The collection begins with a track that was recorded in 1965, but not released until 1991, Dion’s “Two Ton Feather.” Yes, that’s right, Dion of “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer” fame. Here he is doing a very cool bluesy folk-rock number, featuring some cool work on guitar. Dylan influence? Absolutely! You can hear it not only in the vocal approach, but in the work on piano. That’s Al Kooper on piano, so that makes perfect sense. How was it that this song was kept in the vault for decades? Insane. That’s followed by Eric Andersen’s “Honey,” and the Dylan influence is obvious in every glorious note. This song was included on More Hits From Tin Can Alley, released in 1968, one of the best years for music. And, hey, Al Kooper plays on this track too, this time on guitar. The Dylan influence is somehow even more apparent on Dick Campbell’s “You’ve Got To Be Kidding,” a track from Sings Where It’s At, from 1965. This is one of the collection’s tracks that I wasn’t familiar with, but I’m digging it. “You say that I won’t ever make it on my own/And what I know could fill an ice cream cone.”
Bobby Darin is another artist, like Dion, who already had a successful career before Bob Dylan came along, with hits like “Splish Splash” and “Dream Lover.” Well, “Me & Mr. Hohner,” the song in this collection, shows quite a different side of this talented artist. He even delivers some nice stuff on harmonica on this one. It was the lead track on his 1969 record Commitment. That’s followed by “Halloween Mary” from P.F. Sloan. Sloan is known mainly as a songwriter, having written or co-written songs like “Eve Of Destruction,” “Secret Agent Man” and “You Baby,” among others. But he put out several albums of his own too, including 1966’s Twelve More Times, from which “Halloween Mary” comes. This is a fun song, and features John Phillips on guitar and Hal Blaine on drums. “You know you’re always right/Everyone else is wrong/Your subjects, they pray to you/Three times a day to you/They’re building your shrine/On Sunset and Vine.” We then are treated to “Long Black Cadillac,” from Jackie Washington, who included it on his 1967 LP Morning Song. It’s wild how strongly Dylan’s influence is felt in songs like this one. I suppose it’s something we’ve always known, but hearing that influence in artist after artist in this collection is really something.
I recently read Bob Dylan’s Chronicles Volume One, and in that book he mentions singer and songwriter Len Chandler (that is also mentioned in this release’s liner notes). This collection includes his “Feet First Baby,” from his 1966 album To Be A Man. The Dylan influence is heard especially in the guitar work. This is one of the collection’s best tracks, in part because of Len Chandler’s passionate vocal performance. That’s followed by an artist who achieved fame covering Bob Dylan songs in The Byrds before then joining forces with Stephen Stills and Graham Nash. What we get here is a very cool early track from David Crosby, his rendition of “Willie Jean,” which was recorded in 1964. It features an absolutely wonderful vocal performance, which, I suppose, should come as no surprise. That’s followed by another demo, this one by Lou Reed, recorded in May of 1965. The song is “Men Of Good Fortune,” written by Reed. A very different rendition of this song would be included on Berlin in 1973. It’s wild hearing him firmly in the folk realm before he would take his music in a different direction. Lou Reed plays guitar and harmonica on this track.
“Little Girl” is a song from Casey Anderson’s Blues Is A Woman Gone album, released in 1965. It’s such a cool track, combining elements of blues, pop, folk and jazz. Bob Bushnell is on bass, and Panama Francis is on drums. That is followed by Bubba Fowler’s “Next Year This Time.” Bubba Fowler was a member of The Avant-Garde, and also played on records by Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (anyone who has played with Leonard Cohen is golden in my book). And in 1970, he put out his own LP, And Then Came Bubba, which included “Next Year This Time.” He is clearly having a great time on this track, for there is a playful element to his delivery. There is also some strong work on guitar. Then we get Dean DeWolf’s rendition of “Pistol Slapper Blues” from his 1963 album Folk Swinger. While a lot of this collection’s tracks are heavily influenced by Dylan going electric, this song predates that style and sound. But there is interestingly something of the folk-rock sound, particularly in his vocal delivery. This is an artist I wasn’t really aware of, but now want to hear more from.
“The Gasman Won’t Buy Your Love” is the lead track from David Blue’s self-titled 1966 album, and the Dylan influence is obvious, particularly in David’s vocal performance. “They charge you for what should be free/Oh, there is so much, there’s so much that you need/Oh, to believe.” This is a lively number, particularly that work on keys. That’s followed by Tom Rush’s rendition of “You Can’t Tell A Book By The Cover,” which certainly has a Dylan feel. This song comes from his Take A Little Walk With Me album, released in 1966, an album with a sound that is different from his earlier folk releases. And, hey, Al Kooper plays on this track too. Then we get a song from Barry McGuire, “Don’t You Wonder Where It’s At,” which he wrote with P.F. Sloan (remember, Sloan wrote McGuire’s big hit, “Eve Of Destruction”). This song comes from McGuire’s 1965 release This Precious Time, and it features John Phillips on guitar and Hal Blaine on drums. “Yeah, they try to put me in a class/Change my face to fit their mask/Why do they make life such a task.”
Bob Seger released some seriously great music early in his career, as is evident by the track chosen here, “Persecution Smith,” released as a single by Bob Seger & The Last Heard in 1967. And, yeah, here Bob Seger is doing his best Bob Dylan thing. “He rises every morning, but he don’t look at the sun/He reaches in the corner, where he keeps his loaded gun/And he checks the firing action as he straps it to his chest/Plans an ambush for the mailman, even though it’s all in jest.” And the track moves at a fast clip. That’s followed by Ferré Grignard’s rendition of “Drunken Sailor,” and while not a slow track, it is probably the slowest version of this song I’ve heard. It has quite a different vibe from most of the renditions I grew up with, and definitely has something of Bob Dylan in it. Ferré Grignard released this song in 1966, including it on his self-titled debut LP. Then we go back to the early 1960s with Peter LaFarge’s rendition of “Easy Rider,” released in 1962. You’ll recognize this song as a variation of “C.C. Rider,” or “See See Rider,” and some lines from it also found their way into “I Know You Rider.” It’s a cool bluesy number.
I am a big fan of Donovan’s work (I was thrilled to meet him once at Tower Records on Sunset), and this collection includes his excellent rendition of “Universal Soldier,” a song written by Buffy Sainte-Marie. Early in his career, Donovan was referred to as the new Dylan. And you might recall that moment in Don’t Look Back where Dylan and Donovan meet. Anyway, this song was a hit for Donovan, and I not sure it would count as a “lost classic.” It’s followed by Boz Scaggs doing a great rendition of “Baby Let Me Follow You Down,” which was included on Boz, released in 1966. Here he delivers some wonderful stuff on harmonica, and, yup, he sounds a bit like Dylan. It’s so good to hear this early folk music from him. Then we get “These Are Not My People” by Billy Joe Royal. This song was included on the same record as “Hush,” which was a hit for him, and later for Deep Purple. This one is more in the folk-rock realm. “But you’re flying too high for me/And if this is how it’s got to be/Then it’s time to say you go your way and I’ll go mine/It’s been a gas, but I’m going to have to pass/These are not my people.”
I don’t know what needs to be said about Leon Russell at this point. I mean, the guy was incredible. I’m lucky to have had the chance to meet him just six months before he died, and he put on a great show that day. The song included here, “Everybody’s Talking About The Young,” comes from early in his career. It was released as a single in 1965, a full five years before his first solo album. It’s an anti-war folk-rock song, in which he asks, “Who’s going to bury all our young?” That’s followed by “Birds Can’t Row Boats,” a song that Johnny Winter released as a single in 1966 and then included on his First Winter LP in 1969. It has a Byrds vibe, with a bit of a psychedelic feel. Then we get a lively, hopping rendition of “Black Betty” by Dino Valenti, a song that was originally included on the 1970 compilation Early L.A. This collection concludes with its most recent recording, Sammy Walker’s rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “Vigilante Man” from 1979. Bob Dylan was inspired early on by Woody Guthrie, and this version takes at least some of its inspiration from Bob Dylan. It’s a good way to wrap things up.
CD Track List
- Two Ton Feather – Dion
- Honey – Eric Andersen
- You’ve Got To Be Kidding – Dick Campbell
- Me & Mr. Hohner – Bobby Darin
- Halloween Mary – P.F. Sloan
- Long Black Cadillac – Jackie Washington
- Feet First Baby – Len Chandler
- Willie Jean – David Crosby
- Men Of Good Fortune – Lou Reed
- Little Girl – Casey Anderson
- Next Year This Time – Bubba Fowler
- Pistol Slapper Blues – Dean DeWolf
- The Gasman Won’t Buy Your Love – David Blue
- You Can’t Tell A Book By The Cover – Tom Rush
- Don’t You Wonder Where It’s At – Barry McGuire
- Persecution Smith – Bob Seger & The Last Heard
- Drunken Sailor – Ferré Grignard
- Easy Rider – Peter LaFarge
- Universal Soldier – Donovan
- Baby Let Me Follow You Down – Boz Scaggs
- These Are Not My People – Billy Joe Royal
- Everybody’s Talking About The Young – Leon Russell
- Birds Can’t Row Boats – Johnny Winter
- Black Betty – Dino Valenti
- Vigilante Man – Sammy Walker
He Took Us By Storm: 25 Lost Classics From The Bob Dylan Folk-Rock Revolution Era was released on October 4, 2024 on Bear Family Records.
No comments:
Post a Comment