Monday, January 28, 2013

Dylan Cover #72 Stan Ridgway "Lenny Bruce"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Stan Ridgway playing "Lenny Bruce"

Thoughts on Original:
A straight ahead tune (rare for Dylan) addressing a semi contemporary in his tribute to Lenny Bruce.  Not the most meorable Dylan tune, not even the most memorable off of Shot of Love, but a tidy song.  The first line is the one I always think of when I hear Dylan impersonators do that Dylan "whine" with their voice, you know that trick. 
Cover:

Thoughts on Cover Artist:
I had never heard of Stan Ridgway before, but anyone who fronts a band called Wall of Voodoo is going to get me interested so I am definitely going to check him out more.  
Thoughts on Cover:
I recently saw a documentary on Lenny Bruce titled Looking For Lenny on Netflix, so I wanted to find a cover of this tune and this one stood out.

Ridgway delivers a cover that is very suitable for the song and grows nicely as it progresses.  Incorporating violins and pianos for different verses is a nice touch, also holding off on building a crescendo shows great restraint.  Smart and solid cover of a lesser known Dylan tune.   
Grade: B

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