Thursday, March 30, 2006

Duluth Does Dylan Revisited

Duluth Does Dylan Revisited will be released April 8. The follow-up to 2000's Duluth Does Dylan will be available from CDBaby.com, but is not listed yet. Partial track list: Mr. Tambourine Man by Cloud Cult, Blind Willie McTell by Charlie Parr, Shelter From the Storm by Trampled by Turtles, Oxford Town by The State Champs, Lay Lady, Lay by Boy Girl Boy Girl, Masters Of War by Hattie and the Black Frames, High Water by Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank and Silvio by Eric Koskinen. More details when available

Things Have Changed

Over the next few days and into April, you will begin to see some changes on the websites. Here is a summary:
Blog in Plain D: This page! I've been maintaining the new Blog for a couple of weeks to get the hang of it before going live, so scroll down & check out some of the previous posts. I'll soon be linking it with the DylanCover.com websites. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.
Dylan Covers DataBase: I have increased the number of lines displayed per page from 100 to 1,000. I think this change makes the DataBase easier to use & browse. Pages will take a few more seconds to load on slower connections. (Done)
Dylan Covers On-Line: The On-Line (downloads) list will be derived from the complete Covers DataBase, and only be updated on the first of each month. This new method provides the same functions but eliminates the need to maintain a separate list. (April 1)
Dylan Cover Albums: Monthly Feature: April's Feature will be the last Feature. The original intent of the Feature page was to present some dynamic content for the site, but other parts of the websites now provide that function. The Feature page averaged only 1 visitor per day, so I don't think it will be missed. Entries similar to the Feature will be presented on the Blog occasionally. The Feature Archive will remain.
Dylan Cover Albums: Song Lists: The Song Lists will be discontinued. They are a lot of work to maintain, and do not receive much use. The same info can be found by using the Search box on the main page, or by using the Covers DataBase.
Dylan Cover Albums: News: The function of the News page - new releases announcements and other Dylan-cover related news - will be transfered to here, Blog in Plain D.
• Later in April, I will be debuting a new main page for DylanCover.com. Stay tuned.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Totta & Wiehe added to Dylan Cover Albums


Added to Dylan Cover Albums is the new Swedish album by Totta & Wiehe simply titled 'Dylan'.
Both Totta Näslund and Mikael Wiehe have recorded and performed Dylan covers in the past (see the Mikael Wiehe Collector's Guide.) Totta's parts were recorded before his death last year, and Mikael Wiehe has finished the project. All songs were translated by Wiehe. The 61-minute CD is available in both jewelcase (EMI/Capitol 0946 3 56801 6) and digipak (0947 3 53806 2 ) versions. Du Får Hålla Dej Där (You Ain't Going Nowhere) has been released as a 1-track single (0946 3 59059 3).
Thanks to Ole Lien for the scan, song titles and CD info


1: Längesen (Things Have Changed)
2: Du Får Hålla Dej Där (You Ain't Going Nowhere)
3: Den Blindes Pojk (Minstrel Boy)
4: Vad Var Det Du Ville (What Was It You Wanted?)
5: Jag Ska Bli Fri (I Shall Be Released)
6: Där Anar Jag Din Hand (Every Grain of Sand)
7: Ni Som Tjänar På Krig (Masters Of War)
8: Flykten (Drifter's Escape)
9: Dagen Är Kommen (Down Along The Cove)
10: När Natten Faller Som Sten (When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky)
11: Blinde Will Mctell (Blind Willie McTell)
12: När Vårt Skepp Slår Till (When the Ship Comes In)
13: Inte Natt Än (Not Dark Yet)
14: Adjö, Angelina (Farewell, Angelina)

New cover: Megan Reilly

Let Your Ghost Go, the new album by NY-via-Memphis singer-songwriter Megan Reilly includes a cover of Wedding Song. meganreilly.com
Available from: amazon.com / amazon.co.uk / amazon.de / amazon.ca

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

New in the DylanCover.com collection


Lay Lady Lay
instrumental
Dick Hyman
on the MOOG Synthesizer
B-side of Strobo single
1970; Command/ABC 45-4136 (7")

No mixing the MOOG with an orchestra here - this is a real MOOG record! As far as I know Lay Lady Lay never appeared on any of the myriad of Command lounge music albums. The A-side, Strobo, is a Dick Hyman original. It is one of the LOUDEST 45s I've ever heard - best turn down the volume a few notches when you put this disc on the turntable. This would have fit nicely on my April 2004 Feature, MOOG does Dylan. Once again, Lay Lady Lay is the Dylan track of choice, as it often was for both MOOG and traditional keyboard players such as Peter Nero and Ferrante & Teicher.

Monday, March 27, 2006

New in the DylanCover.com collection


All Along The Watchtower
The Soundbodies
Flow With The Go
1999; GruvMonkey Records [no #] (CD)

Another California band without much info available. Their website as listed on the CD is defunct. On an album of originals, All Along The Watchtower is the lone cover and lone live track, recorded live at the Blue Beet, Newport Beach, California February 12, 1999. Chris Johnson was the band's lead singer. In the booklet, it says “Thanks to Jimi” next to Watchtower, and the band plays it Hendrix-style.

New cover: Marley's Ghost


Spooked, the new album by string-band Marley's Ghost includes a cover of The Wicked Messenger. The album was produced by Van Dyke parks.
Available from: amazon.com / amazon.co.uk / amazon.ca

Saturday, March 25, 2006

Title Tracks updated with 6 new sleeves


Dylan Title Tracks has been updated with 6 new sleeves (+1 improved scan,) including this Valérie Lagrange 1980 German picture-sleeve with I Want You.
Thanks to H.P. Bushoff for this week's additions.

Buck Owens, R.I.P.

Love Minus Zero/No Limit
Buck Owens & his Buckaroos
Bridge Over Troubled Water
1971 (LP)

Country music legend Buck Owens died this morning at his home in Bakersfield, California. He was 76.

Friday, March 24, 2006

New additions to Dylan Covers On-Line

Added today to Dylan Covers On-Line is All Along The Watchtower by the Austin Texas based band Midnight Sweethearts, plus 34 downloads (of varying quality - I'll let you be the judge) from the listings at SoundClick.com. (free registration required to download from SoundClick.com)

Thursday, March 23, 2006

New in the DylanCover.com collection


(It's All Over Now) Baby Blue
Frikadeļu zupa
Frikadeļu zupa gatava!
197?; Zupa Records ZUPA 1 (LP)

A mysterious LP - sung in Latvian and all the printing is Latvian - but it was made in the USA! The Dylan cover uses the shortened Baby Blue, in English, as the title, and although the track is sung in Latvian the 2 words "Baby Blue" at the end of each verse are sung in English. Female lead singer with acoustic guitars, percussion, and some kind of electronic keyboard. No date given, probably '70s vintage. Band members were Raimonds Ramanis, Vidvuds Mednis, Laila Medne and Vilnis Plostiņš.
Frikadeļu zupa translates to "Meatballs soup," and the album title means "[The] meatballs soup [is] ready!"

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

New in the DylanCover.com collection


Subterranean Homesick Blues
L.A. 4773 / Mitch Mills
Moonshine Cars
1997; Farren Music America FMACD007 (CD)

I don't know much about this CD, recorded August-September 1996 in Redondo Beach, California, or the band behind it. It's confusing, as both the band L.A. 4773 and the guitarist, Mitch Mills, are listed separately on the cover. It's not "Mitch Mills & L.A. 4773." The spine says L.A. 4773, so I've listed it that way in the Dylan Covers DataBase. '70s-style heavy rock with vocals by Bruce Hazel.

New cover: Robyn Hitchcock

A new collection of 1995-99 recordings for the BBC by Robyn Hitchcock includes a cover of It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry. This is the BBC will be released April 10 in the UK, April 24 in the US.
Available from: amazon.com / amazon.co.uk / amazon.de / amazon.ca

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

New cover: Burnside Exploration

Knockin' on Heaven's Door closes the new album The Record by Burnside Exploration, the band led by Garry and Cedric Burnside, son and grandson of the late bluesman R.L. Burnside. The album is dedicated to R.L. and also the recently deceased J.R. Kimbrough.
Thanks to Michael Tearson for the tip
Available from: amazon.com or amazon.co.uk or amazon.ca

New in the DylanCover.com collection


The Mighty Quinn
(instrumental)
Peter Schickele and his Orchestra
Good-Time Ticket
1969; Vanguard VSD-6517 (L.P.)

6 covers and 6 originals by the humorist/arranger/composer better known as P.D.Q. Bach. 3 of the other covers are Beatles/L&M tunes.



Blowin' In The Wind
The American Folk Singers
This Land Is Your Land:
Great American Folk Favorites
1991; The Special Music Company SMC-4958 (cassette)

One of the countless generic folk albums recorded by faceless vocal groups. This cassette is dated 1991, but the recordings within could have been recorded in the mid 60s. Who knows, maybe they were. Blowin' In The Wind is performed by a female led mixed chorus. All the usual suspects, Where Have All The Flowers Gone, Puff The Magic Dragon, If I Had A Hammer, etc.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Dylan en Español


The band Los Angeles included two Dylan covers on their debut album Mis Paginas Pasadas, both translated into Spanish - My Back Pages and Mr. Tambourine Man. Visit their website at http://losangelesband.com/