Best Bob Dylan Covers (and why I believe Dylan is a great musician, but not a great singer)

There are some great musicians whose music I love, but who aren't necessarily great singers. To me, Bob Dylan is one of them. He wrote many great songs, but I usually like other people's versions of his songs better. You can definitely sense that he's really feeling the song, but somehow I just don't like his voice very much (I hope I haven't offended anyone here).

The Indigo Girls are quite popular in the US, but are unfortuntately not widely known outside of the US. It's a shame, because these two singers are great in harmony singing and have produced several very good cd's. On one of these cd's, they sing their own version of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright" together with Joan Baez.  Joan Baez is Bob Dylan's ex-girlfriend and the one who helped Bob Dylan to achieve national fame. This song was written by Bob Dylan in 1962, and has since been covered by many musicians. This is my favorite cover of the song .

Indigo Girls and Joan Baez - "Don't Think Twice It's Alright"

Another great singer who actually did an entire album of Bob Dylan covers is Odetta. Odetta was another big name in the early 1960's. At the time African Americans were fighting for equal opportunities in the US, Odetta was considered to be "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". She had already  been singing since 1944, and was an inspiration for Bob Dylan and many other artists at the time. Her cd "Odetta Sings Dylan" includes several of Dylan's best songs. My favorite cover on this cd is "With God on Our Side". (Take some time to listen to the lyrics, they're really good).

Odetta - "With God On Our Side"

Thank god, Bob Dylan didn't just influence people in the 1960's. To show that his music is still considered to be great today, I'll include Adele's version of "Make You Feel My Love". Once again, I believe that her rendition of the song is much better Dylan's version. But I'm sure many of the Bob Dylan fans will disagree with me on that.

Adele - "Make You Feel My Love"

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A Few Very Suprising Duets

I like to hear duets by singers who are known in completely different genres. This blog post is about those duets. I discovered them by spending endless hours on You Tube. The first one was recorded at Tom Jones' own tv show "This Is Tom Jones". The show ran from 1969 to 1971 and included many big names in music history (Dusty Springfield, Jerry Lee Lewis, Tony Benett and Ray Charles, to name but a few). In the third and final season of the show Ella Fitzgerald sang a great (and quite surprising) duet with Tom Jones. Here is "Sunny".

Tom Jones & Ella Fitzgerald - "Sunny"

The following song was recorded at the Transatlantic Sessions. This is a BBC music special in which Irish, British and American (usually folk) singers get together and make great music. The first session was recorded in the early 1990's and there have been 5 sessions since. It is really worth watching, especially if you like folk music. In this song you will see Iris DeMent, Michelle Wright, and the Irish singer Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh sing the traditional country song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".

Iris DeMent, Michelle Wright & Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh - "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"

I have already expressed my love for Alison Krauss in this blog. To show her diversity and to show that she is not just a real good country and bluegrass singer, I will show this duet with Led Zeppelin's lead singer Robert Plant. They actually recorded an entire CD together in 2007 called "Raising Sands". This song is the first one on this CD, and I personally think it is also the best one. Here they are at Jools Holland singing "Rich Woman". 

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - "Rich Woman"

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The Very First Time I Heard These Songs

Did you ever hear a song for the very first time, and remember the feeling that song gave you for many years after? This blog is about those songs.

I grew up listening to Tina Turner. My father was a huge fan. This was back in the 1980's when her songs "Private Dancer", "Tonight" and "Simply the Best" were high up in the charts. Several years later I saw the biopic "What's Love Got To do With It" for the first time. In it there is a scene in which Tina Turner is standing in a studio singing "River Deep Mountain High". It was the first time Ike wasn't by her side. I remember watching this movie by myself. It was one of those moments when the world seemed to stand still. Just me and this amazing singer, singing one of the best songs ever.

Tina Tuner - "River Deep Mountain High"

Somewhere in the year 2002 I was sitting in my living room, watching some mindless tv. While I'm surfing through the channels I come across a music video from this new artist, singing in a style and with a voice I hadn't heard before. Unfortunately, I had to wait untill the end to discover who this woman was. The very same day I went to the nearest music store and bought her cd. It was Norah Jones singing "Don't Know Why". I still listen to her debut album every now and then.

Norah Jones - "Don't Know Why"

I have been a fan of Adele since her debut album 19. I think she is great and rightly deserves to stand among the greatest artists of this time. "Rolling in the Deep" one of her latest songs is, according to me, the best song that was made in the last two years. I believe I heard it the very same day the video was first shown on MTV. The video in combination with the song is just great. I have nothing else to add to this. Enjoy.

Adele - "Rolling in the Deep"

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Guess who??

This musical sensation was not only influenced by Blues legends such as Muddy Water, John Lee Hooker and Robert Johnson but also got a lot of inspiration from the 1960's folk music scene in which she gew up. 

She is the daughter of a famous musical star (Oklahoma!) and an accomplished pianist and singer. She grew up in Los Angeles, and studied Social Relations and African Studies at Harvard and Radcliff. 

She has sung with numerous famous singers: Pete Seegers, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, Norah Jones, Brian Adams and many many others. 

Her musical talent won her 9 grammy awards and commercial success from the 1970's onwards. She is now inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

While she never had a number 1 position in the American music charts, she did sing a few very popular songs: "Thing Called Love", "I Can't Make You Love Me", "You", and my favorite version of John Prine's song "Angel From Montgomery". 

Here she is, in 1974, singing the song that touches my heart everytime I hear it. 

"Angel From Montgommery"