Monday, October 10, 2022

Dylan Cover #551 Nathan Salsburg & Joan Shelley "Dark Eyes"

In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a cover by Nathan Salsburg & Joan Shelley playing "Dark Eyes"


This month we are doing another special focus in RtBE's Dylan Covers series. In the past we have highlighted The ByrdsCoulson-Dean-McGuiness-FlintThe HolliesJoan OsbourneMountainBetty LeVette , Reggae Covers and many more.

This month we highlight Dylan...Revisited for a full month of Dylan Covers.

Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this tune:
"Dark Eyes" is the sparse album closer on the mixed bag Empire Burlesque. That record has lots of interesting songs, but falls into that dreaded period called "the '80's". The production was modern at the time and almost instantly sounded dated. The bootleg release Springtime in New York rescues a lot of these songs, showing that other takes of these tracks prove there was still strong songwriting and performing from the Bard during this era. One song that did not need rescuing is "Dark Eyes" a stone cold stunner from/for any decade; a lesser known great song from Dylan.  

Cover:


Thoughts on Cover Artist:
This is the first time RtBE have heard the husband and wife team of Nathan Salsburg & Joan Shelley

Thoughts on Cover:
The lightness of the cover pulls some of the sting out of the original as the duo breeze through the effort without really digging in. It is an interesting choice as the haunting lyrics take on a more playful vibe which is a touch odd at first but flows along.   

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