Ramblings on Dylan, Otis, Havens, Nina, Lennon, & Songwriting

Ten days ago, star JamandaHalf correspondent, Jeff Cairney sent Leks and I one of the most firey JamandaHalf posts ever.  The post was so potent that before we could make it public we needed to listen to Richie Havens nonstop for a week and a half.  Jeff has been blessing us with some of the most radical posts over the years and is one of the most soulful, intelligent, and good vibed dudes out there.  In his latest installment, Jeff gives us a little history lesson mixed with a splash of theory to sip on.  Many Thanks and Much Love. 

Richie Havens passed away a few weeks ago. I’ve thus been spending considering time recently with his repertoire and taking him in as he fades away. And I came across something...

Back in 1966, Bob Dylan wrote a “Just Like A Woman” for Otis Redding. It’s Dylan’s soul song (or one of them) and would have been incredible and at home if sung by the soulful Redding. Unfortunately, Otis passed away before he had the chance to record it (or before Dylan had a chance to convince Redding that he should record it). I've always thought of this as a missed opportunity…

So though we’ll never have Redding’s version of Dylan’s “Just Like A Woman”, perhaps what we do have is the next best thing. Richie Havens, in my opinion one of the most underrated and under-the-radar soul singers, did record “Just Like A Woman”. So in the end, this world is blessed with Dylan’s soul expressed by a great soul singer:

And it doesn’t stop there. Nina Simone, inspired by the style and lyrics of this Dylan song, decided to do her own soulful rendition (obviously not caring that the song was written for a man):

Then this got me thinking about Nina. And as Otis inspired Dylan who inspired Nina, Nina was also and continues to be an incredible inspiration for so many different people. Take even the Beatles, for example. Paul McCartney got stuck when writing the song “Michelle” and didn't know how to start the second verse. John Lennon, inspired by Nina Simone’s version of “I Put A Spell On You” that he had heard the night before, told Paul to use the phrase Nina skats out to amazingly weave the saxophone solo back into the song lyrics. This is the “I love you, I love you, I love you” that so simply sums up the meaning of “Michelle”.

Indeed, these are words that go together well.

Bob Dylan-Don't Think Twice, It's Alright Live Town Hall NYC 1963

Some rare Bob Dylan recordings were recently put up on Youtube, and we're better for it. This one is of Dylan's incredible "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" sung live at the Town Hall of NYC in 1963. Probably my favorite Dylan song, his bitterness is truly highlighted in this version. Sung in all his nasally glory, the young Dylan sounds pretty damn down, though with that heartbreak comes a true sense of liberation. The video comes with pictures of Dylan with his ex-girlfriend (and inspiration for this song) Suze Rotolo. Apparently a profound influence on Dylan's music, Suze moved on and left Dylan to study in Italy. Dylan was left with a broken heart, and we were left with this song.

Bob Dylan-Moonshine Blues

Bob Dylan's gravely voice sounds so convincing that he could sing a song about being a astronaut on Mars and I would believe him in a second. On this powerful track, Dylan tells the story about a down and out moonshiner, alone in the world with nothing but his whiskey to keep him comfortable. A depressing tale if there ever was one, Dylan fits the part perfectly. Similar to incredible acting performances, where it's almost impossible to distinguish between the character and the actor, in this stirring song Dylan completely makes the character of the lonesome moonshiner his own. With nothing but his acoustic guitar, it's not hard to picture Dylan, or better yet, the character he is singing about, recounting his tales around a campfire, bottle of whiskey in hand, years of hard living etched on his face.

"Moonshine Blues" is an alternate version of another Dylan song, "Moonshiner," and is found on Bob Dylan's rare The Gaslight Tapes released in 1962. Although the original is also great, the scratchy recording quality, the extended guitar solo, and the added emotion on this track make it my favorite of the two. This is a great song to take it down easy, a great thinking song, and is probably my favorite Dylan jam of all time.

Lyrics

 Bob Dylan-Moonshine Blues (jamandahalf.com) by jamand1/2

Bob Dylan - We Better Talk This Over

The show behind us, but still ringing in my ears, we move on back to kickin the funkiest jams from all genres.  To take us there is our old friend and musical mastermind Zach Ainsley, diggin up unknown classics to show you new things in places you thought you knew.

To label anything Bob Dylan has produced as “underrated” is a bit of a misnomer. From his first steps on the path blazed by Woody Guthrie to the southern-tinged grumbles of his latest album, the man has consistently churned out masterpieces. Take a peek at any serious rock critic's “all-time best albums” list and you will undoubtedly find records such Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, and Highway 61 Revisited jockeying for position near the top. What you will likely not find, however, is 1978's underrated (there's that word again) jam-fest Street Legal.