And FAREWELL ANGELINA by Joan Baez?
TEARS OF RAGE or WHEN I PAINT MY MASTERPIECE by The Band?
SEVEN DAYS by Ron Wood?

And ON A RAINY AFTERNOON by Zimming Point?
http://www.zimmingpoint.com/gww/uploads ... ernoon.mp3

All great covers....couple more come immediately to mind : Just Like A Woman by Ritchie Havens (the "Mixed Bag" version, not the "Sings Beatles & Dylan" one), T. V. Talkin' Song by Heartland......all add layers/elements not present in the originals....but in all cases I still prefer Dylan's originals

I agree, in almost all cases I prefer the originals.

It's often a misconception about collecting Dylan covers, that we are trying to replace Bob because we don't like his voice...
But I think the opposite is true, I'm trying to get more of Dylan's art, not less, by hearing his songs as interpreted by others.

I don't like to rank things, which is better, etc. Jimi's Watchtower is different than Bob's, but is it better? Sometimes it depends what you're in the mood for. Sometimes you want wailing guitars and sometimes you want a mellower acoustic version.

Spot on. I couldn't have said it any better.

One thing is simply a byproduct of the other. I am a Dylan fan & collector...this has led me to seek out and buy titles by artists that otherwise I would have absolutely no interest in :
ie :
unreleased Dylan songs : Michel Montecrossa, Mudbone, Michael Bolton, Gene Simmons, Williams Brothers........
and, (music) samples : Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass, Funkstar De Luxe, Gabrielle, Articolo 31, Rubin Steiner......

It's more hearing new genres for me, rather than new artists...
I now have small samplings of many genres that I had little interest in before hearing Dylan covers in those styles. I'm still not going to buy any rap or punk albums outside my Dylan covers collection, but I have gained a better appreciation of reggae, bluegrass, jazz, country, & others that I never or raely listened to before.

Of all the collectors I've met thru the websites the last (almost) 9 years, they've all been regular Dylan collectors too. I don't know anyone who is just a covers collector, with no interest in the originals.

Of course, some people might keep that a secret

I think this has gone a bit off-topic....my original post asked the question :

Does anyone have a favorite Dylan cover that they feel surpasses Dylan's original version?


There are all kinds of Dylan collectors. I know one that doesn't own a single LP/CD. His collection consists entirely of MP3 & flac files.....he has all the official releases and thousands of (boots) unofficial, unreleased recordings.
Others collect only Dylan, no covers. Some are happy with one sample (edition) of each title. Others, like myself, try to collect it "all'. Every edition of every release. All Official Dylan releases, all official Dylan covers albums, selected miscellaneous covers, recordings with samples of Dylan's music (ie :Beastie Boys), albums with liner notes written by Dylan (ie : PP&M-In The Wind), anything produced by Dylan (ie: Barry Goldberg), albums with art by Dylan (ie : Music From Big Pink), all albums containing unreleased Dylan songs (ie: Michael Bolton Time Love & Tenderness & Greatest Hits), all various artists albums with Dylan tracks, all albums in which Dylan appears as a backing musician, singles & EP's, vinyl, CD-Roms, promos, radio station discs, all DVD's with Dylan, all DVD's of films containing a Dylan track.
In short, any record that is in some way Dylan related. I even collect records that have no Dylan tracks or covers, but simply a Dylan theme, or the word Dylan in the title (ie: Radio Bob; The Roots Of Bob Dylan; Bob Dylan's Jukebox, etc.).

What I do not collect is bootlegs/unofficial recordings. I used to have approximately 1,000 boot LP's/CD's but got rid of them all. Also, no interest in MP3's/flac files. If it isn't on a commercial/official release....it simply does not "exist" for me.

I also don't know anyone who is just a "covers" collector, with no iinterest in the originals. But there are many who prefer to hear Dylan via cover, which isn't the same thing.

As for genres......I have been a life-long record collector (40 + years). Before I sold them all a few years ago, I Used to own around 10,000 LP's & 5,000 CD's.
This included opera, classical, cajun, bluegrass, blues, world.....even a few disco.... nothing I didn't have.

Now my entire record collection consists entirely of Dylan/Dylan related.
I do not buy a Dylan "cover" for (or because of) the genre....or the artist.
I buy it simply because of Dylan.

Off topic posts are better than no posts

BTW, thanks for being active in the forum's infancy... hopefully a few others will join in or start topics.

Some covers that I like almost as much as the original:
Greg Kihn - Subterranean Homesick Blues.
Terrance Simien - Mississippi

Agree with you re: Richie Havens' JLAW.

Agree with you there

I think most Dylan "fans" like to discuss everything but Dylan's records, or covers (Expecting Rain, Dylan Pool, Watchtower.dk).

Happy to participate. DylanCover & Searching For A Gem are the best Dylan sites on the net. Constantly make use of both

Well, one of my favourite covers is Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Everything Is Broken (I like the rockin' way of covering Dylan).
There's some more to say about originals/covers and there's some more covers I really like. I'll come back here soon. Gotta run now...

Ok then:

Originals/covers
I don’t compare them. So there couldn’t be a version that surpasses the original. The original is THE SONG, that’s what the artist wrote. It’s his idea and what you hear is the best way of conversion or rendition of the idea the artist was or is able to give. The original is always noncompetitive for me. I might like or not .
Maybe I listen more to a special cover version of a song than to the original sometimes, but that doesn’t change or touch what I said before.
When I wax lyrical about this or that cover version and people say „you can’t be right, nobody sings Dylan like Dylan“, I always answer „yes, you’re right, but nevertheless this version is brilliant“.

The reason for listening to Dylan-covers
Dylan’s songs are always open for interpretations. It’s possible to arrange and perform them in a way that fits your own feeling – and nevertheless it remains the Dylan-song (that’s the most impressive and awesome part of Dylan’s songwriting to me). Even Dylan himself uses that ‚space‘ every now and then when he performs his songs live. It’s like an eternal circling the perfect (or maybe most mood-of-the-moment fitting) line/melody/phrasing. Everything is there but not everything is used. So it’s always interesting to hear what color or nuance people point out by covering Dylan’s songs. And sometimes they hit the nail in that (or better: in their) case. Sometimes a good cover version brings me back to an original I didn’t pay the attention it deserves so far. It gives me a second chance to discover the beauty (or whatever) of the original.

So far for now. Comments are welcome.

And here's a list of my faves (well, some of them):

Everything Is Broken - Kenny Wayne Shepherd
I Shall Be Released - Chrissie Hynde
Seven Days - Jimmy Barnes
Boots Of Spanish Leather - Robert Deeble and Mandy Troxel
Paths Of Victory - Odetta
Blind Willie McTell - Black Cat Bone featuring Mick Taylor

And I really love the version my band (PetTommy) did on Desolation Row.

No, it's not a competition or a comparison test.....but there are many covers that surpass the originals (in my opinion) on many different levels...

to cite a few :

That's All Right, Mama - Elvis Presley
Not Fade Away - Rolling Stones
I Put A Spell On You - Nina Simone
From A Buick 6 - Richmond Fontaine
just about any "pop" song covered by Billie Holiday
etc.

To make that clear: I's talking about Dylan covers only.

I haven't heard that one, yet (as far as I remember)

(Dylan) Covers That Surpass The Originals?

Arguments could be made (depending on one's politics & level of fandom) for :

Just Like A Woman - Richie Havens
Restless Farewell - Peter Blake & Norman Ostroushko
Clothes Line Saga - M & S Roche
Dusty Old Fairgrounds - Blue Ash
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window - The Vacels
T. V. Talkin' Song - Heartland
etc.

Dylan is on record as saying he prefers Johnny Rivers version of Positively 4th Street to his own (I don't agree).



re : From A Buick 6 by Richmond Fontaine.
I'm not a Fontaine "fan".....in fact, I have heard nothing else by them but this Dylan cover. But given the choice, I will pick their version to listen to...it totally obliterares Dylan's original. Just my opinion, you may listen to it and not agree. It is the only Dylan cover that I prefer to listen to
...over the original.