UNDERRATED ALBUMS # 21

KNOWING THE SONGS WELL  
BEFORE THEY START SINGING:-

THE 2011 AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
BOB DYLAN TRIBUTE ALBUM

COMMEMORATING 50 YEARS 
OF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

The Cover Version In Context

'And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect from the mountain so all souls can see it.
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin'
But I'll know my song well before I start singin''

('A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' - Bob Dylan, 1963)
 

The appearance this year of Amnesty International's impressive 4-CD compilation of previously unreleased covers of Bob Dylan's back-catalogue, issued to mark the organisation's 50th anniversary, may give us pause to consider, along with the actual album, the place of the cover version in popular music. Incidentally, this is not Amnesty's first fund-raising foray in the field; they issued a 2-CD set of John Lennon songs in 2007 - Instant Karma. The Campaign To Save Darfur).  Nowadays, the covers-album is pretty much recognised as a genre in itself, but it's easy to forget that, once upon a time, just about all albums were effectively covers-albums. The original sales charts of the music industry were, of course, based on songs published as sheet music to be performed not only by radio and stage entertainers but by the general public gathered around stand-up pianos in public houses and domestic parlours. By the 1950s, the charts that represented the sales of records and singles were soon joined by albums which usually threw together a couple of hits with a few makeweight odds and sods, including an established standard here and there (songs became standards by virtue of accumulating a high number of cover versions).

The great engine room that drove the music industry at that time was New York's legendary Tin Pan Alley which churned out songs to be bought in their original form as well as being covered and translated the world over. London's Denmark Street was the other market leader, although a long way behind the Americans. Stateside hits were routinely covered in the UK and it was not uncommon for there to be several very similar versions of the same song charting simultaneously either side of the Atlantic. During the Rock & Roll phase, singer-songwriters such as Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly briefly weakened the traditional stranglehold, but of course, King Elvis would always be reliant on songs being presented to him and regarded covers as a stock in trade.  Even the great names who would later shape the age of 'Rock Music' - an era which demanded that singers and bands produce original material if they were to be deemed artists rather than mere pop acts - padded out their early albums with covers. It's worth remembering that all through the 1960s, the hugely successful Tamla Motown label still held even its most prized performers' albums in low regard, filling them up with an incestuous and repetitive mix of songs from that remarkable song-writing hothouse of Holland/Dozier/Holland.

To a large extent, the industry's priority with singles has always seen songs as product rather than art. By the mid to late '60s, however, record companies were prepared to allow their signings to indulge themselves artistically on album cuts and this coincided with some of the best and most enduring long-players ever made. Even in today's digital age of downloads and iPod shuffles, the album retains a cultural cachet rarely attained by the single. At the same time, songs have been recommodified to serve as backing tracks to celebrities twirling around on Strictly Come Dancing or to provide vehicles for the karaoke generation to compete with on the likes of American Idol and The X Factor. These global TV franchises have done little to encourage distinctive singing, playing or song-writing, but they have been a shot in the arm for the cover-song (consider, for instance, X Factor winner Alexanra Burke's huge hit with Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' - which prompted several other previous covers of the song by Jeff Buckley, John Cale and Rufus Wainwright to be reissued - all of them, by the way, far superior to Burke, who managed to get the lyric wrong). 

 

The songs of The Beatles and Bob Dylan have accumulated a vast and ever-growing number of cover versions a very long way beyond that achieved by any of their contemporaries.  During the late '60s, two particular songs, both of them album tracks - 'With a Little Help From My Friends', one of the slighter cuts from The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper and 'All Along The Watchtower' from Dylan's back-to acoustic John Wesley Harding, also from '67 - were taken on in ways which raised the bar on what was possible with a cover version. The first was a towering reconstruction by Joe Cocker & The Grease Band, whilst the second was an electrifying tour de force by Jimi Hendrix. Dylan has subsequently attempted to copy it himself in live performances many times since. No other cover versions have ever quite epitomised the onward and upward aesthetic of the Rock culture as much as those two extraordinary records.

In the early 1970s; there appeared a brief flurry of covers albums, most of them regarded at the time by critics as lightweight side-projects: David Bowie's Pin-Ups (1973) his homage to the bands he saw around the London clubs during the 'Swinging Sixties'; Harry Nilsson's A Little Touch Of Schmillson in the Night (1973), the first trawl through 'The Great American Songbook' by a rock performer; several excursions by Bryan Ferry on leave from Roxy Music; and not forgetting Dylan's own Self Portrait (1970), dismissed at the time by that most intellectual of American rock critics, Greil Marcus, as 'shit' ...

When they did appear, covers albums, like the increasingly prevalent live albums, were often delivered by performers as contract-filling assignments. Rod Stewart, however, was to be seen in the twilight of his career releasing several albums of reliable old chestnuts from that Great American Songbook - like Linda Ronstadt before him and Robbie Williams afterwards. It's a deep well that McCartney has also visited of late (like his old partner John, Paul has also released a set of Rock & Roll covers).

Cover versions often appear on the 'free' CDs which music magazines such as Mojo 'give away' these days. These may be commissioned as 'tribute albums' devoted to classic artists or classic albums and often include previously unreleased performances. Covers still popped up on the singles charts and flourished during the doldrums years of the 1990s and the early 21st century when the craze for anodyne boy bands, singing actors and TV talent show 'stars' was at its height. Few, if any of these records though, aspired to, let alone attained the lofty peaks of Mounts Cocker and Hendrix.

The "Chimes Of Freedom" Compilation

('For every unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail')

This is merely the latest of numerous Dylan tribute albums to appear over the years: its real importance derives from its purpose to raise funds for a truly worthy cause as well as marking Amnesty's 50th anniversary and reminding us of how Dylan, like no other songwriter of this period, 'sings of how the world can conspire against individual freedom – and how, insidiously, ordinary people can be complicit in that conspiracy', as Sean Wilentz puts it in his sleeve-note.

The scope of the enterprise is ambitious: 72 tracks featuring artists from far and wide (although predominantly American), ranging from fresh-faced pop stars to grizzled veterans and legends to obscurities, playing in many different styles - the vast majority of whom more than do justice to the songs. I had thought that I'm Not There (the 2001 OST of Todd Haynes' interesting though flawed film about Dylan) would take some beating, but the quality, variety and sheer quantity of Chimes Of Freedom manage to pull it off. I've played the whole thing several times now and can find only two real clunkers. These are, firstly, UK singer-songwriter, Natasha Bedingfield's unwitting ruination of 'Ring Them Bells', which gradually descends into a shrill, faux-gospel mess; and the unmitigated, sniffing, sobbing disaster of 'Don't Think Twice, It's Alright' by US singer / rapper Kesha, which forces one to redefine the word 'overwrought'. It could well be inferred that these performances are an indirect product of the 'X Factor' approach where phoney emoting of the Whitney & Maria School Of Over-Singing is mistaken for real soul power.

The modus operandi of the project was that all of the performances, apart from Dylan's original title-track, should be previously unreleased - but I'd have liked just a little more flexibility in order to have included Bruce Springsteen's epic version of 'Chimes' to perhaps have opened the set and provided a bookend to Dylan's original which closes the collection.l Failing that, one has to wonder why there is no version of 'Masters Of War', which would have also been an ideal curtain-raiser. Given the project's aims, the omission of this particular masterpiece is both glaring and puzzling.  My only other criticisms would be minor ones. Firstly, the sequencing occasionally leaves something to be desired - for instance, CDI ends with three ballads very similar in style and tone ('Boots Of Spanish Leather', 'Girl From The North Country' and 'Restless Farewell') whilst CD3 has back-to-back punk rushes of 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' and 'Desolation Row' which might, to some ears, seem rather a clash.

Secondly, the neat, fold-out design of the package is attractive and functional, but, apart from telling us that Bob Clearmountain mixed the whole shebang, has no recording information whatsoever about the artists - many of whom will be unknown to purchasers. An insert would have been useful. Finally, it should be noted that only four songs – all from Time Out Of Mind (1991) - represent the last 22 years of Dylan's recording career. Perhaps not all that surprising, but it might have been interesting to hear the odd new slant on some of his more recent songs (his last few albums have, after all, been very successful, both critically and commercially).
 

The Range Of Styles

Cover versions tend to fall into different types of rendition. There have been a number of themed covers albums of Dylan songs ranging from soul to strings sets. Chimes Of Freedom ticks most, if not all of the boxes in its eclectic approach to Dylan's vast back-catalogue. What follows is an unashamed exercise in pigeon-holing, but readers should bear in mind that the categories are not hard and fast and sometimes overlap.

* ACOUSTIC TO ELECTRIC (& vice versa)

US alt. rockers State Radio's furious take on one of the early anti-war songs, 'John Brown', for instance. The Dave Matthews Band's version of 'All Along The Watchtower' begins in an interestingly slow, downbeat way and later features a surprising horn solo, but along the way degenerates into wildly over-the-top howling and riffage.

* THE TEMPO CHANGE

The thrashing rampages mentioned above of 'Baby Blue' and 'Desolation Row' by US outfits Bad Religion and My Chemical Romance both work quite well. Similarly, 'Hollis Brown' gets a powerful Punk Rock treatment from Rise Against. '4th Time Around' is slowed down by Israeli singer songwriter Oren Lavie in a beautifully languid and dreamy fashion which features breathy vocals accompanied by sitar and cellos.

* MALE TO FEMALE VOCAL (& Vice Versa)

About a third of the tracks feature female leads including the World-conquering Adele with a live take of her huge hit, 'Make You Feel My Love'. Patti Smith, who did Dylan's 'Changing Of The Guard' on her own recent covers album, Twelve (2007), here offers a fine, countryish pass at 'The Drifter's Escape '. Thea Gilmore really makes something of the rather nondescript 'I'll Remember You' and Joan Baez resurrects the dusty 'Seven Curses' (and if that is her eloquent and nimble guitar, then age is certainly not withering her).

* THE GENRE SWITCH

Irish band Flogging Molly turn 'The Times They Are A-Changin' into a raucous Poguesian romp, whilst Elvis Costello's almost Doo-Wop reading of 'License To Kill', complete with falsetto backing vocals, is curiously effective (his wife, jazz artist, Diana Krall, is on top form with her stately, piano-led version of 'Simple Twist Of Fate', by the way). Then there is veteran US soul star Betty Lavette's convincing take of 'Most Of The Time'.

* LOW KEY TO BIG PRODUCTION

There are no orchestrated arrangements on the album although Adele's contribution somehow implies the big treatment despite her being accompanied only by solo piano (when she thanks the audience at the end, we're alsogiven a blast of her chavtastic speaking voice).

* THE DECONSTRUCTION

Perhaps the most radical reworking on the album is Somalian K'Naan's gentle urban rap version of 'With God On Our Side' in which he rewrites the verses whilst retaining the original chorus. Iranian singer Sussan Deyhim offers a slow, highly formal reading of 'All I Really Want To Do' in which she changes parts of the melody as well as delivering the title in her native tongue.

* THE INSTRUMENTAL

Only one on 'Chimes': US art outfit, The Kronos Quartet's Nymanesque rendering of 'Don't Think Twice'.

* THE CARBON-COPY

Apart from its sax and trumpet solos, the Lenny Kravitz version of 'Rainy Day Women' , is probably the arrangement which comes closest to the Dylan original on Chimes, although Steve Earle's duet with US actress and violinist, Lucia Micarelli is a pretty faithful reflection of 'One More Cup Of Coffee'. Meanwhile, Mick Hucknall's take on 'One Of Us Must Know' is a lovely homage to Dylan's classic Blonde On Blonde era singing style.  Hucknall's version is one of my favourites on the set, but I think I detected that even the famous Simply Red larynx can't hold a note quite as long as Bob could back then. It reminds me of Dylan's tongue-in-cheek boast to reporters during the Dont Look Back film about his breath control. It also brings to mind that old CBS marketing slogan that 'Nobody Sings Dylan Like Dylan', which indirectly seemed to address the commonly held view that Dylan couldn't really sing at all, whilst at the same time cleverly implying that the way he sang was so radically different and distinctive as to defy comparison. 

 

Some of the younger performers acquit themselves particularly well - special mention goes to Ziggy Marley's straightforward but soulful grasp of 'Blowin' In The Wind', the ghost of his father's voice audible in the muscular acoustic arrangement. The highly successful US pop band Maroon 5 also do a solid job on 'I Shall Be Released' and none other than songstress Miley Cyrus, star of TV's Hannah Montana' and daughter of the God of line-dancing, Billy Ray, carries 'You're Conna Make Me Lonesome When You Go' very effectively, without succumbing to the over-singing so much in vogue with her generation (Natasha and Kesha please take note). Fashionable US Rock bands like The Gaslight Anthem, My Morning Jacket and Queens Of The Stone Age are present and correct, whilst the middle-agers are represented by, amongst others Neil Finn, Billy Bragg, Lucinda Williams and the reverend Sinead O'Connor who righteously grabs 'Property Of Jesus' by the scruff of its neck. Seal, supported by Jeff Beck, carries 'Like a Rolling Stone' with confidence, and whilst Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry's singing of 'Man Of Peace' may be negligible, he does transform the song a with triumphant bottle-neck extravaganza.

During Dylan's barren patch in the early 1970s,Bryan Ferry emerged as a real contender with his songs for Roxy Music but, over time, Ferry's gift for lyrics faded and his off-stage persona became more right-of-centre politically. It's interesting therefore to see him involved in this Amnesty project, his contribution being a pleasant version of 'Bob Dylan's Dream' featuring his harmonica playing over a clip-clop rhythm, much of a piece with his own album of Dylan covers, 2007's Dylanesque. Other oldies on form are Mark Knopfler, Carly Simon, Eric Burdon, Marianne Faithfull and Taj Mahal who apply their experience to good effect. Pete Townshend is rather wobbly on 'Corrina, Corrina' though, and Kris Kristofferson does a curiously downbeat version of 'Quinn The Eskimo' (Manfred Mann it ain't...). The version of 'One Too Many Mornings', jointly credited to Johnny Cash & The Avett Brothers, which opens proceedings, is a strong cut and is apparently the result of some studio jiggery-pokery by Rick Rubin who, whilst producing an album for The Avett Brothers, has taken one of Dylan/Cash duets from the Nashville Skyline out-takes and replaced the Dylan vocal with those of the band. None more old than Pete Seeger, of course, and his nonagenarian intoning of 'Forever Young', counterpointed by The Rivertown Kids, a troupe of children from his neck of the woods fittingly provides the final cover on the album. 

 

It should be clear from the above that I think the overall standard of these performances is unusually high for this kind of tribute album. There are big songs and big names here as well as lesser known material and artists.  Consequently there were plenty of chances for tripping up - and yet remarkably few missteps weaken the six dozen covers. This is a testament to the strength of the songs.  I really would have liked to describe every single track but that doesn't seem practicable. Suffice to say that all of the performers who've gone unmentioned did very good work indeed (and there are some intriguing people involved here: two notable sons, Dhani Harrison and Ben Harper figure in the line-up of Fistful Of Mercy, whilst Evan Rachel Wood is the ex-fiancee of Marilyn Manson; Moroccan songwriter, Red One, meanwhile, has produced Lady GaGa).

 

Amnesty International's 50th anniversary aptly coincides with the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylan's recording career and, with the truly excellent Chimes Of Freedom, it is a case of honours all round. You owe it to yourself to make a significant donation to a very worthy cause, so treat yourself to a copy, because that's what this collection is - a real treat.

 

N. B.

*I - In actual fact, one of the tracks released on Chimes Of Freedom has previously been issued. In March 20II, Proper Records released a digitally remastered and expanded 2-CD 'Collector's Edition' of Joan Baez 1992 album Play Me Backwards. This expanded version, released on CD only in the UK and Europe, contained ten demos recorded by Baez in 1991, one of which was the version of 'Seven Curses' issued on Amnesty's Chimes Of Freedom.

 

THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN ISSUE 161 OF ISIS,

THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ALL THINGS DYLAN.

 

C. IGR 2013