Essential Bob Dylan Covers?

lol

Next thing you know we will be hearing that there is no such person as Pablo Cruise.

Cough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D48MfkoTdLw

Inessential cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LE7-K71uYak

t you know abt this also yeah?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gX1EP6mG-E

Nilsson's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" isn't mentioned on any of these Dylan cover threads, and it oughta be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI5L_tehaQ0

That Hole cover of "Baby Blue" sounds good to me. (The X, no.)

i like nilsson's version...
and yeah i gather hootie is essentially "covering" the old crow medicine show "cover"...dylan must be chuckling about getting royalty checks for this thing.

Full cred to Adele for covering a late-period Dylan song, just to show it can still be done. (How many times did someone say "oh yeah, and Dylan wrote one for us, but we didn't use it..")

Hmm, Nilson doing SubHomBlu, I can't imagine that. Will wait for the boxset to arrive tho.

Jim Nabors singing Dylan with Leigh French and Rob Reiner of The Committee. How many hippies became imperialists? https://t.co/5JW80TbqJC

— Dennis Perrin (@DennisThePerrin) November 30, 2017

well this blew the top of my head off

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUK8ZQD5GYo

Television Knocking on Heaven's Door

Good one!

Outlaw Blues is great in live versions by Great Society and Dream Syndicate

Yeah xgau recently flipped for that LaVette album of Dylan covers, which I haven't heard, though he low-rated a couple of her previous collections that I really enjoyed, so wonder if I'll like this one as well (yeah, probably; she's great, in an unusual way, that I think of as Method or Cassavetes).
Nobody's mentioned Nazareth's stretch-screech "Hollis Brown"? Don't sleep on Jerry Lewis's live and studio versions of "Rita May" on YouTube, ditto "Stepchild," from what I think is his most recent album, 2014'sRock & Roll Time, which is very fine.

16 Horsepower-Nobody 'Cept You

The new Titus Andronicus album has a wonderfully ridiculous take on "Like a Rolling Stone."

some good stuff here: https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/151888974397/yo-la-tengo-does-dylan-sunday-re-up-in-honor-of

Staple Singers’ “John Brown”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t8SOgbz4_4

Dylan's Gospel was recorded long before his official Christian Period, and includes several verbose stoner folk and folk-rock classics I didn't expect, but no prob, ditto with for inst "Lay Lady Lay":

But something tells us you haven’t heard anything quite like Dylan’s Gospel by The Brothers and Sisters, a choir of Los Angeles session singers brought gloriously to the fore for a very special, one-off record.

Originally released in 1969 on Ode Records, this rare and sought-after album finds the California collective covering a clutch of Dylan classics in the era’s revolutionary gospel style. Produced by Lou Adler, soon to work his magic on Carole King’s mega-successful Tapestry, and arranged by Gene Page, noted for his work for Motown, the performers were largely unknown, but many went on to find great acclaim. Merry Clayton, the powerhouse singer best known for sparring with Mick Jagger on Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” (and star of the recent documentary 20 Feet from Stardom*), appears here, as does Edna Wright of The Honeycones and Gloria Jones who recorded the original version of “Tainted Love” in 1965.

The cast of 27 singers also includes Ruby Johnson, Shirley Matthews, Clydie King, Patrice Holloway, Julia Tillman.. Wasn't Clydie King on some Dylan albums and maybe his wife for a while? Anyway, more info, audio here (and some videos are on the 'Tube)
https://lightintheattic.net/releases/1007-dylan-s-gospel
*20 Feet From Stardom is an excellent doc about backup singers!

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová Irglová - You Aint Goin' Nowhere

I think Lou Reed’s performance of “Foot of Pride” (from the “30th Anniversary Concert” that aired on TV) is pretty essential — Lou found a little-known Dylan song that was perfectly suited to be a Lou Reed song, and made it an instant highlight of the show.

(The song itself – every verse – is also peak, hardcore Infidels-era greatness...

In these times of compassion when conformity’s in fashion
Say one more stupid thing to me before the final nail is driven in.)

For vintage Dylan covers, I have always been a fan of the 13th Floor Elevators take on "(It's all over Now) Baby Blue". Roky's voice brings out the sadness in the tune.

I think Lou Reed’s performance of “Foot of Pride” (from the “30th Anniversary Concert” that aired on TV) is pretty essential — Lou found a little-known Dylan song that was perfectly suited to be a Lou Reed song, and made it an instant highlight of the show.

― i’m still stanning (morrisp),

otm

I updated my list a few weeks ago.

R. Stevie Moore, "Who Killed Davey Moore?"

Good “Not Dark Yet” from Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ixkCXSI7M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5ixkCXSI7M

PJ Harvey:

Highway 61 Revisited
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVA3l2xtWnk

Shot of Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3CIK5SoTio

Can't find a recording right now, but Alejandro Escovedo used to do a gorgeous version of "Dark Eyes," bonus points for picking from later Dylan ("Empire Burlesque!").

The Every Brothers, "Abandoned Love." One of my favorite songs and great to hear the Everlys sing it (though it can't touch Bob's only live performance at the Other End).

Buddy Guy, "Lay Lady Lay," w Anthony Hamilton's country soul voice and Robert Randolph's cosmic steel guitar.

And of course The Persuasions' a capella "The Man In Me":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsx9YBV9EnM

Nanci Griffith's Boots of Spanish Leather is probably my favourite.

https://youtu.be/ZhKamjavG04

Can't wait to spend some serious time checking out these recommendations.

Meanwhile, the 16 Horsepower cover of Nobody 'Cept You from Bootleg series is well worht your time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUAkIxja6uY

Love the country take of “don’t think twice” by Boby Bare:

https://youtu.be/QnAR7FAQ_cA

Also check the finale rave-up of "Tombstone Blues" on Live From Central Park, by Sheryl Crow & Friends, who on various tracks incl. Keith Richards, Chrissie Hynde, Stevie Nicks, Clapton, Dixie Chicks---Chicks are def aboard this one, think Keef too; what I remember best is Natalie Maines' vicious Texas accent, bitin' them verses.

today's WFMU show of all female-singer covers

https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/92890

Thanks for this, sooo much! Current Fave rave: Marianne Faithfull's "Visions of Johanna." Oh that xpost Bettye LaVette album turned out to be excellent: she chops and channels "Times They Are A-Changin'{ to suit her groove, off-handed, also plunges fearlessly in to thickets of much later material. Fairport Convention and Friends' A Tree With Roots is pretty much all their Dylan covers, 'til the next reunion, anyway.

Nina Simone's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" might be my favourite cover of anything ever.

an all-lay lady lay set! this is what i need today for sure

"rich kid blues" is _the_ marianne faithfull record for me, i think i ran into it through beware of the blog back when that was a going thing and it's, whew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbrIPTNzEBA

For his 80th: 80 different Dylan songs by 80 different artists. (I see Rolling Stone did something similar but I made this before I saw that. A fair amount of overlap, but a bunch that aren't.)

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2VMqOf2ODyYtFqDO8gZGiN?si=6e433ab69c6a43fc

thanks, tipsy!

In related news: Chrissie Hynde's Dylan covers album is unexpectedly excellent. For once an artist eschews the war horses.

Oh, I need to get on that. You're right, that's a good selection of tracks.

I quite liked Yo La Tengo’s “It Takes a lot to Laugh” cover, I had downloaded it 15 years ago and I think they just officially released it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvel4jtV4_8

I agree, in theory, about the unconventional selections on the Chrissie Hynde record, but I'm just not that big a fan of this particular selection of post-70s Dylan tracks. The "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" cover is gorgeous, though.

The Cover Me blog is doing a whole bunch of Dylan covers stuff right now, so there's my soundtrack for today.

100 Best Dylan covers: https://www.covermesongs.com/2021/05/the-100-best-bob-dylan-covers-ever.html
20 Best Dylan cover albums: https://www.covermesongs.com/2021/05/cover-classics-bob-dylan-tribute-albums.html

Jerry Lee, "Rita May"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r-La50P_iQ