# Favorite versions of Bob Dylan songs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535 "2002-12-29T20:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LoN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@LoN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoN)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/1 "2002-12-29T20:11:16Z")
Woohoo… my first thread. Okay, I just got the new Dylan Live 1975 album. I don’t know if there’s enough fans on the board for this, but… what are your favorite versions of your favorite songs? I mean, he does them differntly everytime he performs, and he gets covered… so the best might not be the one he originally recorded. I really hope that made sense. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/2 "2002-12-29T20:32:14Z")
Well, there’s the standard answer: **Jimi Hendrix** ’ version of _All along the watchtower_. Not that Dylan’s version is bad, mind you, but Jimi completely improves on the original. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/3 "2002-12-29T21:07:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LoN \* > **I don’t know if there’s enough fans on the board for this, but… what are your favorite versions of your favorite songs** Oh, there are plenty of us. Pay no attention to **Coldfire** and the rest of the “I Like Dylan But Hate His Voice” crowd. Favorite Song: “Desolation Row” Favorite Version: Probably the one on _The Bootleg Series Vol. 4, The “Royal Albert Hall Concert,” 1966_. The one on _Dylan MTV Unplugged_ (1995) also has more juice than the original on _Highway 61 Revisited_. I picked up the _Live 1975_ album about two weeks ago. It’s interesting, and good to have an official record of the Rolling Thunder tour, but I don’t think any of the renditions on the album are going to stand out as my all-time favorite ones. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/4 "2002-12-29T21:38:02Z")
Scratch that last comment. I just put the first disc on again, and I have to say that the rocking, bluesy (thank you, T-Bone Burnett!) “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” is now my Official Favorite Version. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2002, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/5 "2002-12-29T23:33:51Z")
Pete Townshend has released several covers of Girl From The North Country on his solo albums. One, a live version from the House of Blues Chicago in 1999, is a slow acoustic number faithful to the original, while his 1982 album “All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes” features an up-tempo electro-pop version with allusions to nuclear war. They’re both well worth listening to. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/6 "2002-12-30T01:11:03Z")
Children, READ the OP. He’s asking about DYLAN perfs of Dylan songs, not the Byrds, not Hendrix, not Peter Paul & Mary, not the Band, not Joan Baez, not the Grateful Dead, not the von Trapp Singers. ---
**Author:** ![Ravi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Ravi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravi)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/7 "2002-12-30T01:28:08Z")
Thats OK, we can hijack this and list other performers versions. It will make for more replies. James Lee Stanley’s new CD… TRACES OF THE OLD ROAD has two great versions of two of his songs. JUST LIKE THOM THUMB’S BLUES YOU GO YOUR WAY, I’LL GO MINE rande… ---
**Author:** ![Ravi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Ravi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravi)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/8 "2002-12-30T01:30:26Z")
that should read great versions of two of his songs. rande… ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/9 "2002-12-30T01:43:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*Children, READ the OP. > > He’s asking about DYLAN perfs of Dylan songs, not the Byrds, not Hendrix, not Peter Paul & Mary, not the Band, not Joan Baez, not the Grateful Dead, not the von Trapp Singers. \*\* Well, I don’t know, he did say: > [@](#): > > I mean, he does them differntly everytime he performs, and he gets covered… so the best might not be the one he originally recorded. … which I took to mean “covers of Dylan songs are eligable for this thread as well”. Maybe I was wrong, only the OP can tell. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/10 "2002-12-30T01:57:56Z")
Ha! Deconstruct ME, will you, son of a Dutchman! Draw your rapier! My reading focuses on “the best might not be the one HE ORIGINALLY recorded,” which would narrow the field down to Dylan versions only. And which would make for a more interesting thread, as we’ve had several over the years devoted to cover versions. Nonetheless, we’ll see if the boy comes back and specifies. If you’re right, the beer’s on me next time, and I have a satchelful of Dylan covers I’ll throw into this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/11 "2002-12-30T02:03:28Z")
“Absolutely Sweet Marie,” as performed by **Jason and the Scorchers** blows away the original. “It Ain’t Me Babe” as performed by **Johnny Cash** is not better than Dylan’s original, but it is awfully fun if for no other reason than hearing Johnny transform the line “no, no, no it ain’t me, Babe” into “Naw! Naw! Naw! It ain’t me, Babe.” Flatt and Scruggs do some interesting things with Dylan, too. ---
**Author:** ![LoN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@LoN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoN)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/12 "2002-12-30T02:45:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ukulele Ike \* > \*\*Ha! Deconstruct ME, will you, son of a Dutchman! Draw your rapier! > > My reading focuses on “the best might not be the one HE ORIGINALLY recorded,” which would narrow the field down to Dylan versions only. And which would make for a more interesting thread, as we’ve had several over the years devoted to cover versions. > > Nonetheless, we’ll see if the boy comes back and specifies. If you’re right, the beer’s on me next time, and I have a satchelful of Dylan covers I’ll throw into this thread. \*\* I dunno… I’d originally planned for it to be Dylan versions only, but then I left it open for covers (specifically thinking of the Hendrix “All Along the Watchtower”). So you’re both right… you both buy the beer, and I get to hear all about the covers… ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/13 "2002-12-30T05:02:50Z")
OK, if covers are cool, then I definitely vote for Joan Baez’ version of **Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts** from her live album. Hauntingly good. ---
**Author:** ![Harry\_Lime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Harry\_Lime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry_Lime)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/14 "2002-12-30T07:21:52Z")
Well, nothing beats the original version of _Tangled Up In Blue_, but that one filmed version that they used to play on VH1, where he has the whitish powder on his face, is damned close. I like the small lyrical changes he makes, and the plaintive way he says “…never escaped my mind…” just sends chill up me spine whenever I hear it. ---
**Author:** ![LoN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@LoN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoN)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/15 "2002-12-30T07:34:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Harry Lime \* > \*\*Well, nothing beats the original version of _Tangled Up In Blue_, but that one filmed version that they used to play on VH1, where he has the whitish powder on his face, is damned close. I like the small lyrical changes he makes, and the plaintive way he says “…never escaped my mind…” just sends chill up me spine whenever I hear it. \*\* That’s the on the DVD that comes with the Live 1975 CD that inspired this thread… it scared me, but i’ll need to give it another watch. Nothing really beats the original… The first Dylan CD i got was _Live at Budokan_, and the version of _Mr. Tambourine Man_ has got me through more bad mornings then I can count… still my fave… ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/16 "2002-12-30T07:40:50Z")
Personal all-time favorite Dylan song: Positively 4th Street. Guys, please start serenading your ex-girlfriends with this song that says it all for me! DOn’t be afraid to tell these self-centered, “daddy’s girl” wenches as it really is! (Sorry, do I sound a tad bitter?) - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/17 "2002-12-30T07:46:39Z")
I saw Dylan perform last year in Montreux, and it seemed like Dylan on speed. He did some older songs with a faster tempo, and I liked them all. Of course, a concert performance is so different from recorded music because people are dancing, and the mood is infectious. ---
**Author:** ![Harry\_Lime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Harry\_Lime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harry_Lime)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2002, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-versions-of-bob-dylan-songs/145535/18 "2002-12-30T08:37:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jinx \* > Personal all-time favorite Dylan song: Positively 4th Street. Guys, please start serenading your ex-girlfriends with this song that says it all for me! DOn’t be afraid to tell these self-centered, “daddy’s girl” wenches as it really is! (Sorry, do I sound a tad bitter?) - Jinx This brings up a good point. (It also applies to the people Bob disses in _My Back Pages_): Don’t ever piss off an artist. You stand a good chance of being immortailzed, in a way you shouldn’t want to be. No matter how you might have gotten the better of them in face-to-face arguments, if they weren’t filmed or recorded or written down, they die with you. An artist can continue to get his revenge on you long after you are both long gone. (One of Satan’s henchmen depicted in Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling is a Cardinal who intrigued against him with Pope Julius II.) Bet he wishes he hadn’t :smack: