sound like. Have you heard Simply Red's version of "Positively 4th Street" from their 2003 album "Home"?? Just curious.
6 - sadi ranson-polizzotti
hey Steve - I actually haven't heard the Simply Red version (remiss of me, since i like Simply Red a lot) - i'll go forth and seek. Is it good? If you like it, then i likely would as well... There are many excellent Dylan covers out there, i just didn't feel that Dylanesque was particularly good. Ferry is good as Ferry... and i really like him, but i don't like him doing Dylan... maybe Dylan does, but i don't. I actually wonder what Dylan thought of the covers but rather assumed he was okay with it otherwise maybe he would put the kibosh on it but who knows... at the end of the day, Dylan is commercial like anyone, witness his advertisments etc and that's fine... he never claimed to be anything more than that. Song and Dance Man, i believe....
7 - Steve
Funny you should ask that about that tune, Sadi...when I loaded my CD collection onto my computer, I tried to limit the tracks to those I enjoyed and were familiar with, in order to fit into the memory capacity of the computer. Alas, the track you asked about was not one of those, so I'll have to dig it out and listen to it sometime the old fashioned way lol.
8 - Steve
Re. the Simply Red version of Dylan's "Positively 4th Street", Sadi, I finally got around to listening to it...it wasn't bad, but you sure could tell it was written by Dylan lol.
9 - Steve
Hey, Sadi,
Long time no hear (over a month)! Any idea when the next List Of The Moment will be??
10 - Steve
Sadi,
Just wondering if you have heard the latest re-recording of the Bob Dylan tune "You Go Your Way (I'll Go Mine)" by producer Mark Ronson (of Amy Winehouse fame among others). He apparently turns what was a folk tune, into a soul tune. Due out Oct. 1st, it can be found on a site bearing Dylan's name so I assume you know it already (don't know how to do links so I would rather not spell it out here!!).
Let me know what you think when you find it!