In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Phil J Grayplaying "Desolation Row"
A magnum opus of early Dylan. A song that is mystical and heated, politically charged while never explicit. One of the more expansive songs he has written and an early indicator that Dylan was on another level lyrically. From Ezra Pound to Bette Davis there are literary references, pop culture bits and a complete fabled world that comes alive in the ears. A true high point when it comes to Bob Dylan songs.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Back in October 2024 we came across Mr. Gray, aka MUSIC MAN and dug his style of straight ahead, live acoustic Dylan covers. Turns out he does a bunch, so all month we will focus on his tunes.
Thoughts on Cover:
Gray takes a bit of Dylan's exhausted defeatism out of the tune with this live cover. An impressive cover as this tune is a beast to take on, and Gray does a good job in his particular style.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Yuck!
This week we go back to the alt-rock of Yuck in 2011. This tour came after their debut release which RtBE reviewed. Check out the pro-shot, pro-sound, set list below. Enjoy!
The debut full length release from the Milwaukee, WI based trio The Hallelujah Ward, Everybody Swoons, is a twinkling mix of indie rockers as the eight tracks presented here show a band tackling a few different sub genres while buzzingly moving forward.
Back in 2017 Joan Osborne released a collection directly titled Songs of Bob Dylan, (RtBE highlighted a few in our Monday Dylan Cover series) and her newest release, Dylanology Live features a selection of songs from the follow up tour. Osborne sings with dynamics and a few key guests stop by to help liven up the sound.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Phil J Grayplaying "Positively 4th Street"
For June we highlight live acoustic Dylan covers from Phil J Gray
Thoughts on Original:
From the first time we tackled a cover of this song: There are two songs I go to when I think of mean, spiteful, angry, hurtful, badass Dylan and this is one of them. Young but full of piss and hate, Dylan sings this tune to obviously someone he can't stand. I really don't care who it is specifically about, because that rarely, if ever, matters in songs, but Dylan rips into them here. It is a good one for any artist to use to lash out at slights (real or perceived). It has never been one of my favorites, but it is hard to deny how powerful this tune is.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Back in October 2024 we came across Mr. Gray, aka MUSIC MAN and dug his style of straight ahead, live acoustic Dylan covers. Turns out he does a bunch, so all month we will focus on his tunes.
Thoughts on Cover: Out of all the covers we are sharing from Mr. Gray this month, this one is the toughest fit for his style. He plays very upbeat, and sings with a palpable radiating positive energy that the meanness of Dylan's words doesn't really match. A solid effort though on a brutal song.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Bikini Kill!
Check out the riot grrrl legends from Macondo, Los Angeles California in 1993. Fan shot and original sound.
The blues rocking guitarist and songwriter Eric Johanson's newest release, Live in Mississippi, captures his raucous live sound as the New Orleans based artist mixes up the blues, rock and roll, soul and a touch of voodoo.
Standard disclaimer: When reviewing any Grateful Dead release at this point, it needs to be noted that a lot of the truly great shows from the band have already been professionally released. (If you are new to the band, check out RtBE's Beginners Guide to The Grateful Dead Part's one and two.) With their vast back catalog on archive.org and all of their previous releases, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released concerts.
That said, the band still release shows because rabid fans (RtBE included) will listen to everything they put out. So let's dive in...
It is of the new release from Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Trash Classic. RtBE dug their recent live album and loved their previous studio release, Data Doom, ranking it as one of our favorites from 2023. This one is a bit different, no Afrobeat and more spastic energy, which we like less.
While not considered one of his classic records, Empire Burlesque has some interesting moments. The biggest issue/stumbling block in re-visiting the record, outside of the hideous cover art, is just how 80's sounding it is. Self-produced by Dylan, he let Arthur Baker (New Order, Afrika Bambaataa) do the final mixing and the result was a very of-the-time sound in 1985.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Phil J Grayplaying "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go"
For June we highlight live Dylan covers from Phil J Gray
Thoughts on Original:
Arriving just after "Idiot Wind" the breezy "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" acts as a breather on Blood on the Tracks, but on it's own it is a gorgeous little number. A poetic love song that feels fresh every time it slips into the ear as the protagonist is in a world of bliss and doesn't want it to end, but knows it always will. Miles away from "Idiot Wind", but just as vital, showing off Dylan's easy charm and flowing word play/vocal style, I mean how cool is the "I’ll look for you in old Honolulu San Francisco or Ashtabula" run through?
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Back in October 2024 we came across Mr. Gray, aka MUSIC MAN and dug his style of straight ahead, live acoustic Dylan covers. Turns out he does a bunch, so all month we will focus on his tunes.
Thoughts on Cover:
A tune that fits Gray's performance style wonderfully and he does a bang up job.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Prince!
Back to 1988 over in Dortmund Germany this week for our Full Show Friday with none other than Prince whose birthday would have been celebrated tomorrow. So we are celebrating a day early. Pro shot, Pro sound, Enjoy!
The debut EP, Despina, from the New Orleans, LA based My Neptune is a bittersweet slice of restrained dream-pop, as the quartet exhales around pensive tunes that vibrate, sway and swell.
To celebrate the release of his new album, Always Been, Craig Finn decided to throw a party with an all-star backing band at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night May 30th. The sold-out crowd arrived early, packing the small downtown Manhattan venue.
We are now heading into the new normal with live music. Live shows will need to be flexible and streaming is a great way to keep music going. Streams have become essential for live music junkies like RtBE. We will highlight various shows/streams/virtual events for your viewing/listening pleasure. You can check out our weekly Full Show Friday series for concerts from the past and as always, please support the artists any which way you can.
Tonight: John "Papa" Gros at the 443 Social Club
Check out the New Orleans piano maestro and his band live at the 443 Social Club at 7pm. It will be streamed on Afton.tv and you can check it out here!
To get in the mood for the show later, here is some live John "Papa" Gros to pump you up:
It is of the recent John Fogerty show at the Beacon Theater on Wednesday May 28th. He might be 80, but he still rocks out. This was RtBE's first time seeing him and we were not disappointed.
Support the artist (buy his new album when it comes out) read the review and peep some video below:
Neil Young has been going back through his archives and releasing 'lost albums', and it can be a mixed bag for long time fans (RtBE Included). Is the music good? Yes. Have we heard it all before? For the most part, yes. Are these new albums needed? Not really. Can the artist do what they want? Sure.
In this ongoing Monday Series we will be exploring various artists versions of Bob Dylan song's. Today's tune is a live cover by Phil J Grayplaying "When The Ship Comes In"
One of our favorite songs from the early days of Dylan. The purest Irish Folk we felt he ever got, Joan Baez was a fan of this one and told a cool story during No Direction Home, about him being pissed at a hotel attendant and then having this song just spiral out of him. Images of the sea, the salt, the song, raiding/pillaging; a pirate song at heart. When we are looking for pure folk Dylan this one usually finds it's way to our ears.
Cover:
Thoughts on Cover Artist:
Back in October 2024 we came across Mr. Gray, aka MUSIC MAN and dug his style of straight ahead, live acoustic Dylan covers. Turns out he does a bunch, so all month we will focus on his tunes.
Thoughts on Cover:
Excellent, live energetic, well sung, strummed with passion, accented with harmonica and nailed all around. It is going to be a fun month of live acoustic covers with Phil J Gray.