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By Tony Attwood
When I hear a cover version, of a Bob Dylan song, I am often left wondering if I would bother to get a friend to sit down and listen to the cover, and announce that I am doing this because the version I am playing says something that I don’t think has been “said” within the song, or even in any other song.
We have all listened to “Like a Rolling Stone” by Hendrix but I have to admit I am not putting it here again because I don’t actually enjoy it, although I know why I don’t. It doesn’t do anything for me, because it doesn’t offer me anything I didn’t already know or feel. And that is what I think cover versions should do.
I don’t mean this in regard to anyone playing a song in a club, but when it comes to a concert or a gig, yes, I think there needs to be a reason for the performance. After all we all know the lyrics inside out, and quite probably most of the musical effects.
So for me, Hendrix playing “Like a Rolling Stone” goes nowhere new. It’s done. It’s over.
But staying with well known covers there is one where I would go with the general feeling that it adds something to the original. That is George Harrison’s “If not for you;” it has something about it…. not least the ability to get the piano and guitar parts recorded in a way that they don’t feel they are attacking each other…. (But even if you know this inside out, please stay with me because there is something more to come that it is just possible you might have missed….)
And I would also go with Nina Simone, singing “Just Like a Woman”, I am not sure what the piano intro is doing with it. I do prefer the song starting with “Nobody feels any pain” – it is just such an extraordinary line to have in a song. But I’ll go with this.
But I still have to come back to one of my all time favourites. People hate it when I try and copy this and play it to friends, so I have stopped that and instead now just force them to listen to the recordings. “You remember that song I played on the piano last time you were here, well, this time I’m playing you the real version.”
And as a person who has written a fair bit about music and lectured on the subject I suppose I am always drawn to music as much as lyrics. But please, if I may impose myself on your life, take this recording, play it and put down everything, don’t allow anyone to talk, turn off the phone, just focus on this.
Maybe you are one of those lucky people who has never had a relationship go so terribly wrong that the line “my enemy and my best friend are one of the same” means nothing. But if so, just count yourself as one of the few. You are blessed.
There are lines that mean nothing, there are lines that can mean everything, if only we can pause to listen and work out which is which, but oh that simple chorus… I swear in all of contemporary music there is nothing else like this.
By the way there is also a great version of “Series of Dreams” to be found if you leave recordings running. Strange isn’t it? I wonder if I could get all my favourite forgotten Dylan songs and release them into an album without Bob and the company noticing. No, they’d probably sue.
Ah well….. just keep the recording rolling, you never know what might turn up.