So here we are. Four posts later, four discs later and about 5 hours later, I finally wrap up this: the most unnecessary series of entries ever. I'm still not sure if this compilation deserved four entire entries, but its one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, I got it in my head that I wanted to not just listen to this entire compilation, I really wanted to take it in and absorb the effort that went into it. I wanted to give every song a fair shot and then see where that left me in the end: Wanting to delve into the Bob Dylan catalog proper? Or to just walk away without a care.
And so, one last time, here we go: commenting on the songs that are worth commenting on:
1. Maroon 5 - "I Shall Be Released" - I poke a lot of fun at Maroon 5, but there was a time when they were just emerging in popularity and I briefly saw them as a unique voice in the pop-rock ring. Unfortunately, so did the radio, and what wasn't overplayed to death didn't age as well, leaving us with only the short-term memory/current image of Maroon 5 as a Successful Pop Act (the countdown to their own Super Bowl Halftime Show has begun). Anyways, this song comes off sounding better than I honestly expected it to be, which is something nice. Still, "better" is essentially the same, in this case, as "completely mediocre." Better than being bad, right?
2. Carolina Chocolate Drops - "Political World" - CCD entered my world the same way I suspected they entered most of their current fans' worlds: another cover (in this case it was Blu Cantrell's ode to stealing her boyfriends money). I was impressed then with what they did with their source material, and I'm equally impressed now - even without prior knowledge of this song. Their southern bluegrass sounds just works so well here and there's a lot of honest energy present.
3. Seal & Jeff Beck - "Like a Rolling Stone" - Another Dylan song that, obviously, I'd have to know. This is a pretty straight-forward cover, but it exceeds expectations just on account of both the great guitar work and Seal's solid vocals. At 7+ minutes, it does feel a little more epic than it needs to be, but there really isn't any point in the song where I'm actually wishing that the song would just end already.
5. Dierks Bentley - "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) (Live)" - Honestly, my biggest problem with the country music world of today is just how formulaic it seems. There are, of course, exceptions to this, and there's a load of legitimate talent in even the most manufactured of country acts that are popular today. It's moments like this song, a stripped down and finger-picking-good (ugh, you can punch me for that one, its okay) number, that really make me wish that contemporary country music was always this good.
8. State Radio - "John Brown" - It's times like this when not knowing the original song makes it really hard to judge how good this cover is. On its own, this song reminds me of the kind of unstructured music I made with my friends while in high school garage band. But as a cover - of a Dylan song, no less - maybe that's the point? I really can't say whether its good or not as a cover. As a song itself, though, I would be quite alright with never hearing this song again.
9. Dave Matthews Band - "All Along the Watchtower (Live)" - The inclusion of this song, covered by this band, is the most obvious thing possible. This song might almost be better known by its covers than its original (its a shame Hendrix wasn't around to offer his cover, yeah?). Still, that said and done, there's a pretty good reason this song has such a reputation as being a part of Dave's live show and its because the band does this song complete justice. It'd be nice, as a nice change, if this was a studio version of the song, but I'll settle for the epic (another 7 minute track) live performance captured here.
13. Kris Kristofferson - "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" - Kristofferson sounds as great as he always has. Another vocalist who I've admired for a long time thanks to small-town FM radio while growing up. I don't have anything profound to say here (as most of my comments tend to be), but I do want to say how much I enjoy this song.
15. Evan Rachel Wood - "To Have You Anytime" - Do I dislike this song because I have this preconceived notion that I wasn't going to like it? Or is it just because...zzzzzzzz...
16. Marianne Faithful - "Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Live)" - Simple and sweet, Marianne strums something very pretty sounding (someone more musically inclined can step in and help me out with that) and redeems things after that little nap I had earlier.
17. Bob Dylan - "Chimes of Freedom" - Finally, we come to the end of the collection with a song by the man who inspired this entire collection: Bob Dylan himself. For myself, after four discs of combing over covers of his works, it feels like a substantial moment right now, listening to one of Bob's own songs for the first time. It really does feel like the prize at the end of the race. This is what I worked towards and this song right here confirms what I had hoped from the very beginning: I need some Bob Dylan in my life.
So, overall, and with the knowledge that a lot of these songs can only be judged (by me, at least) for how they sound in their current iteration (and not in contrast to their original versions), I'd say that this was a pretty successful collection of music. Nearly 5 hours of music of such a wide range is an impressive feat, and despite the missteps, there are more than enough positive moments here to counter them. A reasonable score, if such a thing mattered, would be a 7/10: flawed, but mostly enjoyable.
While I doubt that I'll ever revisit this compilation again in its entirety, there are definitely a number of songs here that I'll be adding to my library for the long term, like Mariachi El Bronx, Brett Dennen, Zee Avi and, yes, even Miley. Let's not forget Bob Dylan himself, whom I've been inspired to immerse myself in his extensive back catalog.
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