Dylan album cover (photo by the incomprable Bruce Davidson)

Though I’ve had my own personal struggles with the music from time to time, but there is just so much wealth within it that I always return.  It’s no secret that I’ve been stuck on covers recently, so I decided to give the kid from Duluth the treatment.  It’s pretty easy to find great Dylan covers (just check out the soundtrack for I’m Not There, it’s fantastic) so I tried to stay out in left field with these.

During his time working on the music for Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (great film, by the way), Dylan wrote an improvised song titled, “Rock Me Mama.”  While it isn’t exactly a strict cover, it gained a large bit of fame as a fleshed out song called “Wagon Wheel” by One Crow Medicine Show.  And though I like that particular track, I promised to be a bit out in left-field on these, so I must go with Jason Webley & Reverend Peyton’s own version of that impromptu ditty, “Rock Me Mama.”

It is undoubtedly a simple song, but I like it quite a bit more than the glossy “co-write” produced by OCMS.  It’s much more representative of the loosely weary original.

Andrew Bird’s rendition of “Oh Sister” is one of the most arresting Dylan covers.  I suppose it’s the stark combination of whistling and strings, but it immediately catches one’s attention (Oddly enough, I first heard the track on an odd French compilation album titled “Les inrockuptibles présentent Bob Dylan Revisited”).

Though I’ve listened to the song lyrics upwards of 30 times, I still have yet to form a definite opinion on the material.  Co-written with Jacques Levy, it seems to precede or forebode the impending Christian phase with its invocation of God to woo a woman.  Despite this understanding, I still find it to be an elusive track.

Are you ready to smile? The next track is curious and rollicking little gem that always puts a grin on my chin.  The track is a cover version of “If You Gotta Go, Go Now,” by the English folk band, Fairport Convention…except it’s in French.  There’s a lot of twists, try to keep up and keep grinning. Enjoy your Wednesday.