A Dylan cover a Day: This Wheel’s on Fire

 

 

By Tony Attwood

I try not to go over the top with covers of Dylan songs that are not in English, but they do serve the purpose (when they are in a language one doesn’t speak) of focussing on the music rather than the lyrics.   This first choice does that, although the recording quality detracts somewhat, due to it being a recording of a concert performance.

It really is a remarkable piece of music, and as I have said elsewhere, not at all Dylanesque.  the language here is Czech, or so I am told.

Compare and contrast, as they say, with Richard Thompson for the Dylan Revisited album.  I love this version because it makes me feel that Richard Thompson really has considered the lyrics, rather than just singing them (not that Richard Thompson would ever “just sing” a set of lyrics.)

The harmonies are perfect, the instrumental break at the end is beautiful, the accompaniment is sublime, and as ever with Richard Thompson’s recordings I feel he really has worked and worked on what the essence of the piece in order to get an arrangement that makes musical sense.

He’s still touring, although in some rather unusual places – if you have never seen him live, I’d thoroughly recommend it, no matter where it is.  And please do listen in utter silence to the instrumental at the end.

In total contrast is the version by Famous Horses – a band of whom I know very little – if you know of a source of detailed information about the band please do write in with the website URL.  I really like this, and totally admire their imagination in terms of re-invention.

Indeed this is one of those songs where one could go on with version after version each with a different idea of what the song is really saying.  The only ones I feel don’t work are those that treat the music as just another rock song.  It isn’t and it really doesn’t work if one goes down that route.

The point is there are multiple levels in this song, and it is not possible to find them all in one version – the song would vanish under the levels of invention if that happened.    But really one can do pretty much anything with this piece, as Les Fradkin shows.   Although, for me there is too much here, and their attempt to hold it all together with the solid beat of the percussion, doesn’t quite work.  Which is a shame because the harmonies are gorgeous, with variations I’ve not heard elsewhere.   And I do love the way they hold the word “Wheels” for that extra fraction of a beat before “on fire”.  A terrific touch.

And that is where I was going to leave it, until I realised I hadn’t taken in that version by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity.    It’s no longer the great revelation that it was when it first came out, but the use of the melatrone (I think) behind the band and vocals is fun.

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. BoB Dylan’s 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
109. Outlaw Blues – prepare to be amazed
110. Oxford Town
111. Peggy Day and Pledging my time
112. Please Mrs Henry
113. Political world
114. Positively 4th Street
115. Precious Angel
116. Property of Jesus
117. Queen Jane Approximately
118. Quinn the Eskimo as it should be performed.
119. Quit your lowdown ways
120. Rainy Day Women as never before
121. Restless Farewell. Exquisite arrangements, unbelievable power
122. Ring them bells in many different ways
123. Romance in Durango, covered and re-written
124. Sad Eyed Lady of Lowlands, like you won’t believe
125. Sara
126. Senor
127. A series of Dreams; no one gets it (except Dylan)
128. Seven Days
129. She Belongs to Me
130. Shelter from the Storm
131. Sign on the window
132. Silvio
133. Simple twist of fate
134. Slow Train
135. Someday Baby
136. Spanish Harlem Incident
137. Standing in the Doorway
138. Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
139. Subterranean Homesick Blues
140. Sweetheart Like You
141. Tangled up in Blue
142. Tears of Rage
143.  Temporary Like Achilles. Left in the cold, but there’s still something…
144. The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar
145. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
146. The Man in Me
147. Times they are a-changin’
148. The Wicked Messenger
149. Things have changed