Bob Dylan – Hallelujah Review 

This would not be the last time Bob Dylan covered Leonard Cohen. Where the two veteran songwriters would share a mutual respect for one another, only one man covered the other. Cohen, granted, was not on stage as often as Dylan, but all the same, he had his chance to lend that cool, baritone voice to The Man in Me or I Want You. Would it be a fit? Probably not, but that never stopped Dylan from covering the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. It didn’t stop him before this cover of Hallelujah, either. A song that would take Cohen a decade to write, broken down and built back up again in just six minutes from Dylan on a show which, to him, must have felt like every other. That volume of performances means the subtle details risk being lost in the cracks. It’s why, perhaps, Hallelujah is not as lauded as it should be, considering the scope and style Dylan brings to it.  

Many arrangement changes to Hallelujah can find a new meaning or thrill to this Cohen classic. An electric guitar and the mid-1980s vocal tone of Dylan is hardly the best way to the heart of the song, and yet it works rather well. A sweet occasion that comes together well as a sentimentally solid rendition of an all-time great piece of work. What this cover highlights more than anything is the difference between Dylan and Cohen. Many wish to compare the two and figure out, definitively, who was better. Dylan couldn’t write Hallelujah in the same way Cohen couldn’t write Mr. Tambourine Man. They’re of two different walks of life, wholly different fabrics of the creative experience. There is no comparison between the two. They relied on different, deeper spots of creative bursts for extremely different lyrical conclusions. But this is an overlap worth hearing because it’s a reminder of just how different their work and tone is.  

Hallelujah is a miracle of a song in just about anyone’s hands. Anyone who can hold a tone has a chance to heal a crowd with it. Tempo is the difference-maker for Dylan here. Even with the bursts of electric guitar and spirited drumming in the background, the sway of the original is still intact. Whatever the pitch or range of the song, it’s always there, and Dylan relies on it well enough for this performance. He would perform another Cohen classic, Dance Me to the End of Love, decades later, on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in a performance. But this one is arguably a little better. Not because it sounds better, but because the sentiment has changed, because Dylan has inflicted onto it what so many other artists have done to it and other songs in the past. His own ideas overwhelm the context of the original.  

Not only is that the sign of a strong cover but it’s also an act of respect between one artist and another. Dylan could’ve rounded this Hallelujah cover off with a tepid instrumental copy of the Cohen classic, but to do so would be following in the footsteps. Dylan has paid a multitude of songs their dues on stage and has done brilliantly with the works at hand. Most of the time, that is. Dylan’s rendition of Hallelujah is a familiar pairing. It’s the musicality he chose to perform with at the time and a dedication to Cohen’s masterpiece. Instrumentally solid adaptations which do feel a tad leftfield at times, but they’re a welcome change to what has become one of the soppiest songs, covered by anyone with a voice and a microphone. Dylan’s version is different, but that’s not the only reason it stands out.