..his vocals were a crucial part of the classic sound of The band, a sound that influenced so much music, and he has always been a superb rock”n”roll drummer.
~Michael Gray (The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia)
Levon Helm covering Bob Dylan feels only natural (check out Michael Gray’s piece on Levon Helm here).
Here we go:
Goin’ to Acapulco:
Continue reading Levon Helm sings Bob Dylan (and with Bob Dylan)
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Well we have finished our 5 polls focusing on the different decades:
Now is that too much to ask ? 😉
| Blind Willie McTell (May 5, 1898 – August 19, 1959) (read more)
And I know no one can sing the blues — |
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| Bob Dylan recorded the released version of “Blind Willie McTell” @ Studio A, Power Station, New York City, New York – 5 May 1983. – “Blind Willie McTell” is a song by Bob Dylan, titled after the blues singer Blind Willie McTell. It was recorded in 1983 but left off Dylan’s album Infidels and officially released in 1991 on the The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. |
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| Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally by her stage name as Tammy Wynette, (May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the Country music’s best-known artists and biggest-selling female singers. She was an icon to country music. |  |
| Marshall Garnett Grant (May 5, 1928 – August 7, 2011) was the upright bassist and electric bassist of singer Johnny Cash’s original backing duo, the Tennessee Two, in which Grant and electric guitarist Luther Perkins played. The group became known as The Tennessee Three in 1960, with the addition of drummer W. S. Holland. Grant also served as road manager for Cash and his touring show company. |  |
| Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born 5 May 1988), better known simply as Adele, is an English singer-songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist. Adele was offered a recording contract from XL Recordings after a friend posted her demo on Myspace in 2006. The next year she received the Brit Awards “Critics’ Choice” award and won the BBC Sound of 2008. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008 to much commercial and critical success. It certified four times platinum in the UK, and double platinum in the US. Her career in the US was boosted by a Saturday Night Live appearance in late 2008. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, Adele received the awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. |  |
Spotify Playlist – |
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Blind Willie McTell was voted the best 80s song in our little poll, deservedly so.
“Blind Willie McTell” is a song by Bob Dylan, titled after the blues singer Blind Willie McTell. It was recorded in 1983 but left off Dylan’s album Infidels and officially released in 1991 on the The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. The melody has a resemblance to “St. James Infirmary Blues”. For the song, Dylan, seated at the piano and accompanied by Mark Knopfler on the twelve-string acoustic guitar, sings a series of plaintive verses depicting allegorical scenes which reflect on the history of American music and slavery. Each verse ends with the same refrain: “Nobody can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell”.
Following three albums with overt Christian themes, Infidels struck most major rock critics as dealing largely with secular concerns, and they hailed it as a comeback. The mysterious exclusion of “Blind Willie McTell” complicates the story. When bootleggers released the outtakes from Infidels, the song was recognized as a composition approaching the quality of such classics as “Tangled Up In Blue”, “Like a Rolling Stone” and “All Along the Watchtower”.
Bob Dylan – Blind Willie McTell (audio, Bootleg series 1-3):
This is the spookiest important record since Heartbreak Hotel, and is built upon the perfect interweaving of guitar, piano, voice and silence – an interweaving that has the space for the lovely clarity of single notes – a guitar string stroking the air here, a piano note pushing back the distance there. And if anything, the still-unreleased performance is even better, for its more original melody (less dependent upon the conventional St. James Infirmary structure) and its incandescent vocal, which soars to possess the heights of reverie and inspiration. No one can sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell, but no one can write or sing a blues like Blind Willie McTell like Bob Dylan.
– Michael Gray
Bob Dylan – Blind Willie McTell (audio, electric version):
“One of Bob Dylan’s absolute masterpieces, “Blind Willie McTell” is the jewel of The Bootleg Series and arguably one of the finest songs ever written. Recorded in 1983 for the album Infidels, it was deemed superfluous to requirements, and all that remains is one take of the song with a full band (yet to be officially released) and this haunting demo, with Dylan playing piano with accompaniment from Mark Knopfler.”
– Thomas Ward (allmusic)
The best!
Continue reading Bob Dylan’s Blind Willie McTell cover versions audio and video
Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, “This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem”
I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
Let’s start this party by reminding ourselves what a fantastic song this is. Here are the official released Bob Dylan version from The Bootleg Series Volume 1-3:
“One of Bob Dylan’s absolute masterpieces, “Blind Willie McTell” is the jewel of The Bootleg Series and arguably one of the finest songs ever written. Recorded in 1983 for the album Infidels, it was deemed superfluous to requirements, and all that remains is one take of the song with a full band (yet to be officially released) and this haunting demo, with Dylan playing piano with accompaniment from Mark Knopfler.”
– Thomas Ward (allmusic)
And the outtake, the electric version from the Infidels sessions (audio), my favorite:
Ok, so here are those wonderful cover versions.
The magnificent Mick Taylor did this great version in Germany in 2009 (Rockpalast):
This cover version by Dream Syndicate from a free single given away with Bucketfull of Brains. No dates of the recording are listed. Apologies as it cuts just before the end of the song (audio):
“I started playing it live because I heard the Band doing it. Most likely it was a demo, probably showing the musicians how it should go. It was never developed fully, I never got around to completing it. There wouldn’t have been any other reason for leaving it off the record. It’s like taking a painting by Monet or Picasso – goin’ to his house and lookin’ at a half-finished painting and grabbing it and selling it to people who are ‘Picasso fans.'”
– Bob Dylan
Levon Helm Band “Blind Willie” Live at Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL 11-4-2010:
I want to include a very fine interpretation in Swedish by Mikael Wiehe (Spotify):
Finally a jazz/blues instrumental, wonderfully done by Jef Lee Johnson (Audio):
– Hallgeir