Bob Dylan is Coming to SPAC July 9th
Live Nation announced that Bob Dylan is coming to Saratoga Performing Arts Center on July 9th.
Dylan is one of the greatest song writers of his generation. But let’s be frank: other people’s renditions of his songs often make them shine a little brighter than the boy from Minnesota ever could. And while Jim and I both adore Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan), here are some of our favorite songs performed with some polish by other artists – in no particular order:”
Make You Feel My Love,” by Adele
“One Too Many Mornings,” by Avett Brothers
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” by Peter, Paul and Mary
“Girl from the North Country” by The Black Crowes
“A Hard Rain Is Gonna Fall” by Eddie Brickell and the New Bohemians
“Knockin’ On Heavens Door” by Eric Clapton
“Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie” by Jack Johnson
“The Times They Are A-Changin’ ” by Tracy Chapman
“Tangled Up in Blue” by The Indigo Girls
“Like a Rolling Stone” by Green Day
“Just Like A Woman” by Van Morrison
“Forever Young” by Pearl Jam
“Quinn the Eskimo” by Manfred Man
We could go on and on…and this article kept us debating, expanding the list as each song came to mind.
Save July 9th on your calendar for Pulitzer Prize winner, writer extraordinaire, genius of his generation Bob Dylan at SPAC.
Taking it a step further, if it hadn’t been for Dylan, the Byrds wouldn’t have been nearly as consequential as they tuned out to be: Beginning with “Mr. Tambourine Man”, they had a brace of hits where they made Dylan better with their vocals, while Dylan made the Byrds better with his words. Check out their takes on “My Back Pages”, “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere”, and “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”
My favorite covers of Dylan’s songs:
1) “All Along the Watchtower” (According to Dylan: “I liked Jimi Hendrix’s record of this and ever since he died I’ve been doing it that way … Strange how when I sing it, I always feel it’s a tribute to him in some kind of way.”). And, of course, “Like a Rolling Stone” (at Monterey ’67)
–Jimi Hendrix
2) “Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind”–Bettye LaVette
3) “Every Grain of Sand”–Emmylou Harris
4) “Man of Peace”–The Holmes Brothers
5) “I Believe in You”–Five Blind Boys of Alabama
6) “When I Paint My Masterpiece”–The Band
7) “If You Gotta Go”–Sue Foley
8) “On a Night Like This”–Buckwheat Zydeco
9) “Highway 61”–Johnny Winter
10) “Masters of War”–The Staple Singers