Tim Herrick
2006-08-26 23:55:06 UTC
In general, I am not a big promoter of dylan cover records. Loved Post Cards
of the Hanging, the dead compiliation, but last year’s Jerry Garcia plays
the songs of bob dylan I just haven’t played that much. A lot of the tributes
from various artists, the bluegrass and blues, for instance, is like karioke.
Look, I love dylan covers but just don’t have much of an interest in an
entire record of covers. Sorry, Judy Collins.
However, last week I picked up Heart of Mine by Maria Muldaur. Haven’t seen
much chatter here on ole RMD. Why did I buy it? I’m not a fan. Radio sucks so
of course, I didn’t hear it first. Well, she was great on No Direction Home,
and the DVD features her belting out a real neat accepella version of Lord,
Proect My Child. Ever notice that with dylan, and other songwriters,
musicians love the hits, the well known songs more. Give me the obscure.
The other reason I got was Wedding Song. This is a great dylan song,
although it is really a rough cut on P.W. and there just no other versions. In
between Wedding Song & Sara, there was Blood on The Tracks. Must’ve been an
interesting marriage.
Anyway, her version of Wedding Song is absolutely relevatory. There’s a
violin there that is stinging. It’s this honest wail of love. What amazing
lyrics, what’s lost is lost, we can’t regain what went down to in the flood...
then later, just being next to you is a natural thing for me. Well, it’s a great
song of course, but her vocalization makes you shudder with the honesty.
Relationships aren’t easy and requires forgiveness not easily granted but it’s
better to grant it. For love.
There’s two clunkers on the record, I’ll be your baby tonight, and Make You
Feel My Love. The former is just sort of schmaltzy anyway and the latter is
just a lame song, sorry. It’s better than the Garth Brooks or Billy Joel
versions. Score one for faint praise.
Good Lord, the rest of the record, frigging amazing. First of all, the
playing on it is superb, tastetul. Tight and loose if that is the way to describe
it. For instance, in Moonlight there’s a quote of Aint Misbehavin. This is an
interesting dylan song, to my ears, cause this is like some weird crooning
ditty, sort of unlike dylan, but then there’s just so many lyrics. There are
just not that many lyrics in crooning ditties.
The trailing moss and mystic glow
Purple blossoms soft as snow
My tears keep flowing to the sea
Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief
It takes a thief to catch a thief
For whom does the bell toll for, love? It tolls for you and me
She sings these lyrics in a jazzy delivery that I can’t get enough, cause it’
s both articulate and yet sounds like the scatt syllables by any of them
great jazz singers. It’s an astute delivery of this sort of bizarre song, cause
it’s playful, silly stuff and it’s also part of the wistfulness of this great
love song,
On A Night Like This, gets this bossa nova baby thing going on. Lilting and
funky. What a fun song. There’s this organ break that seems to quote on
Mister Moonlight, the song features marracas and such, the samba thing. This bossa
nova thing/samba is not over played at all. But the song ends, with the da
ta ta of a TANGO. Really clever.
All the songs come from a female point of view and she changes the lyrics to
suit this perspective. For instance, Lay Lady Lay becomes Lay (baby) love.
God Dang though, she infuses a new eroticism into these songs, that comes not
just from a woman singing them, but a rare sultriness. She’s an old broad,
and by old of course I mean, middle age. There’s been some articles and books
and such about sexy at 50 and sexy at 60, David Steinberg’s divorced wife
wrote some kind of best seller and that Charollette Rampling has made some
pretty cool movies where she has sex and does nude scenes at her age. There is
thankfully an acknowledgement of older women are sexy and sexual. Hey, jessica
lange in Masked & Anonomyous. Post menopausal sexuality. M.M. taps into this
fun sensuality, come hither, play your cards right and daddy’s gonna get some
tonight.
It’s interesting to hear a woman of any age sing a sexy line “lay your body
next to mine and keep me company.” But, an “older” woman, singing this
line, it’s just, well new in some fashion. It’s dripping with eroticism but it’s
also mature, and very romantic. The record is filled with this sort of
feeling, which is unique, innovative and refreshing as all heck. These aren’t
soulful heartbreak numbers such as Irma Thomas, these are not dylan’s heartbreak
songs or vindicative idiot wind or don’t think twice thing. She blows away
the stereotype of the middle age harridan. Nor is she a passive woman.
Everybody talks about the new honesty about sexuality by today’s feminists, and that’
s fine,
but shoot, youth is always sexy. Youth is sexy and sexual without effort.
Middle aged sexiness? Sure, maybe it takes some effort. But it has a special
charm. We got much to talk about and much to reminisce, but it sure feel
right on a night like this. Golden Loom, an incredible interpreation as well. I
never knew it was a love song. she changes the lyric, you turn your head cause
you’re APPROACHING me, to EXPECTING me, A subtle difference. She sings “
talking” about my Golden Loom.
It’s not just sexuality though, or rather, not simple sexuality. It’s
mature sexuality, in that it is intertwined with romance, love and a bunch of
other emotions. I find it a fascinating, fantastic record.
There isnot a shred of campiness in any of these vocalizations. It is one of
the few dylan cover albums that sort of stakes out a new territory. The
album ends with Aint Goin Nowhere, not really a love song, and she alters the
lyrics tomorrow’s the day my man’s comin home. She actually plays some fiddle
on this, and it’s got a hoedown feel to it, kind of cajuny too. She hollers
some, similar to that clip of her singing with the jug band deal in NDH. But it’
s nice happy ending.
Happy. Sultry. Romantic. Honest. Maria Muldear discovers something new about
love through these songs, something I didn’t realize was there until I heard
her sing them. Now, even dylan’s versions contain this newness.
of the Hanging, the dead compiliation, but last year’s Jerry Garcia plays
the songs of bob dylan I just haven’t played that much. A lot of the tributes
from various artists, the bluegrass and blues, for instance, is like karioke.
Look, I love dylan covers but just don’t have much of an interest in an
entire record of covers. Sorry, Judy Collins.
However, last week I picked up Heart of Mine by Maria Muldaur. Haven’t seen
much chatter here on ole RMD. Why did I buy it? I’m not a fan. Radio sucks so
of course, I didn’t hear it first. Well, she was great on No Direction Home,
and the DVD features her belting out a real neat accepella version of Lord,
Proect My Child. Ever notice that with dylan, and other songwriters,
musicians love the hits, the well known songs more. Give me the obscure.
The other reason I got was Wedding Song. This is a great dylan song,
although it is really a rough cut on P.W. and there just no other versions. In
between Wedding Song & Sara, there was Blood on The Tracks. Must’ve been an
interesting marriage.
Anyway, her version of Wedding Song is absolutely relevatory. There’s a
violin there that is stinging. It’s this honest wail of love. What amazing
lyrics, what’s lost is lost, we can’t regain what went down to in the flood...
then later, just being next to you is a natural thing for me. Well, it’s a great
song of course, but her vocalization makes you shudder with the honesty.
Relationships aren’t easy and requires forgiveness not easily granted but it’s
better to grant it. For love.
There’s two clunkers on the record, I’ll be your baby tonight, and Make You
Feel My Love. The former is just sort of schmaltzy anyway and the latter is
just a lame song, sorry. It’s better than the Garth Brooks or Billy Joel
versions. Score one for faint praise.
Good Lord, the rest of the record, frigging amazing. First of all, the
playing on it is superb, tastetul. Tight and loose if that is the way to describe
it. For instance, in Moonlight there’s a quote of Aint Misbehavin. This is an
interesting dylan song, to my ears, cause this is like some weird crooning
ditty, sort of unlike dylan, but then there’s just so many lyrics. There are
just not that many lyrics in crooning ditties.
The trailing moss and mystic glow
Purple blossoms soft as snow
My tears keep flowing to the sea
Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief
It takes a thief to catch a thief
For whom does the bell toll for, love? It tolls for you and me
She sings these lyrics in a jazzy delivery that I can’t get enough, cause it’
s both articulate and yet sounds like the scatt syllables by any of them
great jazz singers. It’s an astute delivery of this sort of bizarre song, cause
it’s playful, silly stuff and it’s also part of the wistfulness of this great
love song,
On A Night Like This, gets this bossa nova baby thing going on. Lilting and
funky. What a fun song. There’s this organ break that seems to quote on
Mister Moonlight, the song features marracas and such, the samba thing. This bossa
nova thing/samba is not over played at all. But the song ends, with the da
ta ta of a TANGO. Really clever.
All the songs come from a female point of view and she changes the lyrics to
suit this perspective. For instance, Lay Lady Lay becomes Lay (baby) love.
God Dang though, she infuses a new eroticism into these songs, that comes not
just from a woman singing them, but a rare sultriness. She’s an old broad,
and by old of course I mean, middle age. There’s been some articles and books
and such about sexy at 50 and sexy at 60, David Steinberg’s divorced wife
wrote some kind of best seller and that Charollette Rampling has made some
pretty cool movies where she has sex and does nude scenes at her age. There is
thankfully an acknowledgement of older women are sexy and sexual. Hey, jessica
lange in Masked & Anonomyous. Post menopausal sexuality. M.M. taps into this
fun sensuality, come hither, play your cards right and daddy’s gonna get some
tonight.
It’s interesting to hear a woman of any age sing a sexy line “lay your body
next to mine and keep me company.” But, an “older” woman, singing this
line, it’s just, well new in some fashion. It’s dripping with eroticism but it’s
also mature, and very romantic. The record is filled with this sort of
feeling, which is unique, innovative and refreshing as all heck. These aren’t
soulful heartbreak numbers such as Irma Thomas, these are not dylan’s heartbreak
songs or vindicative idiot wind or don’t think twice thing. She blows away
the stereotype of the middle age harridan. Nor is she a passive woman.
Everybody talks about the new honesty about sexuality by today’s feminists, and that’
s fine,
but shoot, youth is always sexy. Youth is sexy and sexual without effort.
Middle aged sexiness? Sure, maybe it takes some effort. But it has a special
charm. We got much to talk about and much to reminisce, but it sure feel
right on a night like this. Golden Loom, an incredible interpreation as well. I
never knew it was a love song. she changes the lyric, you turn your head cause
you’re APPROACHING me, to EXPECTING me, A subtle difference. She sings “
talking” about my Golden Loom.
It’s not just sexuality though, or rather, not simple sexuality. It’s
mature sexuality, in that it is intertwined with romance, love and a bunch of
other emotions. I find it a fascinating, fantastic record.
There isnot a shred of campiness in any of these vocalizations. It is one of
the few dylan cover albums that sort of stakes out a new territory. The
album ends with Aint Goin Nowhere, not really a love song, and she alters the
lyrics tomorrow’s the day my man’s comin home. She actually plays some fiddle
on this, and it’s got a hoedown feel to it, kind of cajuny too. She hollers
some, similar to that clip of her singing with the jug band deal in NDH. But it’
s nice happy ending.
Happy. Sultry. Romantic. Honest. Maria Muldear discovers something new about
love through these songs, something I didn’t realize was there until I heard
her sing them. Now, even dylan’s versions contain this newness.