A Dylan cover a Day: Motorpsycho Nitemare

by Tony Attwood

A song that Bob has never performed in public, and one that I didn’t expect to find any cover versions of, and lo and behold there is one.  Or actually two, although only one in English.

And that English language cover is damn good too.   For here we have performers who understand the essence of the original, and then make their own adjustments to the song to turn it into… well not something new, but rather the same scene as Dylan set out, but looked at from a totally different angle.

I must admit I haven’t listened to the original version in years but the lyrics are still in my head, and that of course makes the job of a cover version harder – the musicians have to work harder to keep one’s attention since there is a temptation for the listener to think, “I know this”.

The chord change (just one extra chord) is subtle, the lead guitar’s little solo romp after every other verse is perfectly placed and is novel but not intrusive.

But above all it is the whole laid-back approach that really works – the opposite of the frantic insanity of the lyrics and which is conveyed in Dylan’s original.

I am of course limited to recordings that I can legally put online for you to contemplate, and although there are one or two other recordings of the song around I have only found one more that is available on the internet to share.

I include it because it is the only other one, and I wouldn’t think normally it was worth putting in, because the musicians don’t add that much to Dylan’s original.  But it is an interesting example of this problem: just recording Dylan’s music is not enough, because, well, Dylan has done that.  The musician/s also need to move the whole thing on and give us something else, something new.  A new perspective or insight, ideally.

And at least we have one version that does this.  Here’s the only other one I have found.

The Dylan Cover a Day series

• • The song with numbers in the title.
  • Ain’t Talkin
  • All I really want to do
  •  Angelina
  •  Apple Suckling and Are you Ready.
  • As I went out one morning
  •  Ballad for a Friend
  • Ballad in Plain D
  • Ballad of a thin man
  •  Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
  • The ballad of Hollis Brown
  • Beyond here lies nothing
  • Blind Willie McTell
  •  Black Crow Blues (more fun than you might recall)
  • An unexpected cover of “Black Diamond Bay”
  • Blowin in the wind as never before
  • Bob Dylan’s Dream
  • You will not believe this… 115th Dream revisited
  • Boots of Spanish leather
  • Born in Time
  • Buckets of Rain
  • Can you please crawl out your window
  • Can’t wait
  • Changing of the Guard
  • Chimes of Freedom
  • Country Pie
  •  Crash on the Levee
  • Dark Eyes
  • Dear Landlord
  • Desolation Row as never ever before (twice)
  • Dignity.
  • Dirge
  • Don’t fall apart on me tonight.
  • Don’t think twice
  •  Down along the cove
  • Drifter’s Escape
  • Duquesne Whistle
  • Farewell Angelina
  • Foot of Pride and Forever Young
  • Fourth Time Around
  • From a Buick 6
  • Gates of Eden
  • Gotta Serve Somebody
  • Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall.
  • 42 Heart of Mine
  • 43: High Water
  •  44: Highway 61.5
  • 45: Hurricane
  • 46: I am a lonesome hobo
  • 47: I believe in you
  • 48: I contain multitudes
  • 49: I don’t believe you.
  • 50: I love you too much
  • 51: I pity the poor immigrant. 
  •  52: I shall be released
  • 53: I threw it all away
  • 54: I want you
  • 55: I was young when I left home
  • 56: I’ll remember you
  • 57: Idiot Wind and  More idiot wind
  • 58: If not for you, and a rant against prosody
  • 59: A Dylan cover a Day: If you Gotta Go, please go and do something different
  • 60: If you see her say hello
  • 61: Dylan cover a day: I’ll be your baby tonight
  • 62: I’m not there.
  • 63: In the Summertime, Is your love and an amazing Isis
  • 64: It ain’t me babe
  • 65: It takes a lot to laugh
  • 66: It’s all over now Baby Blue
  • 67: It’s all right ma
  • 68: Just Like a Woman
  • 69: Knocking on Heaven’s Door
  • 70: Lay down your weary tune
  • 71:  Lay Lady Lay
  • 72: Dylan Cover a Day 72: Lenny Bruce
  • 73: That brand new leopard skin pill box hat
  • 74: Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
  • 75: Dylan Cover a Day: License to kill
  • 76: Like a Rolling Stone
  • 77: Love is just a four letter word
  • 78: Love Sick
  • 79: Maggies Farm!
  • 80: Make you feel my love; a performance that made me cry.
  • 81: Mama you’ve been on my mind
  • 82: Man in a long black coat.
  • 83: Masters of War
  • 84: Meet me in the morning
  • 85: Million Miles. Listen, and marvel.
  • 86: Mississippi. Listen, and marvel (again)
  • 87: Most likely you go your way
  • 88: Most of the time and a rhythmic thing