By Tony Attwood
Dramatic, powerful, message dominated… what can you do with Hurricane?
The opening of Ani DiFranco’s version really is challenging and menacing, which is of course a big contrast with Bob’s original which always seems to me to be designed to incorporate his interest in boxing as much as to express outrage.
It is of course the bass that conveys that new feeling, but it is not just that, for there are other instrumental contributions that edge in and out. Nothing really obvious, it is all thought through, and the pull-back at the start of each verse returns our attention to the lyrics.
There is also a sense of absolute weirdness in some of this, which for me is how it should be because I have always felt the sport was itself weird. But that’s just me of course. Even the moments between the verses change each time. And the bit I don’t like the “triple murder” line which I find musically awful in the original, she makes work.
It’s not a piece I want to play over and over, but as an interpretation of Dylan’s original, it is something to think about.
And so by way of contrast the Vitamin String Quartet who we have met before. It is an interesting choice for them because there really isn’t too much they can do here… yet even the brief interlude between verses is handled excellently.
I suppose I like it as a contrast with Ani DiFranco telling us how it really is, and Dylan’s love of the sport. And besides whoever heard of a string quartet playing a piece about boxing?
The coda from 2 minutes 36 seconds onward is completely unexpected too – a superb ending.
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A list of previous songs reviewed is given below.
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- 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
- Dylan Cover of the Day 18: You will not believe this… 115th Dream revisited
- Dylan cover of the day 19: Boots of Spanish leather
- Dylan cover of the day 20: Born in Time
- Dylan cover of the day 21: Buckets of Rain
- Dylan cover of the day: 22 Can you please crawl out your window
- Dylan cover of the day 23: Can’t wait
- Dylan Cover of the Day 24: Changing of the Guard
- Dylan Cover of the Day 25: Chimes of Freedom
- Dylan cover a day 34: Country Pie
- Dylan Cover of the Day 33: Crash on the Levee
- Dylan cover a day 35: Dark Eyes
- Dylan Cover of the Day 26: Dear Landlord
- Dylan cover of the Day 27: Desolation Row as never ever before (twice)
- Dylan cover of the Day 28: Dignity.
- Dylan Cover of the Day 29: Dirge
- Dylan Cover of the Day 30: Don’t fall apart on me tonight.
- Dylan cover a Day 31: Don’t think twice
- Dylan cover a day 32: Down along the cove
- Dylan cover – recovered 33: Drifter’s Escape
- Dylan cover a day 34: Duquesne Whistle
- Dylan cover a day 35: Farewell Angelina
- Dylan cover a day 36: Foot of Pride and Forever Young
- Dylan cover a day 37: Fourth Time Around
- Dylan cover a Day 38: From a Buick 6
- Dylan cover a Day: 39 “Gates of Eden” as never before
- Dylan cover a Day: 40 “Gotta Serve Somebody”
- Dylan Cover a Day: 41 Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall.
- Dylan cover a day: 42 Heart of Mine
- A Dylan Cover a Day 43: High Water
- Dylan cover a day 44: Highway 61.5
VSQ ..,,between what verses?….I don’t hear no stinkin’ verses ….
Beautiful music, yes …..
But the original song depends on the long narrative for its total impact ….
I suppose a listener who from memory is able to repeat all the lines therefrom word for word doesn’t need them!