By Tony Attwood
When I started this little series I had no idea where it would go – just that I had a feeling that some artists had really done a few interesting things with Dylan songs.
But Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream – a cover version? Really? Well, yes, and not just one, but actually three. Or at least three that appealed to me as I was meandering through the archives and websites.
Asobi Seksu are first: they existed for about ten years in the early part of this century. At first in sketching this note I wrote, “It’s not something I am going to come back to that much in the future, but it really took me by surprise and I enjoyed the listen.” But that’s wrong. Haven’t finished the article and listened to the two pieces that follow, I do want to come back to this – and indeed listening to it for a second time, I find more in it than I thought…
Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band do something closer to the original, but with a few nice variations.
https://youtu.be/Ke8uZIvPa7w
And then Tito Schipa Jr.
In 1970 he created the Italian rock opera Orfeo 9, which then became a movie, and an album. And ten years later, a rock adaptation of Donizetti’s opera Don Pasquale.
The Dylan connection came in 1988 with the release of Dylaniato, with the songs performed in Italian and the Romanesco dialect. Tito Schipa has since translated Dylan’s complete works as well as working as an actor, writer for broadcast media and theatre director.
Previously on Dylan Cover of the Day.
- Dylan cover of the day: Number 1. The song with numbers in the title.
- Dylan cover of the day. No 2: Ain’t Talkin
- Bob Dylan cover of the day No3: All I really want to do
- Dylan cover of the day No4: Angelina
- Dylan covers of the day No 5. Apple Suckling and Are you Ready.
- Cover version of the day No 6: As I went out one morning
- Dylan cover of the day No 7: Ballad for a Friend
- Dylan Cover of the Day No 8: Ballad in Plain D
- Dylan Cover of the Day No 9: Ballad of a thin man
- Dylan cover No. 10: The stunning reworking of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
- Dylan cover of the day No 11: The ballad of Hollis Brown
- A Dylan cover a day No 12: Beyond here lies nothing
- Dylan cover of the day No 13: Blind Willie McTell
- Dylan Cover of the Day 14: Black Crow Blues (more fun than you might recall)
- Dylan Cover of the Day 15: An unexpected cover of “Black Diamond Bay”
- Dylan Cover of the Day 16: Blowin in the wind as never before
- Dylan Cover of the Day 17: Bob Dylan’s Dream
Untold Dylan was created in 2008 and is published daily – currently twice a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. Details of some of our series are given at the top of the page and in the Recent Posts list, which appears both on the right side of the page and at the very foot of the page (helpful if you are reading on a phone). Some of our past articles which form part of series, are also included on the home page.
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