Monday, July 10, 2017

Dylan Cover #283 Alex Harvey "Wicked Messenger"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Alex Harvey of "The Wicked Messenger"
Thoughts on Dylan Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song:
A breezy musical number (only 2 minutes long) with some biblical lyrics which actually foreshadow Dylan's religious musical phase that would arrive in the late 70's/early 80's "The Wicked Messenger" has a cool bass line to match the acoustic guitar. Like most of John Wesley Harding there is a mellow mood that tends to play down the lyrics and even masks the fire and brimstone a bit. The song has seemed to pop up every few tours and can usually be found towards the ends of sets, playing the roll of up-tempo-get-down track. Live versions certainly have improved the tracks standing in my mind from the original.
Cover Tune:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
We had not heard of Alex Harvey before finding this cover, but now are intrigued by his sound and story. A Scottish Blues/Rock musician who left the world two soon, we will have to dig into Harvey's stuff.
Thoughts on Cover:
A quick freewheeling cover that includes a lot of instrumentation for such a short song. It somehow feels tossed off and meticulous, which is a neat trick. 

No comments:

Post a Comment