Track Listings (14) - Disc #1| All Artists: Various Artists Title: Is It Rolling Bob? Members Wishing: 1 Total Copies: 0 Label: RAS Records Release Date: 2/27/2007 Album Type: Import Genres: International Music, Special Interest, Pop, Rock Styles: Reggae, Comedy & Spoken Word, Tributes Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 |
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Search - Various Artists :: Is It Rolling Bob?
 | Various Artists Is It Rolling Bob? Genres: International Music, Special Interest, Pop, Rock
Bob Dylan's songs have been covered by everyone from the Byrds to Muzak. But performers from other traditions, unhampered by the original historic and social contexts and subsequent decades of awe-struck veneration, can ju... more » |
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Amazon.com Bob Dylan's songs have been covered by everyone from the Byrds to Muzak. But performers from other traditions, unhampered by the original historic and social contexts and subsequent decades of awe-struck veneration, can just relax and sing their hearts out. Producer Dr. Dread has picked material from Dylan's Woody Guthrie-influenced early career ("Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol"), his anarchistic yet tender middle period ("Just Like A Woman"), and even his brief foray into born-again Christianity ("Gotta Serve Somebody"). Each selection is rhythmically revamped while the lyrics are sometimes reinterpreted via the Word according to Jah. But if the straightforward arrangements tend to mitigate Dylan's sly sophistication, his melodies, which so often took a back-seat to his poems, emerge in all their glory. Other than a rare, Dylan-sanctioned remix of a tune he recorded with Sly & Robbie, there are few earth-shaking revelations, but this engaging album is well worth owning. --Christina Roden Similar CDs
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CD ReviewsSure sounded like a good idea... Michael Crowley | Albany, CA USA | 04/22/2007 (2 out of 5 stars) "Bob Dylan's work has been adapted to all kinds of musical styles, and you'd think reggae would be a perfect fit, since, like Dylan, it often fuses of the spiritual and the political and both Dylan and many reggae artists have a fondness for lush but not gooey romantic ballads (No Woman No Cry etc). But this CD really doesn't work for me. I like my reggae rootsy (as far as I'm concerned, Lee Perry is God, or I guess Jah), and this sounds like slick, soulless beer commercial reggae, the kind of thing you'd probably hear at a resort pool party. Producer Doctor Dread has a very unfortunate fondness for smooth jazz sax, cocktail lounge guitar and sacharine flutes. It's all very professional, yes. These are some of the top studio musicians in Jamaica (Sly, Chinna) and they hit all the right notes. But they're just picking up a paycheck. After this session it sounds like they could well have laid down some tracks for a Jamaican Tourist Board spot. Some of it is okay. Toots is always great, Apple Gabriel has a wonderful molasses-and-ganja voice, Michael Rose makes an interesting choice in The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol and Sizzla turns Subterannean Homesick Blues into a dancehall song, which works surprisingly well (and I don't like dancehall). The cover of Gotta Serve Somebody is pretty good too, partly because it was recorded separately from the rest of the CD so the backing music isn't so cold and efficient. You should probably just cherry-pick these from iTunes. But even many of the good performances are sabotaged by that awful by-the-numbers studio sound." An intruiging melding of styles Gavin F. Moodie | Australia | 11/10/2006 (4 out of 5 stars) "Reggae versions of other types of music often compromise both the genre and the original. I don't know whether this album is quite good enough to overcome that limitation to be enjoyed by fans of only reggae or Dylan, but if you are a fan of both, this album is a must.
I found some of the tracks genuinely enjoyable, and while it is very much a reflection of my personal taste, I thought the singers of other tracks rather mangled Dylan's inimmitable delivery. But I find all the tracks a lot of fun and enjoy hearing these different renditions of old Dylan favourites. So good is this that I'm hanging out for a second volume of 'Is it rolling Bob?'. " |
