OPO: Bob Dylan cover

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Today's answer: Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower"

An obvious choice, but it still lights a fire even after I've heard it (or clips of it) 2,000 times or more.

Of course, my pick will be completely different next week.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Friday, 23 April 2004 19:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Freewheelin' Bob Dy- oh I see.

― de, Friday, 23 April 2004 19:41 (twenty-two years ago)

The Byrds - "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"

Apart from "Lay Lady Lay", I'd say every Byrds cover of Dylan improves on the original.

― noodle vague (noodle vague), Friday, 23 April 2004 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Hendrix's cover of "Like A Rolling Stone" (the live one where he says "Yes, I know I missed a verse, don't worry" and gets the ones he does remember all out of order) is better than his "Watchtower."

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Friday, 23 April 2004 19:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Siouxsie doing "This Wheel's on Fire" should be better than it is but is still pretty good.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 23 April 2004 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm pretty sure we've done this, and I think I may have said the Byrds "Chimes of Freedom".

― Broheems (diamond), Friday, 23 April 2004 19:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Neko Case "Buckets of Rain", live

― Sym (shmuel), Friday, 23 April 2004 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Howard Tate - Girl From The North Country

― Jonathan (Jonathan), Friday, 23 April 2004 20:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Fairport Convention doing "Percy's Song" from the Heydey/BBC sessions disc.

― dialecticbricks (dialecticbricks), Friday, 23 April 2004 20:59 (twenty-two years ago)

Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint -- "Eternal Circle" from Lo and Behold (1972)

― Jazzbo (jmcgaw), Friday, 23 April 2004 21:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Them, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Friday, 23 April 2004 21:53 (twenty-two years ago)

XTC's cover of "All Along the Watchtower"

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 23 April 2004 21:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Wailers, "Rolling Stone."

― Burr (Burr), Friday, 23 April 2004 23:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Fairport Convention, "Si Tu Dois Partir."

― Douglas (Douglas), Saturday, 24 April 2004 00:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Damn, Douglas got mine!

Ok..."You Ain't Goin Nowhere"

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Saturday, 24 April 2004 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

Since all (I think) the really great ones have been mentioned, let me just put in a word for Patti Smith's "The Wicked Messenger," which is merely really good.

― Some Guy (Methuselah), Saturday, 24 April 2004 02:48 (twenty-two years ago)

Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band: "She Belongs To Me"

― jim wentworth (wench), Saturday, 24 April 2004 02:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Either Fairport Convention's "I'll Keep It with Mine" or The Byrds' "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere"

― Joe (Joe), Saturday, 24 April 2004 02:59 (twenty-two years ago)

13th Floor Elevators "Baby Blue"

― sexyDancer, Saturday, 24 April 2004 02:59 (twenty-two years ago)

I love Transvision Vamp's "Crawl Out Your Window".

Guilty Pleasure City, that one.

― Ted Koppel, Saturday, 24 April 2004 06:08 (twenty-two years ago)

"Highway 61 Revisited" PJ Harvey

I'm kind of stunned nobody at Def Jux has gotten around to "Subterranean Homesick Blues" yet. Not that it would necessarily be a good idea. Just surprised it hasn't been done.

― spittle (spittle), Saturday, 24 April 2004 06:30 (twenty-two years ago)

nico's "i'll keep it with mine."

― lauren (laurenp), Saturday, 24 April 2004 06:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Fairport Convention's 'I'll Keep It With Mine', yup.

― N. (nickdastoor), Saturday, 24 April 2004 12:19 (twenty-two years ago)

chocolate watchband - baby blue

― Toon (Skelter), Saturday, 24 April 2004 15:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Has there ever been a bad version of "...Baby Blue" ?? I've not heard one

Several mentioned on this thread, and Bryan Ferry's is spectacular, too.

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Saturday, 24 April 2004 16:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Bob doing "Lost Highway" with Joan Baez in Don't Look Back! (to go the opposite direction)

― Yanc3y (ystrickler), Saturday, 24 April 2004 16:20 (twenty-two years ago)

them's (their?) version of its all over now baby blue is incredible

― robin (robin), Saturday, 24 April 2004 21:21 (twenty-two years ago)

ten months pass...

Bryan Ferry: A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Sunday, 20 March 2005 20:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Sonny A.: I think Falco's version of "...Baby Blue" counts as bad, yes indeed.

― Douglas (Douglas), Sunday, 20 March 2005 21:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Rod Stewart - Mama You Been On My Mind

(cos Fairport's Percy's Song's already been mentioned)

― James Ball (James Ball), Monday, 21 March 2005 23:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Chronicles would lead one to believe that Bob himself would pick Johnny Rivers's version of "Positively 4th Street."

― Ken L (Ken L), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 00:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Manfred Mann--"The Mighty Quinn"

― late adopter, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 00:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Mayfly, "It Ain't Me Babe" From Duluth Does Dylan http://www.spinoutrecords.com/duluth

― Pete Scholtes, Tuesday, 22 March 2005 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Reading this thread, I'm embarassed that I've heard very few of these covers, so I have to go with the boring (but brilliant) pick -- "Mr Tambourine Man" by the Byrds.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 03:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Faces - Wicked Messenger

― Silky Sensor (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 22 March 2005 03:58 (twenty-one years ago)

thirteen years pass...

I saw a guy do an acapella cover of "Spanish Harlem Incident" three years ago at a very small (amazing) experimental/avant garde venue where I live. I was in the front row so he was like 3 feet away from me. He fucking belted it, stretched it out to 5 or 6 minutes. It was astonishing, I still think about it a lot and just the memory has brought me to tears. I have the poster somewhere, I've gotta find that guy's name and send him a note or something.

― flappy bird, Saturday, 7 July 2018 21:24 (eight years ago)

Nice! Lucky he chose that song from Another Side instead of Ballad in Plain D.

― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 7 July 2018 21:46 (eight years ago)

Hey, Kornrules — I have a question for you

― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Saturday, 7 July 2018 22:12 (eight years ago)

Nina Simone - I Shall Be Released

― J. Sam, Saturday, 7 July 2018 22:39 (eight years ago)

Hey, Kornrules — I have a question for you

Yes? I hope you're not some angry Ballad In Plain D fan.

My OPO from 13 years ago still stands, nothing can top Bryan Ferry's Hard Rain. But another excellent Dylan cover is the band 16 Horsepower who do a fantastic cover of Nobody 'Cept You

― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 7 July 2018 23:36 (eight years ago)

“Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?”

― i’m still stanning (morrisp), Saturday, 7 July 2018 23:37 (eight years ago)

You'll have to ask my friends from the prison.

― kornrulez6969, Saturday, 7 July 2018 23:38 (eight years ago)

to see if you are really real

― flappy bird, Sunday, 8 July 2018 04:49 (eight years ago)

six years pass...

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová - You Ain't Going Nowhere

― nicky lo-fi, Monday, 13 January 2025 15:33 (one year ago)

the whole Cat Power Royal Albert Hall album from 2023 was criminally overlooked. Impossible to pick just one song, I guess maybe Visions of Johanna if I had to.

― Evans on Hammond (evol j), Monday, 13 January 2025 15:37 (one year ago)

Nina Simone - Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

I was a Nina Simone fan before I had listened to Dylan and I heard her version of this first. Didn't realize it was a Dylan song until a few years later. The slowness of her version and the warmth of her voice led me through the words as if she was holding my hand and it's probably a big reason why I wound up falling for Dylan so hard later on.

― Cow_Art, Monday, 13 January 2025 15:44 (one year ago)

My favourite cover ever.

― cryptosicko, Monday, 13 January 2025 16:07 (one year ago)

The Heptones I Shall be Released is a good one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXrqshfLHu4

― bbq, Monday, 13 January 2025 21:01 (one year ago)

Muscle Souls _ Wigwam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K91aM3F_Iug

― bbq, Monday, 13 January 2025 21:08 (one year ago)

Jah Malla - Ain't No Man Righteous, No Not One

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uG8UekyeSE

― bbq, Monday, 13 January 2025 21:16 (one year ago)

The WPFW Saturday Jan 11 2 pm to 4 pm Roots and Fruits radio show hosted by former Sirius XM DJ Bill Wax consisted of 2 hours of blues and soul & r& b covers of Bob Dylan . Available for online archives streaming for 2 weeks on the WPFW website with playlist

https://wpfwfm.org/radio/programming/archived-shows

― curmudgeon, Monday, 13 January 2025 22:59 (one year ago)

Matumbi- The Man in Me

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

― bbq, Tuesday, 14 January 2025 00:00 (one year ago)

I’ve been listening to a ton of random covers of “I Threw It All Away” today, and it’s seeming to me that all of them are good.

― James Carr Thief (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 14 January 2025 01:55 (one year ago)

I don't even really mind the Elvis Costello version.

― James Carr Thief (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 14 January 2025 02:18 (one year ago)

Rainy Day - "I'll Keep It With Mine"
(recorded in 1984, including pre-Bangles Susanna Hoffs and pre-Mazzy Star David Roback):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCm9WFXJujQ

― braunschweiger winter (Eazy), Tuesday, 14 January 2025 03:39 (one year ago)

(Not pre-Bangles, I guess, but pre-MTV Bangles.)

― braunschweiger winter (Eazy), Tuesday, 14 January 2025 03:40 (one year ago)

Okay, not very exciting but I will just go with
“You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” The Birds

― James Carr Thief (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 14 January 2025 16:55 (one year ago)

Aaargh!
The Byrds

― James Carr Thief (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 14 January 2025 16:55 (one year ago)

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