I guess I've bought enough compilations, covers albums, soundtracks, and tribute albums to realize the roster of talents is usually more interesting and inspired than the results. I admit I was curious when I saw the list of artists covering Dylan songs for the soundtrack of the "biopic" I'm Not There and that's usually enough to get me to buy. When it's not, a cameo or contribution by Mark Lanegan almost certainly is yet somehow I resisted the urge until now. I've been a slow learner, but having been burned enough times made me reluctant to investigate this compilation/soundtrack.
Everyone has covered Dylan. There are scores of bland Dylan covers because just about everyone has tried it at least once. It's the "easiest" thing in the world to do. No one questions the quality of the songs, but there exists a sizable listening audience out there who recognizes Dylan as a songwriter yet they have trouble getting past the man's voice. One gets the feeling that a lot of artists think they can have a hit if they mix Dylan's lyrical mastery with their more "ear-friendly" sound. Some artists have had extraordinary success with Dylan covers. There are some people who think Jimi Hendrix wrote "All Along The Watchtower." Others think at the very least he's recorded the definitive version of the song.
For every hit, like Hendrix, there are countless misses. Over the years I've developed an appreciation for Dylan's ability to interpret his own work, so I'm not as eager to embrace other artists' vision for his songs. Rather than comparing each cover to the original, I decided to approach I'm Not There differently. I saw this set as an opportunity to sample some artists I knew by name but whose music I'd never heard because of the wide range of artists involved in the project. Rather than viewing this as a collection of Dylan covers, I approached this as a jukebox.
The only Los Lobos song I've ever heard was "La Bamba" from when I was a kid. They've done critically acclaimed work since then, but I've never investigated any of it. I read the occasional review praising their albums, but they never seemed to fit well with what I was listening to at a particular moment so I never felt a surge of motivation to take a gamble. Their cover of "Billy 1" is one of the high points on the record. I can't compare it to the Dylan original, but I like what LL have done here. There are a couple of LL compilations out there, so this might be the nudge I need to see what they're all about when they're doing their own songs.
Article comments
1 - Donald Gibson
For the record, Dylan considers the Hendrix version of "All Along the Watchtower" to be the definitive one, too. Even now, when Dylan plays it live, it's the Hendrix arrangement.
And to hear how Cat Power can rearrange a Dylan song and still make it work, check out her take on "I Believe In You," from her latest album, Jukebox.
2 - Glen Boyd
Dylan actually rearranges and reinvents his own material in concert all of the time. So much so, that when you hear him play the songs live, it often takes a minute or two to figure out what song is acually being played.
The Hendrix arrangement of 'Watchtower' does remain failrly constant (Neil Young has been known to play this live too), but even there it gets tweaked from time to time.
-Glen
3 - Josh Hathaway
Yeah, Donald, I know Dylan is pretty fond of Hendrix's version of it and when I saw him in Nashville he performed it in a style not too dissimilar from Hendrix's brilliant version.
I am glad you commented here, sir, because I figured you might be someone who could recommend a starting point for Cat Power. Would you start with Jukebox and work backwards, or where should I go?
Mr. Glen, you're 100% correct that Dylan often reinvents his songs. I remember reading an interview with Roger Waters where he said he quit going to see Dylan because he got tired of trying to figure out which song he was playing.
4 - Donald Gibson
For Cat Power, start with The Greatest. It's brilliant and gorgeous. And it won the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize.
5 - Mat Brewster
I'll second the praise for Cat Power. I started off with Jukebox and it took me several listens to care for it, but I dig it more and more each time I listen. I've not listened The Greatest all the way through yet (just got it actually) but what I've heard is really good.
6 - Mark Saleski
Los Lobos: screw the compilations. get Kiko and Colossal Head. trust me.
7 - Josh Hathaway
Thanks for the suggestions, Sirs Saleski and Gibson. I went to SatanBestBuy to look for these along with two other new releases. Here's a shocker: they didn't have them in stock. I'm about to send Amazon more money, and that's all right with me.