All posts by Hallgeir

The 5 Best Music Books 2015

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When we read about music, we listen to the music we read about. A good red wine in the glass, or a good cup of coffee and the music playing in the background. The artist’s catalogue (and bootlegs) should be available to us, so that when we read about a concert or a record, we can listen to exactly that music when reading. It is not always possible, but very often it is. We need to set the mood.

We don’t look at the year of release when we buy music books, but we do buy interesting new releases.

We’ve plowed through about 40 books about music this year between us, most of them old books about music history (blues, country or certain albums), these are The Five Best Music Books of 2015:

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The 5 Best Music Videos 2015

bob-dylan the night

I like when music videos are made as short films, not just as promo clips to sell the music. I look at the cinematography, the acting, the writing and, of course, how the music fits the images.

We have chosen these 5 videos as the best of the year 2015.

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Waterboys covers Bob Dylan – Happy Birthday, Mike Scott!

Waterboys Haugesund 1
photo: alldylan

I love The Waterboys in all it’s incarnations and I’ve had a relationship with them almost as long as with Bob Dylan. I have seen them live a lot of times, many more than I’ve seen Dylan. I know that a Waterboys concert is always good, sometimes magical. Last time I saw them was when they opened for Neil Young in Bergen 2014, they were great! They have played several venues in Norway 2015.

I’m a sucker for good cover versions and Mike Scott certainly knows how to do that. Please check out his reading (from his own book, Adventures of a Waterboy) down in this post, it is a wonderful story.

All the pictures were taken at a show in Haugesund, Norway in 2012.

Let’s start with a phenomenal version of Dylan’s Girl from the North Country:

And a live version from Liverpool Philharmonic Hall 8th December 2013:

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3 fine cover versions: Dylan’s Man Gave Name To All The Animals

adam-naming-animals
Man Gave Names to All the Animals is a song written by Bob Dylan that appeared on Dylan’s 1979 album Slow Train Coming and was also released as a single in some European countries. It was also released as a promo single in US. The single became a chart hit in France and Belgium.

Bob Dylan slow train

However, the song also has detractors who consider it the worst song Dylan ever wrote. A 2013 reader’s poll conducted by Rolling Stone Magazine ranked “Man Gave Names to All the Animals” the 4th worst Bob Dylan song, although the hit single from Slow Train Coming, “Gotta Serve Somebody” placed second. I love’em both.

Man Gave Names to All the Animals has been covered by multiple artists, I’ve picked three of my favourites.

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The Best Dylan Covers: John Lynch – One More Cup Of Coffee

John Lynch

Desire is the seventeenth studio album by Bob Dylan, released on January 5, 1976 by Columbia Records.

It is one of Dylan’s most collaborative efforts, featuring the same caravan of musicians as the acclaimed Rolling Thunder Revue tours the previous year (later documented on The Bootleg Series Vol. 5); many of the songs also featured backing vocals by Emmylou Harris and Ronee Blakley.

Bob_Dylan-Desire-Frontal

John Lynch is a blues singer/shouter from Cork City. John makes impromptu guest appearances on any given Monday at Charlies Bar, Union Quay, Cork. He also performs as lead vocalist of The Medication Blues Band. John hasn’t made any formal recordings (as yet), but some videos of his live performances exist on Youtube. Check out his rendition of “Hoochie Coochie Man”, also from this show. Cork band Princes Street named one of their albums in his honour “The Night John Lynch Lost His Glasses”.

On 24th May, 2012, Cork city musicians celebrated Bob Dylan’s 71st birthday at the Pavilion. John Lynch sang up a storm with his rendition of ‘One More Cup of Coffee’ from Dylan’s 1976 ‘Desire’ album.

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