A Dylan cover a day: Outlaw Blues – prepare to be amazed

By Tony Attwood

I suspect that those whose minds allow them occasionally to let Dylan songs slip away from their memories, may well have forgotten “Outlaw Blues,” even though it appears on one of the most popular Dylan albums of all time.

Bob only played it once on stage, and it sits on “Bringing it all back home” swamped by “Gates of Eden,” “Tambourine Man”, “Love Minus Zero…” etc etc.

So as I say, it is possible you might have forgotten it, and as an introduction here’s the official Dylan video

Now given just how standard a 12 bar this is, you might suspect the number of covers is very small.  And yes thayt is true.  Indeed not only is the number small, but some of them are really just straight re-runs of this 12 bar played with the classic R&B chugging accompaniment, with the first line repeated, and then a third rhyming line.  Here’s one (but believe me there is better to come).

Indeed from my younger days I also remember Dave Edmunds having a bash at it.  It’s ok and there’s an interesting instrumental break, but not much more to say about it.  Actually, I remember Dave Edmunds better for “Queen of Hearts” which I recall playing endlessly in my youth, although I am not 100% sure why.  Funny to hear it again after all these years – its on the link a couple of lines above in case you are interested.

Anyway, here’s his Outlaw Blues – but please if by now you are thinking that I am really struggling to find anything interesting to offer here, please, please, please keep going…

So to follow my earlier point: is there a cover worth noting here?   Well yes there is.  And it really, really is good in every sense.  As a musical production, it is superb in itself, but additionally, as a re-arrangement of a classic 12 bar it is something very unusual.  I do hope you have a moment to listen to it.

The Morning Benders renamed themselves Pop Etc, supposedly after being told that the word “bender” had an unfortunate connotation in the UK.  And they have indeed had some success, particularly with the album “Talking through tin cans” (Best indie album of 2008 according to iTunes).

This recording really does show that no matter what the starting point is with a Dylan song, and no matter that hardly anyone else wants to know about it, there is always something else that can be done.

The Dylan Cover a Day series

1. The song with numbers in the title.
2. Ain’t Talkin
3. All I really want to do
4.  Angelina
5.  Apple Suckling and Are you Ready.
6. As I went out one morning
7.  Ballad for a Friend
8. Ballad in Plain D
9. Ballad of a thin man
10.  Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
11. The ballad of Hollis Brown
12. Beyond here lies nothing
13. Blind Willie McTell
14.  Black Crow Blues (more fun than you might recall)
15. An unexpected cover of “Black Diamond Bay”
16. Blowin in the wind as never before
17. Bob Dylan’s Dream
18. You will not believe this… 115th Dream revisited
19. Boots of Spanish leather
20. Born in Time
21. Buckets of Rain
22. Can you please crawl out your window
23. Can’t wait
24. Changing of the Guard
25. Chimes of Freedom
26. Country Pie
27.  Crash on the Levee
28. Dark Eyes
29. Dear Landlord
30. Desolation Row as never ever before (twice)
31. Dignity.
32. Dirge
33. Don’t fall apart on me tonight.
34. Don’t think twice
35.  Down along the cove
36. Drifter’s Escape
37. Duquesne Whistle
38. Farewell Angelina
39. Foot of Pride and Forever Young
40. Fourth Time Around
41. From a Buick 6
42. Gates of Eden
43. Gotta Serve Somebody
44. Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall.
45. Heart of Mine
46. High Water
47. Highway 61
48. Hurricane
49. I am a lonesome hobo
50. I believe in you
51. I contain multitudes
52. I don’t believe you.
53. I love you too much
54. I pity the poor immigrant. 
55. I shall be released
56. I threw it all away
57. I want you
58. I was young when I left home
59. I’ll remember you
60. Idiot Wind and  More idiot wind
61. If not for you, and a rant against prosody
62. If you Gotta Go, please go and do something different
63. If you see her say hello
64. Dylan cover a day: I’ll be your baby tonight
65. I’m not there.
66. In the Summertime, Is your love and an amazing Isis
67. It ain’t me babe
68. It takes a lot to laugh
69. It’s all over now Baby Blue
70. It’s all right ma
71. Just Like a Woman
72. Knocking on Heaven’s Door
73. Lay down your weary tune
74. Lay Lady Lay
75. Lenny Bruce
76. That brand new leopard skin pill box hat
77. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
78. License to kill
79. Like a Rolling Stone
80. Love is just a four letter word
81. Love Sick
82. Maggies Farm!
83. Make you feel my love; a performance that made me cry.
84. Mama you’ve been on my mind
85. Man in a long black coat.
86. Masters of War
87. Meet me in the morning
88. Million Miles. Listen, and marvel.
89. Mississippi. Listen, and marvel (again)
90. Most likely you go your way
91. Most of the time and a rhythmic thing
92. Motorpsycho Nitemare
93. Mozambique
94. Mr Tambourine Man
95. My back pages, with a real treat at the end
96. New Morning
97. New Pony. Listen where and when appropriate
98. Nobody Cept You
99. North Country Blues
100. No time to think
101. Obviously Five Believers
102. Oh Sister
103. On the road again
104. One more cup of coffee
105. (Sooner or later) one of us must know
106. One too many mornings
107. Only a hobo
108. Only a pawn in their game