Best cover of a Dylan song?

[Donna Ferentes]

Well, it's a song about death, and it was certainly dead by the time they'd finished with it.

 

[Major Tom]

Cheers Belboid..

Yer all going to shoot me.. but I think Guns n Roses cover of Knockin' on Heavans Door was a very decent effort..

 

[Roadkill]

IMO most of the Byrds' covers of Dylan songs were awful. They turned Mr Tambourine Man into a horrible, sugary pop dirge, which is unforgiveable. Their version of My Back Pages was good, though.

Joan Baez did some lovely versions of Dylam songs on her early albums. On 'Farewell Angelina' (itself named after the title track - a Dylan cover!) her version of It;s All Over Now, baby Blue was gorgeous.

Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower? I'm saying nothing, for fear of being set upon by irate Hendrix fans!

 

[brahaminda]

Joan Baez did some lovely versions of Dylam songs on her early albums

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And you think The Byrds Dylan stuff is saccharinne???
At least it doesn't approximate being force fed dr Pepper
while someone scrapes FuManchus fingernails down the biggest blackboard in the northern hemisphere

(Sorry, bit over the top, but Joan Baez? Me no likeeee....).

 

[Donna Ferentes]

Tell you what though, she's looking good for her age.

 

[Major Tom]

i like joan baez - she's politically sound - she's interesting - she understands her music.


But her voice is terrible. She ruined loads of Dylan's early live appearances by doing Yoko style screeching along with it.

Her own stuff is awfull as well

 

[Roadkill]

And you think The Byrds Dylan stuff is saccharinne???

Oh Baez certainly could be, but a lot of her covers managed to stay clear of that IMO, whereas the Byrds usually didn't. I like The Byrds a lot, but they were better when they were doing their own stuff.

 

[Donna Ferentes]

But her voice is terrible. She ruined loads of Dylan's early live appearances by doing Yoko style screeching along with it.

Ah, Baez has a fabulous voice. Unfortunately, trying to sing harmonies with Bob Dylan is a mug's game.

 

[changingman]

Dylan's backing group The Band did a good version of the Weight.

This one set me to thinking as i've only ever heard it by the Band.
And a bit of research on the Magic Telly reveals it's credited either to Robbie Robertson or to Robertson/Danko/Manuel/Hudson/Helm, i.e. the Band. So it wasn't a Dylan song (I didn't think it was.. but had to check..)

 

[Mr Clutch]

Van Morrison (Them) - It's all over now baby blue

 

[Chuck Wilson]

Spirit do a brilliant cover of 'Like a Rolling Stone' on 'The Spirit of 76'. A liitle biggup for my personal most underated band ever.

 

[onemonkey]

'All along the watchtower' by that demi-god Hendrix.

of course!

i remember i was slightly gutted when i first found out that it wasn't a hendrix original... but i've since learned to love dylan.

 

[onemonkey]

he wasn;t god though - like most people seem to think.

no, clapton was god

 

[Jazzz]

All along the Watchtower - Hendrix

This also won my award for 'Best Use of Wah-Wah Pedal' in another thread!

 

[AverageJoe]

Lay Lady Lay - Ministry

 

[g force]

I seem to remember a 2 CD Dylan covers album that Mojo gave away a few years back during it's bi-monthly Dylan wankfest that was awful save an 'interesting' version of Visions of Joanna done by Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo

 

[reallyoldhippy]

Yeah, Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower. But June Tabor and The Oysterband do a very commendable version.

And I like Ani Di Franco doing Most Of The Time.

 

[Biffo]

Tom Robinson Band - I Shall Be Released

 

[Roadkill]

Yeah, Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower. But June Tabor and The Oysterband do a very commendable version.

Did they? I've got their collaboration album - Freedom and Rain - and it ain't on that. Any idea what record it's on?

 

[reallyoldhippy]

Did they? I've got their collaboration album - Freedom and Rain - and it ain't on that. Any idea what record it's on?

It's on June Tabor's Live at the BBC (IIRC) along with White Rabbit and Wheels On Fire.

(I know: White Rabbit ain't a Dylan number)

 

[Leica]

The Faces' Wicked Messenger was pretty good; also Them's It's All Over Now Baby Blue.

 

[hippogriff]

Hard Rain - Leon Russell & the Shelter People

 

[HarrisonSlade]

Scott Walker doing "My Back Pages" and Bryan Ferry's "Hard Rain" I think are better than the originals. Both much slicker and don't sound like they are being sang by a middle class boy pretending to be poor whilst

 

[treefrog]

Hendrix- AATWT

Dylan's gone on record saying that it's the definitive version

Oh, and the Soggy Bottom Boys version of Man of Constant Sorrow

 

[D'wards]

Its been mentioned here already, but The Specails version of Maggie's Farm is top stuff, especially cos it had quite a happily accidental poigniancy(spell?) in the early 80's.