Bob Dylan: Never-Ending Covers (Cover By Cover)

And some "bonus coverage" as a bit of a commercial for John Prine, who is one of my favorite artists and a great songwriter.

Lake Marie:



Sam Stone: John Prine - Sam Stone »

Donald and Lydia: John Prine Donald & Lydia »

 

I was on the barrier for this show. My first visit to Belfast in 23 years. The "troubles" had started after that visit and the city was now occupied by British troops. Any buses I took in the city centre were subject to searches by troops. It was strange to see other passengers - especially young schoolchildren - ignoring the troops. Just a part of daily life.

I stayed in a b&b in Dundonald near the venue. I remember asking the owner if he could recommend a good place to eat. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on my bedroom door and he presented a tray full of cooked food.

Later on he asked what time I intended heading to the gig. I said about 6pm and he said that his daughter would drive me there which she duly did . I think he just wanted to make people from Southern Ireland feel welcome.

The video does not do justice to the performance. It was a very good show, especially the guest spot with Van. One of many that I have seen down the years.

 

I can't help but ask if you could elaborate on such rumors. An unknown live performance?

 

Courtesy Fellow Folks: John Prine »

According to Clinton Heylin, A Life in Stolen Moments, New York, NY, 1996 (p. 135), Dylan joined John Prine onstage during Prine's Sep 9, 1972 residency at the Bitter End, performing three songs (including "Sam Stone" and "Donald and Lydia") with him. (No tape circulates)

 

After a double shot of first-time covers in Rome on 6-6-91, it was more than a month before another came along. Interestingly, Dylan did bring back three traditionals performed often in 1988 ("Trail of the Buffalo", "Two Soldiers" and "Barbara Allen") and rotated them in the opening slot of the acoustic set. During June/July he also performed one-off returns of "When First Unto This Country", "Lakes of Pontchartain", "Pancho & Lefty" and "Friend of the Devil".

"Folsom Prison Blues"
NET Premiere - 7/10/91, Essex Junction, VT.

This classic Johnny Cash song is clearly a Dylan favorite. He performed it with The Band during The Basement Tapes (eventually released), during the "Self Portrait" sessions, and rehearsed it with The Grateful Dead in 1987 (though they didn't play it in concert).

"Self Portrait" outtake: Bob Dylan - Folsom Prison Blues (Self Portrait Outtake) »

Rehearsal with The Dead:



"FPB" became a set list regular for a short time in July, 1991 (I got to see it in Holmdel on 7-13) and got about 10 more outings in various years across the NET. Here's a video from 1999. Unfortunately Bob forgets the first verse on this occasion: Bob Dylan in concert 1999 - Folsom Prison Blues - Video Dailymotion »

 

In August of 1991 Dylan did an extensive tour of South America for the first time - 9 shows. August 8th saw the NET premiere (and career concert one-off) of "People Get Ready". This one falls slightly outside the parameters of this thread, as Dylan had already released two versions of the song ("Four Songs from Renalldo & Clara" promo EP & "Flashback" soundtrack). Unfortunately there is no tape circulating of 8-8-91 (at least there wasn't in 2000 when I wrote the manuscript).

"It's Too Late"
NET Premiere - 8/10/91, Buenos Aires

Once again, no tape circulates for 8/10/91. Dylan revisited "It's Too Late" twice in 1995 (tapes do circulate), including the "live rehearsal" show at The Edge on 9/23.

Young Dylan may have been familiar with Chuck Willis' original: Chuck Willis It's Too Late 1956.wmv »

But being a big Buddy Holly fan, he may have been more familiar with his version:

 

Dylan supposedly included "It's Too Late" in the "Concert For One Man" mini-show in 2014, but the video clip reveals a song in that slot with different lyrics and a different tune (which would make it an entirely different song, wouldn't it?) I recall watching the entire show when this first aired, but I couldn't find it online. The entire video may reveal if "It's Too Late" was played or not.

Bob Dylan One Man Four Songs – Just The Music »

 

"20/20 Vision (And Walking Around Blind)"
NET Premiere - 10/25/91, Austin

It's a real shame there's not an on-line link to this one off. It's a really nice performance, done acoustically. The source leaves me a tiny bit baffled. There are apparently two versions of the song from right around the same time frame (1953 or 1954 depending upon the source consulted).

Gene Autry version: Gene Autry - 20/20 Vision (and Walking Around Blind) HILLBILLY »

Jimmy Martin version:



Dylan's version is a bit of a departure from both of these those - more blues than country to my ears. Perhaps there's another version in the chain between the seminal recordings and Dylan's version, or Dylan's blues take was simply his choice on this given evening (or my ears are no good).

1991 was definitely more hit than miss, but I will certainly recommend the Austin show.

 

He actually played You're Too Late in 2014... of course that wasn't his first performance of the song, as he had done it in 1999 as well.

 

Yup, you nailed it, well done. "You're Too Late" was misreported as being "It's Too Late".

 

I saw that show in Holmdel, as well as one at Wolf Trap in Virginia about a week later. FPB was definitely the high point of both concerts — that's not saying much for '91 NET shows — aside from the fact that I got to see Laura Nyro for about 20 minutes in the opening slot at Holmdel.

 

I saw three of the July '91 shows with Laura (Tanglewood, Jones Beach and Holmdel). Sometimes I would skip opening acts after seeing them once, but I saw her all 3 times. All these years later I only remember her doing "When I Die".

 

"Answer Me" aka "Answer Me, My Love"
NET Premiere - 10/26/91, San Antonio

Before the Fall leg of 1991 kicked in, on 10-17-91 Dylan performed a short set as part of a "Guitar Legends" concert in Seville, Spain (the concert was broadcast on PPV in the USA on a delayed basis if my memory is good). The idea of the show was to have performers hand off the baton throughout a single concert (A plays with B, B plays with C, C then plays with D). Apart from some familiar songs, Dylan broke out a cover of "Answer Me, My Love". I don't want to keep railing on 1991 because not all of it is bad. But to think that Dylan was routinely mumbling his way through "New Morning" and "Gotta Serve Somebody", spewing nonsensical dummy lyrics and picking random moments to suddenly choose to be the band's lead guitarist and then botching the job ... and then when he takes the time to fully apply himself, we get an absolute gem like this performance below ... all a bit infuriating.

Watch Videos Online | Bob Dylan & Richard Thompson - Guitar Legends Expo 92 - Answer Me | Veoh.com »

Since 10-17 was not a part of the NET, the San Antonio show marked the NET premiere. The song got 7 NET outings in about 10 days, and then disappeared forever.

The influential Nat King Cole performance:



The song itself has a fairly interesting history. For anyone interested: Answer Me, My Love - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia »

 

"Golden Vanity"
NET Premiere - 10/31/91, Wichita



Dylan performed this traditional 7 times in the last month of the '91 tour and the first month of the '92 tour.

A variant performed by Dylan favorites The Carter Family: The Carter Family - Sinking in the Lonesome Sea »

Dylan's version doesn't match the Carter Family's, though. A more likely source, is Pete Seeger's performance with The Almanac Singers.

The Golden Vanity »

The song was widely performed during the early 60s folk revival, so Dylan could have learned it firsthand from any number of people, including Odetta (The Golden Vanity »)

In my personal taste, this is one of the lesser traditionals that Dylan chose to perform in the '88-'92 period. It's repetitive, and lacks a gripping narrative. My opinion having been stated, there are probably plenty of people who love this song.

 

I hear your frustration, Ray!

But maybe it wasn't entirely a lack of application on Bob's part. To my eye he comes across as being totally at a loss to connect with his own music at this point in his life. His voice was bad, he hadn't really worked out what to do with the NET after GE left, and he sounds like a man running scared from his own past achievements. So at Seville, he rushes Boots of Spanish Leather and makes a mess of it. All Along The Watchtower is just a vehicle for the band members' soloing.

But Answer Me and Across The Borderline are heartfelt and, interestingly, much more confident. In retrospect you can see how he might find his feet again through covers like these. I'm not sure that really happens properly until Oct/Nov 92, but when it does happen the cover versions and the originals seem to reinforce each other as they did in 1988 and would again in the Campbell/Sexton years.

 

I agree with your point that he was at a loss to connect with his own songs, but I feel that manifested itself in a lack of application. That first 1991 show (Zurich 1-28) literally sounds like 4 people who have never played together before giving it a go. Did Dylan leave it to Garnier to indoctrinate the two new band members at rehearsals that he himself didn't bother to attend? Something in Dylan's mind makes him think that the resurrection of "Bob Dylan's Dream" would be a good idea, but he clearly didn't bother to even glance at the lyrics he hadn't sung in more than 25 years. Similarly, he resurrects "New Morning" in the spring without bothering to relearn the song, and settles into a comfort zone of mumbled, half-remembered lyrics intermingled with dummy nonsense. There's a degree of accommodation for genius at work, but then there's a flat out lack of professionalism and a disregard (or even disdain) for the paying customer.

To some degree I understand the notion of Dylan having more respect for traditionals or the songs of his youth than for his own compositions. Sort of like the care one takes with a borrowed lawnmower. But if he were trying and failing to really find his way inside his old compositions I would understand. But most of the time in the first two-thirds of 1991 I hear him giving up before he even tries. His turnaround, for me, begins in the fall of 1991. And not coincidentally the improvement in performance quality coincides with an expanding set list and the influx of more covers/traditionals.

 

Fair points, as ever.

I just suspect there's something else going on as well. Think of the way Woody Allen averts his gaze when interviewers try to show him clips of his own films. Or Monet's depressive habit of taking a knife to his paintings when they were finished and due for exhibition. John Lennon's need, after the Beatles broke up, to not believe in Beatles. The artist's instinctive recoil from his own work.

Dylan's career is based on perpetual dissatisfaction with the last thing he did. When he gets stuck in an uncreative rut I suspect his dissatisfaction turns to something more sour, something like a real physical block that prevents him from looking his own past achievements in the eye. He knows he needs a creative spark, so he changes the time signature of Like A Rolling Stone or digs out some curiosity like Bob Dylan's Dream. But then he cringes from the challenge of once more facing the song head-on. It isn't always easy to be comfortable with your own past - even for those of us who aren't Bob Dylan.

Call it laziness, if you like, or disdain for his audience. It's certainly no fun for the paying customer. But isn't that part of the deal with Dylan? He's surprisingly willing to fail in front of us rather than become a nostalgic circus act. We've seen him drunk and tearful and maudlin and incompetent. Our side of the bargain is to put up with the boredom or embarrassment of watching him fail until the next stroke of genius arrives. But it could be worse. On the whole I'd rather watch him than be him.

 

Lots of thought-provoking ideas.

Dylan has certainly shown a propensity for walking away from things ("She's Your Lover Now", "Caribbean Wind") when he feels the initial inspiration is lost or his frustration boils over. If "Chronicles" is to be trusted, Dylan was in a near panic and ready to walk away from both the Dylan-Dead tour and "Oh Mercy" because he wasn't feeling it, at least for a fleeting moment or two.

So I guess the question is, how does he react when he's not "feeling it" and his management has already booked him for a month's worth or shows or more? The second show of the NET (Sacramento '88), Dylan clearly was not in the mood - he played 12 songs in 55 minutes, no encore, and hit the road. Thankfully by the third show his outlook changed, and there were 17 songs in 100 minutes. 1990 ended well enough, but something soured him during the relatively short (about 2 month) break before the first 1991 leg kicked off. Perhaps '66 or '81 Dylan would have simply disappeared - walked away from the tour regardless of financial and professional consequence. But instead we get a long run of vastly under-rehearsed, mechanical performances lacking emotional involvement or professional musicianship. Sort of "I'm not feeling this, but I have to show up".

As a fan, I've always been more than willing to give Dylan lots of creative space to do as he pleases. I got hooked during Interstate '88 because of that creativity and the fact that you never knew what you'd get. If he pulled out an old song and it was a train wreck ("You Angel You" springs to mind), I'd still rather have than a slick performance of the same hits night after night. That's trying and failing (well, actually spending 10 minutes looking over the lyrics would support the notion of "trying"). But the '91 shows with the static set lists, lack of rehearsal, and disengaged performances to me were more like failing without ever really trying. Didn't mean I stopped collecting every show on tape, or that I didn't line up for tickets when he came my way.

 

"That Lucky Old Sun"
NET Premiere - 11/5/91 - Madison, WI

Dylan had been performing this song sporadically for 30 years before recording it for "Shadows in the Night". Most of the performances date from the first portion of the 1986 "True Confessions" tour (it was a regular during the Far Eastern leg).

A 2000 performance: "That Lucky Old Sun"-Bob Dylan, Irvine, CA 06-29-2000 »

Dylan's first live performance of song, at Farm Aid, 1985: Elston Gunn - That Lucky Old Sun (Live at Farm Aid 1985) »

And his most recent live performance:

 

The influential version:

 

"Roving Gambler"
NET Premiere - 11/6/91, South Bend, IN

Dylan was performing this song as far back as 1960 (it's on the May, 1960 Karen Wallace Tape). It was seemingly one-offed this evening in 1991, but was bought back in 1997 in a faster, more upbeat arrangement and became a rotation regular over the next 5 years.

A 1997 performance:


This is a traditional that seems to have been a favorite of both folk and country performers, so the potential influential versions are plenty.

A few options:

The Stanley Brothers: Stanley Brothers - Roving Gambler - Live August 7 1956 »

Country Gentlemen: Roving Gambler »

Ramblin' Jack Elliott: Ramblin' Jack Elliott - Roving Gambler.wmv »

Dylan is a huge admirer of The Stanley Brothers, and his version (the 1997 and beyond versions anyway) aligns very nicely with their version (and does not align with the Ramblin' Jack version, which has different lyrics). My money is on The Stanley Brothers.

 

Almost done with 1991, so let's finish it off.

"Dust My Broom"
NET Premiere - 11/12/91, Detroit

Dylan welcomes special guest Martin Gross on slide guitar for this career one-off performance. No online link available, unfortunately. It's a fun performance, but Dylan's vocal is quite low in the mix, at least on the circulating audience tape.

Although recorded versions of the song date back to Robert Johnson (I Believe I'll Dust My Broom by Robert Johnson »), the influential version here clearly belongs to Elmore James.



A small sample of Martin Gross playing some slide (dobro in this case): Man of constant sorrow »

 

"Moondance"
NET Premiere - 11/19/91, Erie, PA.

Having performed a number of Van Morrison songs with and without him, it's not a shocker that Dylan did a one-off on this classic. No link available. The band plays it like they know it by heart (and they probably do if they've ever played in a bar band), but Dylan, unfortunately, does the "I really didn't take the time to learn the lyrics" mumble.

The original:



Going to take a little break before NET '92 kicks off Down Under.

 

That's about how well I know the song, too, so I can sing along with Dylan's rendition at least!

 

Audio only. This has got to be one of the most covered songs - some great ones out there (under various titles).