A cover of Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right has been called a “riveting” version of the Bob Dylan classic.
Veteran performer Bill Murray performed the cover during a concert on May 24, 2018, with his cover called the “favourite” alternative to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan song. A post of the performance to YouTube has been hailed by fans of both the songwriter and the actor, with many saying the surprise crossover has plenty of quality to it. The Tomorrow is a Long Time: Songs from Bob Dylan’s 1963 Town Hall Concert featured, among Murray, Bob Neuwirth, Steve Buscemi, and Joan Wasser. The twenty-four-song set featured Murray and Wasser, with the latter on guitar and backing vocals.
Fans were thrilled by the cover from Murray, with many suggesting the Lost in Translation performer nailed his version. One fan went as far as to call Murray a “genius” for reinterpreting the song and changing the phrasing. They wrote: “As odd as it is to hear, I feel like Bill’s phrasing was intentional. How do you re-interpret a song that has been recorded countless times? Maybe Bill’s a genius?” Another agreed, adding: “It was no doubt intentional. Great performance!”
Other listeners were left calling it a superb cover which did the Dylan original justice. One listener wrote: “I thought the unusual phrasing was a wonderful way of re-examining a classic song.”
Another added: “I’m not 100% sure he wasn’t trying for laughs with the phrasing, and failing in that regard. And it doesn’t matter; it was still riveting. His voice is incredible for his age, in my opinion.” A third shared: “Great song and Bill did it justice. My favourite version is the way Mike Neff does it! Thanks for this video!”
Not everyone was a fan of this rendition, though. In a comment praising Murray’s strengths as a vocalist, the detractor suggested there are no better versions of the song, even by Dylan, than what was heard in the studio.
They wrote: “I love Murray but I feel that he completely misread the spacing of the lyrics here. Then again, I even dislike any post-Highway 61 Revisited versions of it, even sung by Dylan.
“The song is at its best downcast and reflective, as it is in The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, almost like it’s being sung to oneself after a couple of whiskeys. It’s not meant to be warbled or belted out, in my opinion anyway. Still… Murray does have an amazing voice on him.” The performance is one of many highlights from a set featuring another excellent actor, Steve Buscemi. A full setlist can be found below, as can the video of Murray’s cover.
- Ramblin’ Down Thru the World
- Bob Dylan’s Dream
- Talkin’ New York
- Ballad of Hollis Brown
- Walls of Red Wing
- All Over You
- Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues (with Steve Buscemi)
- Boots of Spanish Leather
- Hero Blues
- Blowin’ in the Wind
- John Brown
- Tomorrow Is a Long Time
- A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall
- Dusty Old Fairgrounds
- Who Killed Davey Moore?
- Seven Curses
- Highway 51
- Peggy-O
- Bob Dylan’s New Orleans Rag
- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (with Bill Murray)
- Hiding Too Long
- With God on our Side
- Masters of War
- Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie
Robert Zimmerman!