Author: Hallgeir Olsen

Jerry Garcia Band – I Shall Be Released – The Best Dylan Covers

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

” the somber, nearly claustrophobic strains of I Shall Be Released burst with the fiery force of spiritual transcendence.”
– John Metzger / Music Box

Jerry Garcia Band – I Shall Be Released – The Best Dylan Covers

 

I Shall Be Released is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.

The Band recorded the first officially-released version of the song for their 1968 debut album, Music from Big Pink, with Richard Manuel singing lead vocals, and Rick Danko and Levon Helm harmonizing in the chorus. The song was also performed near the end of the Band’s 1976 farewell concert, The Last Waltz, in which all the night’s performers (with the exception of Muddy Waters) plus Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood appeared on the same stage. Additional live recordings by the Band were included on the 1974 concert album Before the Flood and the 2001 expanded CD reissue of Rock of Ages.

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Listen: Bob Dylan – Madison Square Garden, NY, 12/8/1975 – Rolling Thunder Revue

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

“This final night of the 1975 leg, when a huge entourage of musicians, celebrities and guests descended upon Madison Square Garden to raise awareness and funds for the defense of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, is the most monumental show of that tour.”
– Wolfgang’s Vault

This is a fantastic bootleg and a historic document, the sound is amazing. Why this wasn’t included in the official Bootleg series is a mystery to me.

“What the concert lacked in consistency it made up as a broadly inclusive compendium of musicians united in a cause. For all of the inevitable slow moments when guests shunt in and out of the spotlight, it made, for a long, relaxed yet—in Mr. Dylan’s parts, at least—zany, high‐energy, high‐intensity good time…

With this tour and with last night’s marathon concert, Mr. Dylan has reinvigorated the flagging New York folk‐rock scene, and he may well have reinvigorated the fashion of political commitment among artists. Most important of all. however, he has reinvigorated himself.”
– New York Times (Dec 9, 1975)

NYT article about the show: Continue reading “Listen: Bob Dylan – Madison Square Garden, NY, 12/8/1975 – Rolling Thunder Revue” →

October 12: Sam Moore of Sam & Dave was born in 1935

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October 12: Happy Birthday Sam Moore!

Samuel David Moore aka Sam Moore (born October 12, 1935) is an American Southern soul and rhythm & blues (R&B) singer, who was the tenor vocalist for the soul vocal duo Sam & Dave from 1961 to 1981.

Sam Moore is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame (for “Soul Man”), the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, and a Grammy Award and a multi-Gold Record award-winning recording artist. Sam & Dave were the most successful and critically acclaimed duo in soul music history. Moore has also achieved a distinguished 25-year career as a solo performing and recording artist.

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October 11: Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar was released in 1957

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“The first Sun Records artist to release an LP and what a debut it was. An instant pop up country star to go. The song-writing is mature already and they’re delivered with an infectious warmth in the vocal. A compelling listen and full of instant career standards like “I Walk The Line”, “Cry Cry Cry” and “Folsom Prison Blues”.”
– The Jukebox Rebel

Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! is the debut album by Johnny Cash, released on October 11 (wikipedia says October 14, but other sources says October 11), 1957. The album contained four of his hit singles: “I Walk the Line,” “Cry! Cry! Cry!,” “So Doggone Lonesome,” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” It was re-issued on July 23, 2002 as an expanded edition, under the label Varese Vintage, containing five bonus tracks, three being alternate versions of tracks already present on the original LP.

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Roger McGuinn – Up To Me – The Best Dylan Covers

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Roger McGuinn – Up To Me – The Best Dylan Covers

Up To Me was released on the album Cardiff Rose, a solo studio album by  ex-The Byrds frontman Roger McGuinn, released in 1976. The album, produced by Mick Ronson, was recorded on the heels of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue 1975 tour, in which both McGuinn and Ronson had participated  (the personnel on the album also include Rob Stoner, Howie Wyeth, and David Mansfield from the Rolling Thunder tours). The album includes a pirate tale “Jolly Roger”, a song about King Arthur’s “Round Table”, and a classic version of Joni Mitchell’s “Dreamland”.

Stylistically, the album varies from traditional sounding folk and sea chanty music (such as the aforementioned “Jolly Roger”) to hard, gritty rock tunes strongly influenced by the burgeoning punk rock movement (such as “Rock and Roll Time” that sound very much like a Clash song!). Continue reading “Roger McGuinn – Up To Me – The Best Dylan Covers” →

October 11: Paul Weller released As Is Now in 2005

Posted on by Hallgeir Olsen

“I wanted to make a record that sounded like a continous piece”
– Paul Weller

This is in my top three of Paul Weller’s solo albums, all tracks are good to great and it has a really appealing urgency. He sounds eager and inspired on this album. It is a great rock record, with a few mellow bits (and a fantastic funk song).

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