All posts by Hallgeir

Bob Dylan, Country, Indie, List, Rock, Singer Songwriter

13 great Americana versions of Bob Dylan songs

14 Comments

Dylan_Bob_280_1973.jpg

13 great Americana versions of Bob Dylan songs

Americana is an amalgam of roots music formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influences. Americana, as defined by the Americana Music Association (AMA), is “contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band.”

A while ago I did a post on my top 10 country versions of Bob Dylan songs (soon to be updated), since then I’ve been made aware of a lot more songs from people who read the original post. Then most of my pickings where of classic country leaning on outlaw country, in this post I will concentrate on the new generation of country/ alt. country.

Dylan Outlaw Cowboy

Here are 13 favourite Bob Dylan songs performed by Americana artists. Lets start with a great live version:

Bobby Long & John Fullbright – It’s Not Dark Yet:

What a wonderful sound and such a great performance. These guys are just so good!

Continue reading 13 great Americana versions of Bob Dylan songs →

Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan calendar

September 29: Bob Dylan at Gerde’s Folk City profile in the New York Times 1961

1 Comment

Dylan NYT Gerdes

“He was a cross between a choir boy and a beatnik, a 20-year-old  with a voice , anything but pretty”
– Robert Shelton

Robert Shelton helped start Mr. Dylan’s career with his Sept. 29, 1961, profile.

Wikipedia:
Robert Shelton, born Robert Shapiro (June 28, 1926, Chicago, Illinois, United States – December 11, 1995, Brighton, England) was a music and film critic. Shelton was perhaps most notable for the way in which he helped to launch the career of a then unknown 20-year-old folk singer named Bob Dylan. In 1961, Dylan was performing atGerdes Folk City in the West Village, one of the best-known folk venues in New York, opening for a bluegrass act called the Greenbriar Boys. Shelton’s positive review, in The New York Times, brought crucial publicity to Dylan, and led to a Columbia recording contract.

Robert Shelton’s review was the start of a proffesional relationship with Bob Dylan, and he wrote the liner notes to the album, Bob Dylan. Dylan also lent Shelton’s apartement to have a place to write.

He is  the writer of the book, No Direction Home – The Life and Music of Bob Dylan:bobdylannodirectionhomethelifeand550760

  • Hallgeir
Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Nick Cave

September 22: Nick Cave talks about and sing Bob Dylan’s songs – Happy birthday Mr. Cave

photo: alldylan
photo: alldylan

Nick Cave is a big favorite of ours here at alldylan, he gave us a very special concert at Bergenfest last year, and he’s clearly a Bob Dylan fan.

Today it’s his birthday, and we celebrate by looking at his interpretation of Dylan’s songs. We found three different tunes, if there are more, please tell us in the comment section.

Let us start.

Nick Cave talks about the song he wished he had written, I threw it all away:

Continue reading September 22: Nick Cave talks about and sing Bob Dylan’s songs – Happy birthday Mr. Cave →

Bob Dylan, Bootleg, Live

My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 1978: Border beneath the sun – July 6th Paris

1 Comment





border11978 was one of Dylan’s darkest period and one of his most controversial tours. A lot of people thought the 1978 World Tour or “Alimony Tour” was bad, maybe because of to the Live at Budokan double LP. In fact, it was one of the most exciting, especially in Europe in Summer and the US in Autumn. There are many good, and some great bootlegs from the tour.

border8This tape is from the Pavillon de Paris concert in July. You can find it on the bootleg “Border Beneath the Sun”. It was the fourth night from a series of five concerts in Paris. Bob is on fire and you can hear the power of the big band. He’s rocking with all he can and the Street-Legal songs are amazing. The sound is excellent (if a bit low).

This is a must listen for any fan of Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
Billy Cross (lead guitar)
Alan Pasqua (keyboards)
Steven Soles (rhythm guitar, backup vocals)
David Mansfield (violin & mandolin)
Steve Douglas (horns)
Jerry Scheff (bass)
Bobbye Hall (percussion)
Ian Wallace (drums)
Helena Springs, Jo Ann Harris, Carolyn Dennis (background vocals)

 

Bobsboots:
“An incredible audience recording of a powerhouse performance. The title is taken from the all new lyrics in The Man In Me. The artwork is fairly nice. As our friend David Elliot pointed, out Masters Of War is left off of the back cover track list. Oddly, it’s track number (6) is left off as well, so all songs remain numbered correctly. The sound quality is as good as many soundboards. The main problem with the sound is one that seemed to be indicative of the Silver Rarities Label. The signal to noise level is way too low. (This means that you have to crank the volume to hear the discs). Since it is digital, and from a fairly quiet analog tape source, that isn’t a major problem with this particular piece. This is definitely one to have in any collection.”

Continue reading My favourite Bob Dylan bootleg 1978: Border beneath the sun – July 6th Paris →

Bob Dylan, Sound

Great Song: Scarlet Town by Bob Dylan

26 Comments

Painting By Joachim Patinir, Landscape with The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

I will not pretend to know what Bob Dylan’s exact meaning with this song is but I will offer my thoughts on what I consider the second best song on Tempest.

Scarlet Town from the Bob Dylan album Tempest (with film footage from Masked & Anonymous):

The song feels like a mash of several songs, and that’s actually what it is. He draws inspiration from the old ballad Barbara Allen, but he just uses it as a framework to tell an even more sinister tale. The new parts of the song also feels like a split between two different songs, one set in biblical times and the other addressing the state of USA/The Western world today.

Lyrics Barbara Allen (The three first verses):

In younder town where I was born
There was a fair maid dwell’n
Made every youth cry well away
Her name was Bar-bry Ellen

Was in th merry month of May
When greenbuds they were swell’n
Sweet William come from th western state
An’ courted Bar-bry Ellen

Was all in the month o’ June
When everything was blooming
Sweet William on his death bed lay
For th love of Bar-bry Ellen

Bob Dylan has a long lasting relationship with Barbara Allen (the song) and I’ve included some versions here just as a reference.

Here is a wonderful separate post concerning Barbara Allen from Egil.

The first two verses from the Gaslight tapes (it’s eight minutes and has a lot of verses):

In Charlotte town, not far from here,
There was a fair maid dwellin.’
Had a name was known both far and near,
An’ her name was Barb’ry Allen.

‘Twas in the merry month of May,
Green buds they were swellin’,
Poor William on his death-bed lay,
For the love of Barb’ry Allen.

1988 live:

The first two verses in the -88 version:

In Scarlet Town where I was born
there was a fair maid dwelling,
and her name was known both far and near,
and they called her Barbara Allen.

T’was in the merry month of may
the green buds they were swelling,
sweet William on his death bed lay
for the love of Barbara Allen.

Two other artist that has used this song as a basis for an entirely new song are Gillian Welch and David Rawlings:

Not at all like the original Barbara Allen and the only two things it has in common with Bob Dylan’s song are, the title and it’s origin. The melody is different and the “story”/text is completely different (even if both have a distictly sombre tone). Gillian Welch/David Rawlings have more folksy/appalachian feel, while Dylan sings in a more talking blues style.

Continue reading Great Song: Scarlet Town by Bob Dylan →