Few artists will ever receive more tribute albums than Bob Dylan. Everyone from Adele to Jimi Hendrix has had a shot at his greatest hits. But albums solely covering the man, that is a different level of dedication. Outlaw Blues: Tribute to Bob Dylan feels vaguely nasty. A compilation effort which features a horrific drawing of Dylan, the style you would see from street scam artists in Benidorm, Spain. But, like books and Axl Rose interpretation of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, we should not judge any work by its cover. Outlaw Blues: Tribute to Bob Dylan assembles people wishing to celebrate the songs which affected them as listeners first, as artists second. This is not an acoustic showcase, nor a straight-shooting and affectionate rock and roll offering, no. Punk tones, shoegaze elements and a deconstruction through harsh delivery is on offer. Sonic Youth members opening a Dylan cover album, what else was to be expected?
Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence is the highlight of this. Kim Gordon gives the Dylan deep cut a brilliant overhaul, with Thurston Moore’s volatile guitar work a treat. It sets a tone for the album, which is carried on by the likes of The Bluebirds, Spirea-X, and The Cuckoos. A collection of alternative rock deep cuts paying tribute to a likely source of inspiration. Dylan’s range is not restricted by genre. Just about everyone has taken a song or stylistic choice from him at one point in their career, and to hear those bands whose sound is so far removed from folk numbers adapt them is a delight. One of the most unique cover albums out there, and almost solely because it does not try and play up the original style of the song. Concert for Bob Dylan is an example of how not to do it.
What good is there in elongating songs of inherently punk and counter-culture spirit to the pop expectations of the time? Rip through them with harsher instruments, true rock and roll energy is what these songs have within, though untapped. Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues is magnificent, an Elvis Costello-like vocal boom. Not every song is a hit, and much of Outlaw Blues is adapted so far into the alternative style it feels either overwhelmed by the genre change or predictable in where the instrumentals will take the theme. Mama, You’ve Been on My Mind with Lee Ranaldo is an example of how even Dylan’s work can sound like grunge-adjacent slop in the wrong hands. Anastasia Screamed, however, stick somewhat close to the tempo of Tombstone Blues, and singer Chick Graning has a suitable voice.
Go in with low expectations and come out with some very best versions of Dylan classics. Thin White Rope offers a short and superb version of Tombstone Blues while Spirea-X’s It Ain’t Me Babe is as close to tradition as the album gets. Refreshing versions of classic songs can be heard on Outlaw Blues. It is not enough to overhaul a track or change the lyrics, but the very spirit of a track should be changed. There are some miserable covers of Dylan out there, prolific he is. But there are few who are challenging the form of his studio origins, or the popular song to follow. Outlaw Blues does that with some truly cool and instrumentally inspired offerings. This Wheel’s on Fire and One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) are two incredible deep cut covers which overlap the seasoned Dylan listener and the punk-adjacent rock lover.
Very interesting