Monday, November 19, 2012

Dylan Cover #62 John Withnail "Man In The Long Black Coat"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by John Withnail playing "Man In The Long Black Coat"
Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the Dylan album that proved Bob had something left to offering in regards to original songs, Oh Mercy, comes this song which may be about the Devil, or some dude he saw on the street who knows.  Whatever it's meaning Dylan likes this song having played it often during The Never Ending Tour and it is a good one.  Bluesy, simple, direct but still in the shadow's a solid song.   
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Part of this series was to find random artists and be able to highlight their work along side established performers. I had not heard of this artist and in searching for info on the performer John Withnail, I found this reverbnation page that has a few songs on it.  It seems Withnail is from Oslo, Norway and has at least an EP to his credit.   
Thoughts on Cover:

A solo scaled down version of this latter day Dylan song finds Withnail taking a minimalist approach to the song His voice is raspy and engaging but the pace may be a touch to fast, perhaps a slowed down version would accentuate his vocals and the lyrics.  Who knows maybe Withnail was at the Olso show back in 96 and saw Dylan play this one.  Cruising to a finish under 3 minutes seems a touch quick, otherwise a fine listen.

Grade: C- 

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