In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune comes from Steve Earle and The Dukes and it is a live take on "It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry"
Thoughts on Dylan's Original: One of my favorite titled songs in the Dylan catalog, for some reason the title just nails an elusive feeling and perfectly works with the tune. Also contains multiple epic lines, my favorite being "I wanna be your lover babe/I don't wanna be your boss", AMEN brother Bob. A pretty straight forward blues number musically that lends itself to cover attempts, leading to...
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist- I honestly hadn't listened to Steve Earle much at all until very recently. I caught him open and play with Levon Helm at the Beacon in November, but that was a solo acoustic set (and a good one). This Earle is a different beast, but overall I am still too new to his catalog to have much of an opinion...one thing I know for certain about him though is that he has GREAT Taste.
Thoughts on Cover- Acting as a closer from his To Hell and Back concert which MTV broadcast (wait they played music once?!!?) it is a rollicking good time, complete with blaring harmonica, bar house boogie woogie solo's and some pretty spot on advice from Earle to kick things off, with The Dukes backing him. Turns out this was a court ordered concert as part of Earle's parole. He was incarcerated in the same facility (Cold Creek Correctional) prior to this show, pretty crazy stuff!
I love the stomp and snarl while Earle rings out lines of guitar and blues verbiage crafted by Dylan. The harmonica really wails and all in all it is a fine version of a rollicking version with energy for days.
Grade (A being Blood on the Tracks, F being Dylan):
A-
Wilsons Take: (Wilsons take will arrive once the carrier pigeon flying from his secluded shack in Nova Scotia lands on my fire escape with the parchment strapped to his ankle...damn pigeons...always late...)
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