Top 10 Dylan covers

By Sam Fran Scavuzzo
Collegian Editor
November 14, 2007

Sure, the new Bob Dylan bio-pic I’m Not There will have a fancy soundtrack with a bunch of neat-o Dylan covers. Sufjan Stevens, Sonic Youth and the ever-annoying Iron and Wine appear on the star-studded list. However, there’s been a half century of Dylan covers that some new soundtrack can never match.

10) Elliott Smith’s “Ballad of a Thin Man” (Live)—Smith’s version of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and “Jealous Guy” may be better, but his overtly painful tribute to Dylan’s Mr. Jones brings out crazy thoughts of his own suicide. Not the best sound-wise, but this Highway 61 Revisited cover starts the list of successfully.

9) Rage Against the Machine’s “Maggie’s Farm”) —Appearing on Rage’s last album Renegades, this silly, folky classic gets a make-over by the ultimate protest band. No matter your political point of view, “Maggie’s Farm” by Rage really drives the “I’ve had enough of this bull” stance home in a more serious way than Dylan did (Hell, if Zach de la Rocha wished me a "Happy Birthday" I'd write my congressman).

8) Manfredd Man’s “Quinn the Eskimo”) —Never heard this song? The ballad about the Alaskan native gets full production by cover artist extraordinaire (I’m sure you’ve heard his version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Blinded by the Light”) Mann. Anytime a dude who lives in an igloo gets four-part harmonies to describe him gets a vote in my yet-to-be-written book. Bonus points because I first heard this song a “Songs From the ’60s” CD I bought in Disney World.

7) Bruce Springsteen’s “Chimes of Freedom (Live)) ”—Speaking of the Boss, Springsteen rips off this cover that makes you get all tingly about democracy and liberty and stuff. Released as a four-track EP in 1988, Springsteen takes this lesser-known Dylan song and runs with it. Always appreciate a rippin’ Clarence Clemmons sax solo.

6) Van Morrison’s “Just Like a Woman”) —An often-covered Dylan song, Morrison’s soulful singin’ is a stark contrast to Dylan’s...uh...not so soulful voice. A pause occurs between the end of the third verse and the chorus that chills you. Just like a woman.

5) The Birds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man”) —I don’t know if you picked up on it before, but I’m a sucker for four-part harmonies. David Crosby, Stephen Stills, et al made bank on this one and—like a good cover should—The Birds make this more recognizable than the original.

4) Joan Baez’s “Simple Twist of Fate”) —Mr. Zimmerman’s former love interest gives vocal depth to an already legendary Dylan classic. The rhyme of “ate” before the repetition of the titled phrase is haunting and exhibits some well-utilized studio chops from the producer.

3) George Harrison’s “If Not For You”) —A prominent track from Harrison’s landmark debut solo album All Things Must Pass, this song is given more attention by the quiet Beatle than Dylan ever gave it. Harrison adds a simple crescendo guitar riff between pauses in the verse that allows you to think that Harrison really feels it. I think he does.

2) Warren Zevon’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”) —I’ll preface this with the fact that I loathe Axel Rose and his butchering of this song (as well as “Live and Let Die”). Even if Rose somehow weaseled his way onto this list, Zevon’s version is still better. Recorded on Zevon’s last album The Wind, the song was recorded as Zevon was dying of cancer – literally knockin’ on heaven’s door. You don’t get more cryptic than that.

1) Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”) —Fighting and agonizing over this pick for a while, I finally subsided and allowed myself to put Hendrix at number one because he deserves it. First off, the guitar riffs and solos are truly rockin’ (great use of a Wah Pedal). Additionally, Hendrix totally took the song in a different direction than Dylan had it. Although Dylan’s – while simple – is great, Hendrix makes the song his own and delivers one of his finest numbers.

scavuzzos1@lasalle.edu