Read while listening on Spotify.
1. Cher: “What I Really Want” (1965)
Cher’s debut single, produced by then-husband Sonny Bono, was a junky cover of the opening track of “Another Side of Bob Dylan,” which highlighted the masculine and feminine parts of Cher’s vocal range. It was a kind of one-person duet that crossed parts. In her 1998 highly entertaining biography, The First Time, she wrote, “No one believed I was the only one, because at the beginning of each poem I had both high and low parts. because I did it,” he wrote. She also told us later in the chapter how she met Dylan in a New York recording studio while her own version was climbing the charts. He told her he dug what she did with it, and it “made me feel like I was floating,” Cher writes. (listen on youtube)
2. Joan Baez: “Simple Twist of Fate” (1975)
By the time he released his 1975 album, Diamonds and Rust, Baez had spent more than a decade reveling in songs written by folk music companion, collaborator and former lover Dylan. was recording a devout cover. But her hilarious cover of “Simple Twist of Fate” is something else, playful and confident, especially when she uses a hilariously nasal Dylan impression later in the song. and even a little cocky.write an unforgettable title track “Diamonds and Rust” The poetic recollection of her 60s romance with Dylan must have freed her to enjoy his tunes. (listen on youtube)
3. Marianne Faithfull: “It’s Over, Baby Blue” (1971)
In 1965, shortly after the release of his debut single “As Tears Go By”, Faithful spent some time on the Savoy with Dylan and his entourage while Pennebaker filmed “Don’t Look Back”. rice field. At one point, Dylan performed Faithful’s latest album, Bring It All Back Home. Six years later, when her voice began to mature beyond light pop into an all-encompassing rumble, Faithful released the album’s closing song, “It’s All Over Now, Baby I recorded my own version of “Blue”.she did revisit The song was performed again many years later on the 2018 album Negative Capabilities. (listen on youtube)
4. Nico: “I’ll Keep It With Mine” (1967)
Hearing the song’s muse sing and interpreting the material written about her is a rare experience. (Reportedly, Speculation has to be added as to what or who Dylan’s songs are “about”. ) But the poignancy and power of Nico’s performance of “I’ll Keep It With Mine,” recorded for his debut solo album in 1967, cannot be overstated. , “Chelsea Girl”. Dylan wrote the song while traveling Europe with Nico, pre-Velvet Underground, during their brief romance in 1964, and used “Bring It All Back Home” and later “Blonde on I tried to record it for “Blonde”, but I ended up saving it. Because it will be released as his bootleg collection. Nico’s version is probably the best known. Her voice’s signature heavy-creamy richness sounds incredibly melancholy, but there’s a levity in her rhythms, her sweetness and devotion to her companions at the heart of the song. I’m telling you. (listen on youtube)
5. Betty Lovett: “Ain’t Talkin'” (2018)
I discovered this smoldering jacket only a few months ago after reading in Grail Marcus’s excellent 2022 book Folk Music: A Bob Dylan Story in 7 Songs. (Always read Grail Marcus on Bob Dylan.) One of those seven songs is the eerily sleepy “Ain’t It” from Dylan’s 2006 album Modern Times. Talkin’, but Marcus rightly praises the song for being reworked by beloved soul singer Betty Lovett. He enlivens his work with a unique sensibility. Quoting Lovett, he said of this and several other Dylan covers on his 2018 album Things Have Changed, “I never meant to tribute him.” Told. Instead, she aimed to make the songs “fit in my mouth” “as if they were written for me”. Mission complete. (listen on youtube)
