Your Weekly Dylan Cover [#19]

Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard
"Absolutely Sweet Marie"
Original Dylan version found on Blonde On Blonde (1966)

Last year, a seemingly odd pairing hit the road, promoting a soundtrack that the duo had written for a documentary about - of all things - the time Beat novelist Jack Kerouac spent in Big Sur, California. The music Jay Farrar and Ben Gibbard created for One Fast Move or I'm Gone drew varied reactions. But the tour that the two undertook across the US garnered raves.

Farrar, the St. Louis based musician who became a favorite on the alt-country scene with the groups Uncle Tupelo and Son Volt, is a talented guitarist and harmonica player with a distinct sounding voice. Gibbard, front man for indie darlings Death Cab For Cutie, is an adventurous vocalist and guitarist from Washington state.

As the set list solidified, Farrar & Gibbard took to encoring with "Absolutely Sweet Marie." The original, recorded by Dylan in a Nashville studio, couldn't have sounded further from Opryville with its jaunty organ reflecting the swinging '60s. In this cover, performed at Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre on 23 October 2009, the arrangement is turned inwards, with pedal steel prominent and a great harp solo by Farrar. The lyric is in Farrar's wheelhouse, a Neil Youngish vocal take complimented nicely by Gibbard's harmony.

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Dylan never performed "Absolutely Sweet Marie" live until the end of the 1980s, and only sporadically pulls it out of his tour bag now. In a 1991 interview, Dylan talked specifically about the phrase "yellow railroad" that appears in the last verse of the song:

That's about as complete as you can be. Every single letter in that line. It's all true. On a literal and on an escapist level.... Getting back to the yellow railroad, that could be from looking someplace. Being a performer, you travel the world. You're not just looking out of the same window everyday. You're not just walking down the same old street. So you must make yourself observe whatever. But most of the time it hits you. You don't have to observe. It hits you. Like, "yellow railroad" could have been a blinding day when the sun was so bright on a railroad someplace and it stayed on my mind.... These aren't contrived images. These are images which are just in there and have got to come out.

Original Listening: Bob Dylan, "Absolutely Sweet Marie"

Another Cover: George Harrison, "Absolutely Sweet Marie" (The 30th Anniversary Celebration, 1993)

Still Another Cover: Jason & The Scorchers, "Absolutely Sweet Marie" (Fervor, 1983)

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Noms Announced

Let the grousing and lobbying begin. Whether you think it is contrary to the genre of rock and roll or not to have a "Hall of Fame," everyone's got an opinion. Including The Night Owl.

Here's the list of nominees announced for the 2011 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame:

Alice Cooper - Detroit rocker who brought theatricality in rock to a new level.
Beastie Boys - Pioneering samplers, rappers and musicians in their own right who helped bring hip hop to the masses.
Bon Jovi - New Jersey based pop stars who stepped out of the shadow of Springsteen and became arena concert heavyweights.
Chic - Influential dance band led by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards that can be traced to the epicenter of the disco movement in the 1970s.
Neil Diamond - Successful Brill Building pop song composer who became a solo phenomenon himself.
Donovan - English psychedelic folkie known for his own hits ("Sunshine Superman" and "Mellow Yellow" among others) and being upstaged by Dylan in Don't Look Back.
Dr. John - Originally known as 'The Night Tripper" for his Cajun-drenched gris-gris stage act, Mac Rebbenack has enjoyed a long solo career and partnered with many respected rock artists over the years.
J. Geils Band - Boston blues breakers led by the incomparable Peter Wolf.
LL Cool J - Queens rapper and actor, James Todd Smith was one of the first rappers to use a conventional song structure and move rap towards pop.
Darlene Love - Extraordinary voice who has worked with Phil Spector, Elvis Presley, U2, The Beach Boys, Johnny Rivers and Sam Cooke, among many others. Should be in the HOF for her performance of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" alone.
Laura Nyro - Bold singer-songwriter from The Bronx who was just as at home with Gershwin like melody as gut-bucket soul.
Donna Summer - Her marvelous voice helped define the disco era, selling millions of records in the process.
Joe Tex - Texas soul master who is credited with foreshadowing rap.
Tom Waits - Gravel voiced song writing genius.
Chuck Willis - "The Stroll"! "C.C. Rider"! "It's Too Late (She's Gone)"! R&B pioneer popular in the 1950s who still influences today.

While we won't get nit-picky and slag off some of the nominees named above on their day in the sun, we will make our annual complaint about the omission of the following, who did not even make the list for consideration:

T. REX

PUBLIC ENEMY

TODD RUNDGREN

THE CURE

THE SMITHS

Who would have been on your list?

New Pete Yorn Album Released Today

Pete Yorn's newest, PY, drops today on Vagrant Records. It's a rousing, edgy effort, befitting the personality of PY's producer, Pixies' member Frank Black (aka Black Francis). Above you can sample the first single "Precious Stone." In addition, ew.com allows you to stream the entire album from the New Jersey artist.

Pick To Click: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue - "Hurricane Season"

TNOP's been lamenting the dearth of instrumentals in the pop music world lately, to the extent that we've started a regular feature remembering when they were in the vogue. So it is heartening that "Hurricane Season," a new jam from The Crescent City's Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, has broken out on to some independent FM radio stations' play lists. Click above and do a little dance. Et laissez les bontemps roulez.

The Live Vault: Villagers

23 September 2010
88Nine Radio Milwaukee Studio
[On occasion, our far-flung correspondents attend and review shows. Here's another installment.]

The wee Irishman from Dublin Town ambled through the doors of the make-shift - but earnest - studio at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee yesterday afternoon, softly apologizing to a select crowd for being late on arrival. He explained that the tardiness was unavoidable: coming off a plane bound from Minneapolis, the airline had misplaced his work instrument. Namely, his guitar.

On his short solo tour of the US and Canada, Conor J O'Brien aka Villagers probably would have enthralled the audience with a short set of tunes if he was forced to sing a cappella. But O'Brien was happy to report that his Japanese crafted acoustic instrument (affectionately nicknamed "Lola") was indeed accompanying him.

The Villagers front-man propped himself up on a stool that dated back to high school shop days and waited for the cue from the radio host to begin. Modestly clad in jeans, work shirt and high top Chuck Taylors, O'Brien silently fiddled with a couple of guitar chords. Then he launched into "That Day," the third single from the marvelous album Becoming A Jackal, nominated earlier this year for the Mercury Prize (which recognizes the top ten long-playing records from the past year in the UK and Ireland). His soft interpretation of the tune, in contrast to the CD's production, bravely brought to the forefront the literate story of unavoidable chasm that has developed between a couple.


The catchy pop of "The Pact (I'll Be Your Fever)" lightened the mood of the small room. Accompanied by a bossa nova like beat from his guitar, O'Brien deftly showed his vocal range on the last verse and chorus.

A new song followed, identified at least for now as "In A New Found Land You Are Free." The gentle, swaying melody betrays the angst and conflict of the lyric, which this reveiwer looks forward to hearing again. The final stanza stuck with me, though:
This new found land
Comes a new found grief
But in a new found land she is free
You are free
It immediately brought to mind the vast migration of Irish to the US and Canada (in particular to the latter nation, whether by coincidence or not, to Newfoundland) and the simple, human tales of struggle and sacrifice woven in Colm Toibin's great novel Brooklyn.

The solo Villager wrapped the mini-set up with "Ship of Promises," a tale that challenges the listener in the best Dylanesque tradition: clever social commentary? the yin and yang of an individual's daily struggle to fit in this world? the unsure journey of a romantic relationship? all of the above? Whatever the interpretation, the song once again confirms that this artist is a wordsmith with the goods to endure in the music business.

[Thanks to the great folks at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee for the kind invite and hospitality.]

SET LIST
"That Day"
"The Pact (I'll Be Your Fever)"
"In A New Found Land You Are Free"
"Ship of Promises"

This Date In Rock History: 23 September

Happy birthday to The Boss.

On this date in 1949, Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is born to parents Adele and Douglas Springsteen at a hospital in Long Branch, New Jersey.

To celebrate, TNOP is bringing you video of one of the most heart-stopping live performances in rock and roll history. Hyperbole? We think not. This performance of what came to be known as the "Detroit Medley" is culled from a concert in Landover, Maryland on 24 November 1980. A year earlier, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band had introduced this mash-up to the masses at the "No Nukes" all-star concert at Madison Square Garden; the soundtrack, released in 1980, included the medley and quickly became an FM radio staple.

But this particular take finds Bruce and his mates in thrilling form, stretching out even further and taking the listener on a virtual tour of the roots of rock and roll, touching on many of the influences that Springsteen has openly bowed to over the years.

The take-off point is Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels' "Devil With A Blue Dress," a blue-eyed soul stomper that, coupled with Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly," shot to #4 in the US in 1966. Sandwiched between is "C. C. Rider," a song with roots as far back as Ma Rainey in the 1920s; it was most notably a hit for Chuck Willis and served as the opening number for Elvis Presley at his shows for many years. "Jenny Take A Ride!" makes an appearance as well, which Ryder also took into the Top 10, welding together "C. C. Rider" with Little Richard's "Jenny, Jenny." And finally there's the surprise inclusion of "Lonesome Train," a Johnny Burnette rockabilly chestnut that then evolves into a travelogue litany of American cities, a la James Brown's "Night Train."

So a tip of the hat to Mr. Springsteen on his 61st birthday, not only for his individual contributions to popular music, but for keeping the history of rock and roll alive and well through another couple of generations.

Your Weekly Dylan Cover [#18]

Them
"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"
Original Dylan version found on Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

George Ivan Morrison's father was an avid collector of American blues and jazz records. Morrison grew up listening to American music like Leadbelly, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee, John Lee Hooker, Mahalia Jackson, and Lightnin' Hopkins. He grew up surrounded by every kind of American musical influence. From the age of 13, he was adept at playing guitar, sax and harmonica and played with a series of local showbands along with Skiffle and rock and roll groups.

In 1964, a group of young men in Belfast, Northern Ireland formed a garage band that would strike gold on the charts within a couple of years. They went by the curious name "Them" and had a true ace in the hole: "Van" Morrison. A Philadelphia DJ by the name of Georgie Woods coined the term "blue-eyed soul" in the 1960s to describe white artists who got airplay on black radio stations. This Morrison kid, even though Irish, had soul. "Gloria" and "Here Comes The Night" were gritty hits for the band; they still sound inventive over 45 years after their release.

With Them's second LP, Them Again, in early 1966, the group included a unique cover: Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," culled from the 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home.
Morrison had apparently become fascinated by Dylan: "I think I heard [The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan] in a record shop in Smith Street. And I just thought it was just incredible that this guy's not singing about 'moon in June' and he's getting away with it . . . The subject matter wasn't pop songs, ya know, and I thought this kind of opens the whole thing up."

The recording starts simply enough with a measured, funky guitar riff; but it takes a quick left turn into a dreamy, repeating keyboard line that becomes trance-like. Then Morrison takes over and breathes Celtic soul into the lyric. While Dylanophiles were (and still are) obsessed with who "Baby Blue" in fact may be, Van The Man's turn at the mike makes the lyric a true poem in the tradition of masters like Yeats.

The song was released as a single only in The Netherlands in 1966. It went away with a whisper. In 1972, the song was again issued as a 45rpm, this time in Germany, where it nudged up against the Top 10 in that country. By this time, of course, Morrison had already established himself as an important singer-songwriter and solo artist.

In his memorable review of Morrison's seminal Astral Weeks album in 1969, Greil Marcus harkened back to the importance of the Belfast native's interpretation of Dylan: "Only on Dylan's 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' does Van truly shatter all the limits on his special powers . . . Each note stands out as a special creation – 'the centuries of emotion that go into a musician’s choice from one note to the next' is a phrase that describes the startling depth of this recording. Played very fast, Van's voice virtually fighting for control over the band, 'Baby Blue' emerges as music that is both dramatic and terrifying."

Through a series of appearances in movie soundtracks as well as a prominent sample on Beck's "Jack-Ass" from Odelay (1996), Them's cover of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" has come back into proper, respectable view of music fans. But in the interim 25 years or so, one of the best ever versions of a Bob Dylan song went mostly unnoticed accept for serious followers of Van Morrison and the bard from Hibbing, Minnesota.

Original Listening: Bob Dylan, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"

Live Listening: Bob Dylan, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (from the film Don't Look Back, 1967)

More Live Listening: Van Morrison, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Rockpalast Christmas Show, Germany, 1998)

Another Cover: Brian Ferry, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Frantic, 2002)

Still Another Cover: The Byrds, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Ballad of Easy Rider, 1969)

Elbow Plans For 2011

Elbow front man Guy Garvey is slowly revealing details of the Mancunian band's plans for calendar year 2011. In this past week's edition of NME, it was announced that the group will play a series of shows in March 2011 at arenas in Scotland and England. "There will be some theatre involved," Garvey said. "There are a few very special guests on the record, and hopefully they’ll be coming out with us live as well." Hopefully, a world tour backing the new record, with the working title Lippy Kids, will follow.

Garvey, who produced I Am Kloot's fifth album, Sky At Night, this past year (which was nominated for the Mercury Prize), is buoyed by recent recording sessions. "We're all buzzing off it," he explained. "You have periods of nervousness and then you have periods of elation. And we're all buzzing off it at the minute."

The lead singer says that Lippy Kids is "about three-quarters done" and that "it's quite a nostalgic thing. I've got a thing about growing up, not needing to, but a certain period of your life when - well kids are called 'hoodies' these days aren't they when they reach their teens. I remember it being an amazing important time, so I've written a lot about that."

Elbow's last effort from 2008, The Seldom Seen Kid, turned out to be a classic. We'll update you when a release date is announced.

Pick To Click: Sleigh Bells - "Infinity Guitars"

In this world of seemingly endless musical catagories, the latest substrata is "noise pop." And apparently Sleigh Bells, the name Brooklyn duo Alexis Krauss (vocals) and Derek Miller (guitar) have adopted, are Exhibit A in the genre given their raucous and aggressive approach to their craft.

TNOP has been sampling their debut album, Treats, over the past few weeks. While taking it in as a whole can be a little overwhelming at times, ultimately our view is the same as Mr. Bowie's: "Let's dance."

Sleigh Bells is currently on tour with LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip. In mid-October they will play a handful of solo gigs in the US. Check out the tour schedule here.

New Fleet Foxes Album Imminent?

Over the past few weeks, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes has posted brief, but telling, comments at the band's Facebook page. First there was the teaser that the group, winner of TNOP's 2008 Album of the Year, is planning tour dates. Then the above image appeared, spurring whispers that it may just be the cover art for an upcoming album.

Now, this: "Hey all, it's been a bit since a recording update. Well, recording is done! We are flying to New York tomorrow to mix and master the album and will have information about release date and when you'll get to hear a song or two SOON. Geologically soon but soon."

You may recall that at the end of December 2009 there was a cryptic note from Fleet Foxes promising new material in 2010. Although we've seen no other announcements for the remaining calendar year, here's hoping . . .

In the meantime, let's revisit Fleet Foxes' "Blue Ridge Mountains" from a Take Away Show courtesy of La Blogotheque.