Bob Dylan Uncovered & Covered by the Best

Who’s your favorite band? No, I’m not talking about The Beatles or The Police or The Rejects. I’m talking about the local or regional band you like to see, or need to see, every now and then to keep you grounded; to remember who you are and make you smile. I ask because this is what we luckily have in Bob Dylan Uncovered from Paradiddle Records. There are a number of reasons this CD should be in your music collection. It is a collection of some Dylan’s best work: a songwriter who seemed to continually be able to relate to all of us despite his wealth and other worldly status. And because the music is performed by those of us that can interpret and appreciate Dylan’s music and offer it to us in their own new and fresh perspective so we might appreciate their interpretations as well as this timeless music.

Because Dylan is able to reach us, on our level, emotionally and spiritually, we have made him an American icon. And because he has this incomparable ability, we have allowed him to be who he is: a great songwriter but not a great performer even of his own work. This is where Uncovered comes in and possibly comes in in such a way that Dylan might be pleased by the grass roots effort involved to bring this great collection to the public. It is most basically a celebration of the music by those who are closest to us: our neighbors, friends and family who happen to be damn good musicians.

The first song “If You Gotta Go, Go Now,” whether by plan or providence, is the perfect way to start this collection: “Listen to me, baby.” Because that is what Dylan has been saying for decades and these great New York Metro Area Bands give us the urge to sit back or, in some cases, jump up and listen. The sassy and sexy voice of Leslie Ziemi, of Cadillac Moon, pulls us right in and along for a great ride.

This collection is going to appeal to you, your kids and your parents. That’s right, it is universal in sound appeal and the diversity of the music brings us together. The up tempo rock tunes are carried by Russ Seeger’s “If You See Her Say Hello” and The Lone Sharks’ “Down Along the Cove,” which has a distinct Rock-a-Billy sound and some type of toe tapping, or body motion, is unavoidable. Seeger’s rendition brings a certain veneer of pleasant amusement to the recognition of a love lost but still thought of. It kinda says,”Hey, we had a good run even though it’s over.”

There’s a lot of funky, soulful, jazzy music on Uncovered, making me realize just how funky Dylan was though his performance may not have brought that out to me. In our lead song, “If You Gotta Go…,” Ziemi’s seductive and powerful voice would make me wonder how the recipient of her musical message would have second thoughts about staying. The realization that Uncovered is something different, in a very good way, became obvious with The Walkers’ “Tangled Up In Blue.” It’s not right to say that a version of a song is better than the original, it wouldn’t make sense. But this version of “…Blue” feels like the “right” version. And this is where we obviously feel the Us and Dylan connection: “the rain on his shoes,” “her” working in a strip place and “him” stopping in for a beer and all those mathematicians and carpenters’ wives that we all know that make up our lives. The Don Olsen Gang gives us a very laid back New Orleans Style version of “Temporary Like Achilles.” “The Gang’s” version of this song is a weary and jazzy, yet humorous perspective, of a lover trying to figure out why his love has turned him off and seems dead set on making him feel the pain of it. The Little Wilson Band’s version of “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry,” provides the funky breaking Blues number that we need to say,”yeah, you hurt me but your time’s coming too.”

For more esoteric tastes we have Denise Donahue and Codiak. Donahue’s ever timely “Masters of War” reminds us that no matter how noble the fight, someone behind the scenes is getting filthy rich on this death and destruction of war. Her intensity, musical originality and apparent passion for the cause have us standing with her at the grave’s edge to help confirm the bastard is dead. We kick the volume up with Codiak and their energized version of “I Don’t Believe You.” And in the midst of our convulsive head bobbing to the beat, we pick up the Uncovered case to remind us that this is indeed a collection of Dylan songs interpreted with an innovative flair we have not enjoyed until now.

The transition song for the Uncovered collection is Iridesense’s “One More Cup of Coffee.” I prefer to listen to a new disk all the way through the first time to get a feel for the music but this is the point where the Pavlovian response to hit the repeat button the on mp player began for me. The song is distinctly Western Rock which moves us from the electric sound to the Folk sound. But the first time I heard Tara Eberle sing “one more cup of coffee for the road,” I got slight goose bumps. The story, in the song, has a certain sense of ominous foreboding: we know something “not good” is going to happen. And Eberle’s voice gives us that sense, and also “a final cigarette, final cup of coffee” existential surrender to the inevitable.

The Folk songs are extremely well done and tough to attempt as we are all watching to see if they can come anywhere near the feel that Dylan gave us for the same songs. Caroline Doctorow’s “One Too Many Mornings” is light and sweet and cleverly belies again the familiar Dylan theme of inevitable surrender to losing a love. But the implied pathos is disguised by Doctorow’s sensual and enticing vocals. The three folk songs, sung by men, were the ones I might scrutinize hardest (perhaps unfairly) because they are going head to head with my perspective of Dylan the Folk Singer. I was pleased. Drew Olsen performs a very sincere and thoughtful version of “Girl From the North Country,” enough for me to hope his love still remembered him and she had a warm coat for the winter. Marc Andrews’ “Ring Them Bells” was much less than I expected…in the very best way. It is easy to become self-righteous with “Bells.” Andrews’ version is poignant, restrained, evocative and, above all, convincing. Makes me wish bells were rung for more than just weddings. Closing this collection is Johnny Cuomo’s “Boots of Spanish Leather.” Cuomo follows in the tradition of Roger McGuinn and Tom Petty by sounding very much like Dylan. It is Cuomo’s performance that is an honor to the Songwriter, by imitation, and an honor to the Collection, by beautifully closing this disk with again the theme of lost love but the potential that love might return to fulfill expectations and longing.

At present, the original Bob Dylan Uncovered is paired with a bonus disk. Of special note, is “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues.” Again, the sense of the inevitable result of failure and humiliation, conveyed with ironic humor is easily felt in the song. The first few chords of the song set the tone that some one is going to get screwed and sent home with their tail between their legs. Michele Sivori’s vocals perfectly convey the feeling of “it’s going to hit the fan and I better cut my losses while I can.” I will allow the remainder of the bonus disk to be a surprise you can unwrap for yourself. There are versions of “Highway 61 Revisited,” “As I Went Out One Morning,” and original music from Drew Olsen, Johnny Cuomo, David Vanden Heuvel and Denise Donahue.

I began by saying there were a number of reasons to own Bob Dylan Uncovered: A great songwriter we can relate to, great local talent we can relate to and finally a great effort by The Producers, Bill Herman, Tom Crawford and Bill Sperl for encouraging, creating and distributing this collection. If you like Dylan, innovative interpretation and just good music, you should own this collection and share it with your friends. Visit www.paradiddlerecords.com Commonmob.