Song Swarm – Like A Rolling Stone
There are people who would like Bob Dylan’s songs more if only they were sung by somebody else. I have some empathy with that view (as I do with the opposing perspective), so it is a little strange that I would choose for a song swarm one song on which I really enjoy young Robert’s singing.
Like A Rolling Stone, recorded in June 1965 and released a month later, is a landmark record in pop music. At a time when singles were considered long-winded if they exceeded the three-minute mark, it clocked it in at 6:13 and yet reached #2 on the US charts (a decade before Bohemian Rhapsody).
It also signposted the Dylan-goes-electric controversy. The 1966 live recording from Manchester included in this swarm is that of an audience member yelling “Judas”, to which Dylan responds: “I don’t believe you. You’re a liar”, then instructing the band to “play it fuckin’ loud”. By Dylan’s own admission, it was the song that prevented him from quitting recording; it was a song he himself could dig.
The story of the song’s recording session in New York has been documented in rich detail by Greil Marcus (read it HERE).
Like A Rolling Stone inspired the young guitarist Jimi Hendrix to take up singing (presumably on the “if he can, so can I” principle), and he included the song in his repertoire. His version at Monterey in 1967, his breakthrough performance, is included here.
The song jumped genres with remarkable ease, from psychedelic (Rotary Connection) to garage rock (The Remains) to ska (The Wailers) to bluegrass (Flatt & Scruggs) to spoken poetry (Sebastian Cabot) to easy listening (Hugo Montenegro) to soul (Major Harris, Maxine Weldon — both brilliant).
Most of these 33 versions work well; a few serve as curiosities. Top of these is the home recording from John Lennon’”s 31st birthday party in a hotel room in Syracuse, New York. John and his friends have a sing-along, with Like A Rolling Stone featuring in the medley. We don’t know exactly who among the guests were singing along, but the guests included Ringo Starr, Phil Spector, Eric Clapton, Jim Keltner, Phil Ochs and beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
Two foreign language versions are included: an Italian take from 1966 by Gianni Pettenati, and one by Wolfgang Ambros, performed in the local dialect of Vienna.
Though I haven’t bothered to include the original — if you don’t already have it, you really don’t need this collection — Dylan himself features three times with live versions: the 1966 “fuckin’ loud” Manchester version, 1974 with The Band, and one from 1979’s Live At Budokan album. If that doesn’t still the hunger, then there is always the live take from the Isle Of Wright gig you can find on the Self Portrait album of 1970.
PW in comments. The above text is included as a PDF.
Bob Dylan (Judas version, 1966); The Four Seasons (1965), The Turtles (1965); The Soup Greens (1965); Cher (1966), The Young Rascals (1966), The Wailers (1966), Gianni Pettenati e The Juniors (as “Come una pietra che rotola”, 1966), The Remains (1966), Sebastian Cabot (1967), Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967), Rotary Connection (1967), Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs (1968), Phil Flowers & the Flower Shop (1969), Buddy Greco (1969), Major Harris (1969), Maxine Weldon (1970), Hugo Montenegro Orchestra (1970), Hardin & York (1971), The Undisputed Truth (1971), John Lennon & Friends (home-recording with Dig It, Twist And Shout, La Bamba, Louie Louie, 1971), Johnny Winter (1973), Bob Dylan & The Band (1974), Wolfgang Ambros (as Allan wia a Stan, 1978), Bob Dylan (1979), Johnny Thunders (1984), Judy Collins (1993), Mick Ronson with David Bowie (1994), The Rolling Stones (1995), Phil Lesh (2000), Drive-By Truckers (2005), The Kentucky Headhunters (2005), Green Day (2009)
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