Courtesy BandCamp we are happy to provide TNOP readers with a full listen to all eight cuts of the new EP from Sufjan Stevens, titled All Delighted People. I'm sure young Mr. Stevens is having a bit of a laugh with us by tacking on the "EP" to the name of the record, considering we are treated to nearly 60 minutes of music. And available for purchase for only $5 USD.
The tracklist: 01 “All Delighted People (Original Version)” 02 “Enchanting Ghost” 03 “Heirloom” 04 “From the Mouth of Gabriel” 05 “The Owl and the Tanager” 06 “All Delighted People (Classic Rock Version)” 07 “Arnika” 08 “Djohariah"
Sufjan Stevens "Ring Them Bells" Original Dylan version found on Oh Mercy (1989)
[Ed. note: Regular readers of this blog know that Bob Dylan is affectionately referred to as the "Patron Saint" of TNOP. This weekly feature sifts through the thousands of cover versions of Dylan songs and provides you with our favorites, as well as a quick memory of our first exposure to the Dylan original.]
Sufjan Stevens is a native Michigander who has been a prolific singer-songwriter over the past ten years. A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens' unique voice on the music scene has drawn both heavy critical praise as well as a few accusations of pretentious navel gazing.
Regardless of personal opinion, there is to be no argument that Stevens makes selected songs of other artists he admires (Joni Mitchell, Daniel Johnston and Lennon/McCartney, for example) his "own," rearranging melody and sometimes adding new verses. This Dylan cover is no less different.
When one considers the whole of Stevens' career to date, his selection of Dylan's "Ring Them Bells" for inclusion in the I'm Not There soundtrack makes perfect sense. The themes of faith and justice weave themselves through Stevens' albums, but in a subtle way. As he told The Village Voice in 2005, "I don't think music media is the real forum for theological discussions. I think I've said things and sung about things that probably weren't appropriate for this kind of forum. And I just feel like it's not my work or my place to be making claims and statements, because I often think it's misunderstood."
************************************* Like many a Dylan fan(atic) back in 1989, the pending release of a new album from my favorite artist was a reason for cautious excitement. While Down In The Groove and Knocked Out Loaded were bitter disappointments, and the much-ballyhooed tours with Tom Petty and The Grateful Dead mostly hype, word was leaking out that a "return to form" was surely on the horizon. First, the previous fall George Harrison - who had recently worked with his long-time pal in The Travelling Wilburys - had enthused to a reporter about a cache of songs Dylan supposedly was holding close to the vest. Within a few months, the same story had surfaced, this time linking U2's Bono to the chorus of encouragement.
But Dylan supposedly was down about the method in which his more recent albums had been recorded. Enter Daniel Lanois, the then 38 year old Canadian musician and producer who was surely on a hot streak. In succession, he had been at the helm of Peter Gabriel's So, U2's The Joshua Tree, Robbie Robertson's self-titled solo effort and was about to enter the studio to record another album which would be lauded, Yellow Moon by The Neville Brothers. Given Lanois' involvement with Bono and Robertson, it was easy for Dylanophiles to connect the dots.
Dylan talks at length about the recording process and the great vibe of New Orleans, where Oh Mercy would be recorded, in his bookChronicles, Volume One. It makes for great reading.
Personally, I was excited about the album as a whole when it was released in September 1989, particularly the sequencing of the ten tracks. But "Ring Them Bells" stood out for its musical simplicity as well as lyrical complexity. Aside from the background sonic accents from (I think) Lanois' omnichord, it is just Dylan sitting at the piano alone, singing this compelling, plaintive narrative about age-old, wearying challenges that all walks of life confront and the accompanying faith that may in fact keep a "world on its side" from tipping completely over.
It is vintage Dylan with juxtaposition of "right and wrong" on one side of the scale and "the shepherd and his lost sheep" on the other. While all of his literary tricks seem to be in play here, I remain convinced that Dylan has not cavalierly named three saintly presences simply as a ruse. St. Peter (a disciple who publicly sinned three times and then would lead a movement dedicated to a nonviolent revolutionary), Martha (the wife of Lazarus and sister of Mary, who anointed Jesus' body) and St. Catherine (a highly learned woman who was brutally murdered for espousing and practicing her beliefs) are all symbols of humility and the virtue of the underdog.
But serious contemplation aside, the memory that sticks most permanently with me about "Ring Them Bells" is that this song could have been nestled quite comfortably within the tracks of New Morning (1970). While Oh Mercy seemed to mark a new, fruitful chapter in Dylan's career, I kept thinking of the photo on the back of that particular album. It seemed like in the best of all worlds, blues singer Victoria Spivey would be playing the gospel piano, harmonizing on the chorus while Dylan cut this song in one, live take.
The Thin White Duke helps all the boogaloo dudes at TNOP troll the web for the latest news. . .
Sufjan Stevens gives a lengthy interview with Brandon Stosuy in Interview magazine, discussing his new work The BQE, why he doesn't perform on TV and whether there will ever be anymore "state" records.
The seventh CD from TNOP faves Spoon will be released on January 18 in Europe on Anti- and on January 19 on Merge. It's called Transference and both NPR and Stereogum have a stream of the first single, "Written in Reverse." Sounds cool to us. The new material will probably get a workout when they ring in the New Year with Jay Reatard at The Riverside in Milwaukee on December 31.
Overdosing on the decade and year end "best of" lists? (We hope not, because TNOP's are still to come.) In addition to the Spoon record, here are some of the releases we are looking forward to in 2010: The National (TBA) Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks (March 9) MGMT - Congratulations (Spring) Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring (January 26) LCD Soundsystem (March) ++++ Ten Questions for James Murphy (Drowned In Sound) Interpol (Early 2010) Midlake - The Courage of Others (February 1) The Hold Steady (TBA) Massive Attack - Heligoland (February 9) Arcade Fire (TBA)
Jim DeRogatis profiles Matthew Santos in advance of his appearance at Lincoln Hall in Chicago this Friday.
The Times of London catches up with Brian Ferry and finds him pretty grumpy. But he still looks good and offers you a free download for putting up with him.
Paul McCartney wrote the closing song for the new Robert DeNiro movie, "Everybody's Fine." He talks about it as well as his recent CitiField shows in New York and the coming Gershwin Prize For Popular Song, which Macca will receive in the spring at the Library of Congress.
A few weeks ago we wrote about the pending release of Ben Sidran's album of Bob Dylan covers. Dylan Different is released tomorrow. Rob Thomas of The Capitol Times talks with the Madison based jazz pianist about his passing encounters with the Patron Saint of TNOP. Sidran's put his own stamp on familiar, but sometimes daunting, material.
And happy birthday to John Densmore, drummer with The Doors. Instead of a cake, this dynamic live performance of "Love Me Two Times" is served up for your listening pleasure.
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