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A Nod to Bob: An Artists' Tribute to Bob Dylan on His Sixtieth Birthday
Participated by Greg Brown, Lucy Kaplansky, John Gorka, Guy Davis
Studio : Red House
by Red House
Release Date : 2001-05-08
Publisher : Red House
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
EAN : 0033651015420
UPC : 033651015420
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 19 reviews)
List Price : $17.98
Our Price : $11.67
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Americancivilwar.com |
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In honor of Bob Dylan's 60th birthday--May 24, 2001--the singer-songwriters and roots musicians of Red House Records offer yet another homage to the master. The tracks here range from the memorable and sometimes profound to forgettable and pleasant. With the exception of Eliza Gilkyson, whose gossamer version of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" opens the collection, the finest interpreters are the wise, time-worn voices who let the mysteries of Dylan's songs speak for themselves. Martin Simpson evokes the most heartbreaking tones of "Boots of Spanish Leather." Norman Blake and Peter Ostroushko (the only performers on the disc who have recorded with Dylan) see into the old-timey, almost 19th-century spirit of "Restless Farewell." Rosalie Sorrels, with her stately, burnished voice, gives perhaps the definitive version of "Tomorrow Is a Long Time." On the other hand, Lucy Kaplansky, Cliff Eberhardt, and John Gorka indulge in an earnestness Dylan mostly eschewed. --Roy Kasten |
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Poetry as Music |
I look on Dylan's writing as poetry first and music second. Taken from this prospective, I heard other poet/musicians applying their artistic and emotional interpretation to the works of a great fellow poet.
Bravo! |
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Getting Real with Bob Dylan |
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Superb interpretations of America's supreme musical genius. Each version here is 'real', the shining quality of even Dylan's flawed or tossed-off compositions. Standouts are Guy Davis' "Sweetheart Like You", Spider John Koerner and Dave Ray's "Delia", and John Gorka's "Girl from the North Country." If you can listen to Martin Simpson's "Boots of Spanish leather" without weeping for the beauty of it, you haven't got tears. The range of styles (cf. Tom Landa and the Paperboys doing "All Along the Watchtower" and Hart-Rouge doing "Dieu a Nos Cotes") reflects how Dylan has absorbed and transformed all genres of American music. Dylan still appreciates the real and he certainly recognized that this 'birthday gift' was the real deal. Read, by contrast, Mikal Gilmore's interview with Bob Dylan in the November 22 Rolling Stone for Dylan's keen nose for phoniness. Mikal knows what's what. His brother is Gary Gilmore, of Mailer's *Executioner's Song* fame and Mikal's own superb *Shot in the Heart,* which I have used in my war and violence courses. His attachment to the 'real' in life seems to have gotten Bob Dylan to speak in non-oblique ways about what he is about. Well, there was the 1991 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy's where Dylan was presented with a ridiculous proposal to have others (mainly pop phonies) sing a medley of his songs, and all he had to do was "show up." So he said okay. BEGIN QUOTE DYLAN: Then the Gulf War broke out. The Grammy people called and said, "Listen, we're in a tight fix. So-and-so, who was going to sing 'Times Are A-Changin',' is afraid to get on an airplane. So-and-so, who was going to do 'Like a Rolling Stone,' doesn't want to travel becuase he just had another baby and doesn't want to leave his family." That's understandable. But then so-and-so, who was going to sing, "It's All Over, Baby Blue," was in Africa and didn't want to take a chance flying to New York, and so-and-so, who was going to sing "All Along the Watchtower," wasn't sure he wanted to be at any high-visiblity place right then, because it might be a little dangerous. So they said, "Could you come and sing? Could *you* fill the time?" And I said, "What about the guy who's introducing me [Jack Nicholson]?" They said, "He's OK. He's coming." Anyway I got disillusioned with all the characters at that time-with their inner character and their ability to be able to keep their word and their idealism and their insecurity. All the ones that have the gall to thrust their tortured inner psyches on an outer world but can't at least be true to their word....I just lost respect for them. There's a few that are decent and God-fearing and will stand up in a righteous way. But I wouldn't want to count on most of them. END QUOTE Count on "A Nod to Bob" instead. |
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"Nodding off" is more like it |
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Producing a tribute to Bob Dylan by having other singers cover his songs is almost as ludicrous as asking a bunch of painters to re-do Monet's water lilies. These are cheap imitations. Only "Restless Farewell" (Norman Blake & Peter Ostroushko) has anything to recommend it. The remainder, despite the high profile and great work of some of the other performers, is pretty bleak. In particular, Lucy Kaplanskys' rendition of "It Aint Me Babe" will make your skin crawl. There is a lot of sappy sentimentalism here that bears no resemblance to the grit, irony, and sometimes venom in Dylan's delivery. If you are a Dylan fan, don't waste your money on this. If you have money to burn, give it to charity. |
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Good, Not Great |
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A must have for any fan of Dylan's, poetry, or just plain ole life. The artists have interpreted and presented individually, and that's what makes this CD good. The halting, "I Want You," alone is worth the price of admission to this uneven, earthy experience. I like the CD so well, I gave a musician/friend/artist my first copy before I purchased my second. |
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sarah jane's thoughts |
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I thought this was basically an uneven album, with some triumphs and some failures. Bob Dylan is a hard act to follow as a musician and as a vocalist, and everyone who listens to this will be hearing his voice and phrasing first, so I admire every one of the artists on this CD for their efforts. Martin Simpson actually brought the message of the Boots of Spanish Leather home to me in a way that Bob never did. But he inspired me to listen to Bob's version again, to see the difference or the similarity. I think that Simpson's interpretation is awesome. The Roches they caught everything so about the Clothesline song with wonderful harmonies and humor. Rosalie Sorrels is someone that I never knew about (I'm a bit of a neophyte) and she absolutely mesmerized me. I'm going to get more of her music. Ramblin' Jack of course held his own, with his great story. The version of I Want You was so off the mark to me that I couldn't finish listening to it. That was really the only disconcerting interpretation on the CD for me. The rest of the CD was good....not much more of note if you know what I mean. Nothing really stood out for me beyond what I've mentioned. It's not a must-have... but I'm glad I have it. |
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