Tag Archives: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan, Cover versions, Ian Hunter

Ian Hunter Is Your Love In Vain (Dylan) – Happy Birthday Mr. Hunter!

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ian hunter

Do you love me, or are you just extending goodwill?
Do you need me half as bad as you say, or are you just feeling guilt?
I’ve been burned before and I know the score
So you won’t hear me complain
Will I be able to count on you
Or is your love in vain?

Is your love in vain? is a song from Dylan’s Street Legal album, but my favourite version (official, that is…) is from Live at Budokan. It’s a heart achingly honest love song, he really bares his heart, and I feel for the man. The song is profoundly touching, and in my book, one of Bob Dylan’s best love songs. It received a fair amount of negative response when it was released, some critics meant it was degrading women. I think that is harsh, I simply cannot see it.

Ian Hunter performed the song for a TV-show in 1981 (aired 1982?) and has been released on a bootleg/semi-official compilation album, Bald At The Station (2012).

bald_at_the_station

“The CD ends with one song from a 1982 Don Kirshner performance and finds Hunter diving back to his roots, dirging up Dylan’s “Love in Vain” and making it his own. If a better-quality recording exists, let’s hope it turns up somewhere soon. In the meantime, it’s a marvelous end to a surprisingly useful odds ‘n’ oddities collection, and proof that we were all severely shortchanged when the Ian Hunter anthology turned out to be a mere two discs. He deserved at least four.”
– Dave Thompson (allmusic.com)

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan Concerts

June 1: Bob Dylan – BBC concert 1965

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bob dylan bbc 1965

 Dylan records two 35-minute TV programs for the BBC, which had outbid Granada for a Dylan TV special, only to then have a delay brought on by Dylan’s illness. During the rehearsals for the show, he tries an acoustic “Maggie’s Farm,” but decides not to attempt it for the shows. The BBC film one of the songs at rehearsal, “Mr. Tambourine Man,” but the footage is later destroyed. The two programs feature 12 songs, including three not featured in the then-current repertoire: “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” “One Too Many Mornings,” and “Boots of Spanish Leather.” Except for these three songs, the shows concentrate on newer material, featuring only “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” and “It Ain’t Me, Babe” from the first four albums.
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)

..recording two half-hour TV shows for the BBC on June I; the twelve acoustic performances survive on audio but not videotape. The performances are fairly routine, uninspired, with the exception of “One Too Many Mornings” which is fresh and passionate. Dylan must have really felt a thousand miles behind by this point.
In hindsight, the BBC-TV filming was the last stand of Bob Dylan, folk star. When he arrived back in the States the Byrds’ version of “Mr. Tambourine Man” was at the top of the charts.
~Paul Williams (Bob Dylan Performing Artist I: The Early Years 1960-1973)

BBC Studios
London England
1 June 1965

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan Concerts, Bob Dylan video

June 1: Bob Dylan – Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California 1978 (audio & video)

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bob dylan 1978

Dylan prepares for his first European tour in 12 years with the first of seven dates at the Universal Amphitheatre. Dylan introduces two songs from his forthcoming album, “Baby Stop Crying” replacing “I Threw It all Away,” and “Senor” replacing “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright, Ma” Also introduced are the two arrangements that come in for such critical praise on his European visit, the torch ballad version of “Tangled Up in Blue” with just guitar, saxophone, and keyboard; and the hard-rock version of “Masters of War,” the fury of the backing for once matching the venom of the words. “Tangled Up in Blue” replaces a similar arrangement of”Girl from the North Country,” “Masters of War” replaces “Oh Sister.” The set’s finale is condensed down to: “The Man in Me,” “It’s Alright, Ma,” “Forever Young,” and a single encore, “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”
~Clinton Heylin (Bob Dylan: A Life in Stolen Moments Day by Day 1941-1995)

Universal Amphitheater
Los Angeles, California
1 June 1978

  • 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)

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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan albums, Music Calendar

May 30: Bob Dylan released Down In The Groove in 1988

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Bob_Dylan_Down_In_The_Groove

“Bob’s bad stuff is better than other musicians’ best”

Down in the Groove is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan‘s 25th studio album, released by Columbia Records 30 May 1988. Egil here at Johannasvisions rate it as maybe Dylan’s lowest point. Me? I’m not so sure anymore…

It got pretty terrible reviews upon it’s release. Many reviewers compared it to his previous album, Knocked Out Loaded, and not in a favourable way.

Wikipedia:
“A highly collaborative effort, it was Dylan’s second consecutive album to receive almost unanimous negative reviews. Released during a period when his recording career was experiencing a slump, sales were disappointing, reaching only #61 in the US and #32 in the UK.”

How is it in hindsight? Was it unfairly slated? I think it’s better than reported and as usual Dylan’s standards were expected to be higher than anybody else’s. We cannot expect a masterpiece every time. Can we?

The album was delayed for more than six months and the track listing changed at least three times. The tracks that made the final album come from many different recording sessions spread out over a long time (six years?).

Rick Griffin Down in the Groove
Rick Griffin was asked by Dylan’s management to come up with a cover design for what was to be the ‘Down In The Groove’ album. Rick produced many designs and, apparently, became somewhat exasperated as his ideas were rejected and changed. This seems to have reflected the overall situation surrounding the album at the time (bonhams)

I’ve always thought of it as a strangely confusing album, but it gets less confusing with each listen session. It has some very good cover songs. Let’s Stick together opens the record in an energetic way, I would love to hear it live!

The comes the song I think is not very good at all, the cover When did you leave heaven. Very eighties drum sound, strange production, it just sounds a bit off, I don’t think the song suits Dylan, and it ends kind of funny.

Sally Sue Brown, the third track is another rockn’roll/soul standard that gets a good run through. I prefer Arthur Alexanders classic, but it is not bad at all.

The last three songs on the album are also cover songs (Ninety Miles an Hour (Down a dead end street), Shenandoah and Rank Strangers To Me, and they are all quite good actually.
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