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Music cover versions - where the cover improves the original

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Three great live Dylan covers: Bruce Springsteen's Chimes of Freedom, Neil Young's Blowin In The Wind and a version of My Back Pages at a Dylan tribute concert by Tom Petty, George Harrison, Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Dylan himself.

 
Ah. Mr Zimmerman. The first Dylan album I bought was Desire, the one with Hurricane, Mozambique, Sarah - "writing Sad-eyed lady of the lowland for you" - then I bought Blood On The Tracks, definitely one of the greatest albums of all time, and went on to investigate Dylan's back catalogue, all the way back. Favourites to this day, apart from the obvious early '60s classics, include Self-Portrait, deemed by many Dylan fans to be his worst album ever. But not me .. then there was Blonde on Blonde, The Basement Tapes with The Band. The most well known song from this album probably being Wheels On Fire, but also including a lot of truly wonderful songs, from Dylan and The Band .. If you're new to Dylan, Greatest Hits 1 is a good place to start, but Greatest Hits 2 is better, the double (vinyl) album with the blue sleeve .. or Blood On The Tracks or .. well anywhere really. Dylan may be something of an acquired taste, especially nowadays, but if so, it's a taste well worth acquiring.

Next up .. Leonard Cohen anyone? Who's music, contrary to popular perception, is actually anything but depressing.

 
My favourite Dylan album is probably 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' - the fact that it spans from the forgiving 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright' (for me one of the most humane songs I have ever heard) to 'Masters of War' in which Dylan, very uncharacteristically, says 'I hope that you die and you death will come soon' is breathtaking and memorable.

As for Leonard Cohen, well I also sign up to that fan club. First Cohen album I heard was 'Songs from a Room' and from the opening moments of 'Story of Isaac' I was hooked. I have also read stacks of his poetry and his two novels. 'The Favourite Game' always reminded me a little of Steinbeck's 'Tortilla Flat' (which is no bad thing) but it was 'Beautiful Losers' that really haunted me, especially the suicide scene in the elevator shaft - it must be 15 years since I last read it but that scene sticks in my mind as if I read it yesterday.

 
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Mod is clearly a man of few words and all of them wrong!

 
moi said:
Don't you "pah" me, you young whippersnapper! Say Hello Wave Goodbye was neither a Dylan nor a Pink Floyd song, as you seem to insinuate, but a Marc Almond one. I have to say, though that I find it hard to decide whether I prefer the David Gray or the Marc Almond.
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My two comments were unrelated! I am well aware that the original was by Soft Cell ;)

 
:angry: Loz yes I agree with everyword you have said on Dylan... Have you seen the film "I'm not there" with Cate Blanchett, Cristian Bale and Richard Gere, amongst others playing a Dylan type person.. Really good film if you love the man like me.

I think that anyone who thinks that a Dylan song is better covered by someone else has missed the point somewhat. And I think the only one that did him justice is All along the Watch Tower like Loz said, and that is because it was taken to a different place.

Dinosaur I maybe, but this is the greatest songwriter and poet of our time.. and when he passes (god forbid not too soon) you will all wish you had taken the time to see him as he still out there doing his thing.. ... his voice is shot to pieces these days mind !

 
ethicalstrategy said:
My two comments were unrelated! I am well aware that the original was by Soft Cell :angry:
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Grovelling apologies - I thought they followed on. Nevertheless, to give a "pah" to Dylan is a shocking thing for a man with "ethical in his name to do.

 
andy said:
::clap2:: Loz yes I agree with everyword you have said on Dylan... Have you seen the film "I'm not there" with Cate Blanchett, Cristian Bale and Richard Gere, amongst others playing a Dylan type person.. Really good film if you love the man like me.
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I haven't and I thank you for the reminder as I remember reading about it when it was getting made and thinking it was a film I wanted to see and then promptly forgot all about it.

I think the only criticism I have ever had of Dylan was the Sinead O'Connor incident at his Madison Square gardens tribute concert. For those of you who aren't aware of the background (and are interested!) I will provide a brief summary .

A few weeks before the tribute concert O'Connor was on Saturday Night Live and was singing a cover version of Bob Marley's 'War' which was an explicit attack at sexual abuse within the Catholic church. She achieved this by changing the lyrics slightly to focus it on child abuse instead of racism. During the performance she pulled out a picture of the Pope (then John Paul II) tore it up and threw the torn parts at the camera. The crowd had a hairy canary and afterwards many people burned her records and carried on shoving their heads in the sand.

Anyway a few weeks later O'Connor appeared at the Dylan tribute concert and was supposed to be singing a Dylan cover (as everyone else did) and when she walked on stage she was greeted by vitriol (it should be said that some of the crowd did support her but the majority didn't). She had started singing her Dylan cover (can't remember what it was) but quickly stopped the band and replaced the scheduled song by singing without any accompaniment (and very loudly) a further rendition of 'War' (well her amended version) before leaving the stage.

That night she, for me, did the sort of ting that Dylan would have done in his youth and that night it was Kris Kristofferson who openly supported her. When Dylan came on the stage he made no effort to show any support for her. Now I know I could be reading too much into that but I would just have liked for him, in the final encore when all the artists were on stage,

to have made a concerted effort to stand beside her and maybe put his arm round her. Sounds a little pathetic I know but I think that one act would have mirrored the Dylan I have grown up loving.

Anyway that is just one little criticism and is far outweighed by the admiration I have for him. I have seen him lie in recent times and yes his voice has gone but to be honest I really didn't care! I would go again tomorrow.

 
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Anyone familiar with Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGxOUezyCms)

Well I actually got to know this little beauty of a cover from Lacuna Coil before I realised it was in fact a cover (

)(can the admins change the links to where you can run it within the window?)

 
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