A Dylan Cover a Day: Unbelievable

By Tony Attwood

The song “Unbelievable” from Under the Red Sky only got 29 performances by Dylan across a 12 year period, and is I suspect largely forgotten, not least since the last public performance was 20 years ago.

But still at least it spawned three covers – one of which was featured in the original review of the song on this site, so it meets our minimum requirements, and off we go…

Blitzen Trapper is not a musician nor a band that I know but Wiki tells me that “Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/folk/rock band”, and full credit to them for not just reproducing what Bob did, but finding something completely new which keeps my interest all the way through.   In fact I think there is more in this version than in Bob’s own recording.

If nothing else do listen to the rhythms behind fast 4/4 beat.   That’s not to say it is a great Dylan song, nor as it turns out the best cover version – but still there is more in it than I first realised.

Bettye LaVette of course we know well through these explorations, and she too finds energy and excitement in the song.   And just in case you think you’ve got the hang of it after the first minute, I would urge you to keep going; she and her arranger do have some fun with the piece.

At which point I felt it was worth going back to Bob’s original – not least for the extraordinarily silly video which takes the word “unbelievable” rather too literally and then maybe thinking they had not done enough felt they should throw in some gratuitous violence, while also taking the word “run” literally.   Not a prize winner.  In fact I don’t think it is worthy of even a modest Dylan composition, but I suspect the promotion company felt they really had to do something to boost the sales.

However that boost did come, from elsewhere.  This final version is by the Bavarian Bob Dylan tribute band “Dylan On The Rocks”.  For me, it’s the best of the lot – and that does indeed mean I prefer this to Bob’s own version.  Although maybe it is that video on top of Bob’s recording  that put me off.

 

Previously in the 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
150. This Wheel’s on Fire
151. Thunder on the mountain
152. Till I fell in love with you in the north of Norway
153. Time Passes Slowly – just sit down and close your eyes
154. To be alone with you
155. To Ramona: unexpectedly yes!
156. Tombstone Blues
157. Tonight I’ll be Staying Here With You
158. Too much of nothing
159. Trouble as you have never been troubled before
160. Tryin’ to get to Heaven