Category Archives: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Gospel, List, Sound

10 Good cover versions of Bob Dylan’s Christian songs (edit)

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Bob Dylan

10 Good cover versions of Bob Dylan’s Christian songs

I love the “Christian period” in Dylan’s career, always have. In the beginning I felt quite alone in my belief in Dylan, but now he is finally getting recognised for his faith-based songs. The Bob Dylan records from that period are so much better than the critics at the time wrote, they were simply too shocked by his conversion to see the beauty in the songs. I have to say that not all critics were harsh, some recognised quality.

And so what if he’s taken up with the God of Wrath? Since when have you been so crazy about the God of Love? Or any other species of hippie bullshit?
– Robert Christgau

First his live shows from these years got well deserved praise and now finally the albums. They might not be among his best by Dylan’s standard, but by anyone else’s they’re actually quite decent!

Bob Dylan Gospel 2

Here are evidence that the songs are solid Bob Dylan compositions. I have tried not to only include gospel choirs, there are a lot of performances I could have chosen, but instead I’ve tried to show how the songs work in different styles.

Enjoy!

I Believe In You – Sinead O’Connor

Such a presence, and the voice, man!

What can I do for you – Helen Baylor:

Good gospel/soul!
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Bob Dylan: Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right – Manchester 2002 (video)

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bob dylan manchester 2002

It ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don’t matter, anyhow
An’ it ain’t no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don’t know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and I’ll be gone
You’re the reason I’m trav’lin’ on
Don’t think twice, it’s all right

Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester, England
9 May 2002

  • Bob Dylan (vocal & guitar)
  • Charlie Sexton (guitar)
  • Larry Campbell (guitar, mandolin, pedal steel guitar & electric slide guitar)
  • Tony Garnier (bass)
  • Jim Keltner (drums & percussion)

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Bob Dylan, Music Calendar, Patti Smith, Paul McCartney

May 17 in music history

Bob Dylan & The Hawks: Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England 17 May 1966 (read more)

Live 1966: The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert is a two-disc live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1998. It was recorded at the Manchester Free Trade Hall during Dylan’s world tour in 1966. Extensively bootlegged for decades, it is an important document in the development of popular music during the 1960s.

 bob_dylan_-_live_1966_-_front

The Bob Dylan documentary, Dont look back premiered in 1967 (read more)


Dont Look Back  is a 1967 film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan’s 1965 concert tour in the United Kingdom.In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Wanting to make more than just a concert film, Pennebaker decided to seek out both the public and private Bob Dylan. With unobtrusive equipment and rare access to the elusive performer, he achieved a fly-on-the-wall glimpse of one of the most influential musicians of all time and redefined filmmaking along the way. …and it is funny!

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Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942),who uses the stage nameTaj Mahal,is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music. A self-taught singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, banjo and harmonica (among many other instruments), Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50 year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific.  Taj_Mahal_(musician)
 Johnny “Guitar” Watson (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996)was an American blues and funk guitarist and singer.A flamboyant showman and guitar picker in the style of T-Bone Walker, Watson recorded throughout the 1950s and 1960s with some success. His raunchy reinvention in the 1970s with disco and funk overtones, saw Watson have hits with “Ain’t That a Bitch”, “I Need It” and “Superman Lover”. His successful recording career spanned forty years, with his biggest hit being the 1977 “A Real Mother For Ya”.  Johnny_Guitar_Watson
James Ridout “Jesse” Winchester (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014)was an American musician and songwriter who was born and raised in the southern United States. To avoid the Vietnam War draft he moved to Canada in 1967, where he began his career as a solo artist. His highest charting recordings were of his own tunes, “Yankee Lady” in 1970 and “Say What” in 1981. He became a Canadian citizen in 1973, gained amnesty in the U.S. in 1977 and resettled there in 2002.  Jesse_Winchester_Smile_JazzFest_2011
Wave is an album by the Patti Smith Group, released May 17, 1979The title track was a tribute to Pope John Paul I, whose brief papacy coincided with the recording sessions. The first single off the album was “Frederick”, a love song for her husband-to-be Fred “Sonic” Smith with a melody and structure bearing resemblance to “Because the Night”, the group’s biggest hit. The second single, “Dancing Barefoot”, has been covered by many art  Wave_-_Patti_Smith_Group
Ram is a studio album by recording artists Paul and Linda McCartney, released 17 May 1971 on Apple Records.The album was recorded amid Paul McCartney’s legal action in Britain’s High Court to dissolvethe Beatles‘ partnership, following their break-up the year before. The only album credited to the couple, Ram was the second of two albums that McCartney released between quitting the Beatles and forming his own band, Wings. He and Linda recorded it in New York with guitarists David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken, and future Wings drummer Denny Seiwell. Its release coincided with a period of bitter acrimony between McCartney and his former bandmate John Lennon, who perceived verbal slights in the lyrics to songs such as “Too Many People“.  RamMcCartneyalbumcover

Spotify Playlist –
Blues, Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Taj Mahal

Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal – Happy birthday bluesman Taj Mahal

taj mahal

Bob Dylan and Taj Mahal – Happy birthday bluesman Taj Mahal

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks (born May 17, 1942),who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music. A self-taught singer-songwriter and film composer who plays the guitar, banjo and harmonica (among many other instruments), Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his almost 50 year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa and the South Pacific.

He has done some Dylan songs, and he add his own signature to his interpretations. I have also included a short show with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, John Fogerty and Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band – Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream (Audio from the Amnesty album, Chimes Of Freedom: The Songs Of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years Of Amnesty International):

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Bob Dylan: Desolation Row, Glasgow 2011 (video)

bob dylan Glasgow 2011

They’re selling postcards of the hanging
They’re painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They’ve got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they’re restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row

Braehead Arena
Glasgow, Scotland
9 October 2011

  • Bob Dylan (vocal & keyboard)
  • Stu Kimball (guitar)
  • Charlie Sexton (guitar)
  • Donnie Herron (violin, mandolin, steel guitar)
  • Tony Garnier (bass)
  • George Receli (drums & percussion)

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