All Along the Watchtower

All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix



In many ways this is the most appropriate song for this year. A song, with apocalyptic references, released actually just five days before the start of 1968 by Dylan, and then covered and released by
Hendrix in the fall of 1968. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Dylan's original sounds completely different than Hendrix's cover.

Dylan plays and sings the song pretty straight forward. A harmonica sets the tone and then a steady guitar and drums plow forward. The lyrics are the most import part of the song, the story that Dylan sings to us is a conversation between a joker and a thief. The song closes, referencing the Book of Isaiah, as two riders approach. The end is near. Dylan's version is some what haunting, but also rushed. It's almost as if Dylan could foresee the political upheaval that the upcoming year would see.



Hendrix's cover, on the other hand, is chilling. It feels like an attempt to catch the craziness of 1968. The opening guitar work and riff might be one of the five most famous openings in all of Rock'n'Roll. It has the feeling of guns and bombs going off, and then Hendrix almost speaks, "There must be some way out of here..." I'm not sure if any of the lines of the song hit home quite like that one.

The song, when viewed from the prism that Dylan wrote it, is a classic case of life imitating art. When Dylan wrote the song, American public opinion was still in favor of the war. It was the Tet Offensive, beginning at the end of Jan. 1968 that would swing American public opinion against the war. Suddenly, by September 1968 when Hendrix sings "There must be some way out of here", it takes on a whole new meaning.

The amazing thing about this song is how two versions, released only 9 months apart, could be so different and feel so different. Dylan's feels almost like a story told by and for citizens of the Middle Ages. I always imagine the people on horses, wearing their Adam of the Road cloths, discussing the story of the Joker and the Thief. On the flip side the Hendrix version is, thanks to so many movies and TV specials, linked to Vietnam. The song sounds like a hopeless cause, no we aren't losing, but we sure as hell aren't winning. Hendrix's version meanders with guitar solos, Dylan's is direct (and naturally 90 seconds shorter).

Now, the question is, why would anyone else cover this song? Dylan's original is pretty great. Hendrix's, according to so many, is even better. So why bother? How can anyone put a new twist on this song? And yes, Mr. Dave Matthew's I'm looking at you and your craptastic cover.

Bold As Love

Bold As Love by Jimi Hendrix

I know I've said that I had nothing and no one in high school, no one to get me into this band or that band (like Pavement). But that's sort of a lie, I did have Andrew. It helped that we went to different high schools, so by default we ran with different crowds. But we shared a love for music. We started off by going though our all father's old albums, so bands like the Kinks, the Band, and old Motown albums were unEarthed and played. We got to know 'deeper' Who and Stones tracks. We used to walk two towns over to go to a record store that had used tapes (for some reason we were really into tapes. If we would have known that mp3s were just around the corner, I doubt we would have bought all those freakin' tapes since they're pretty much impossible to rip; effing 1998). Anyway, Andrew and I pretty much went though every classic rock band discovering the pros and cons to each and every band in the process. We concluded that the Who rocked, that the Doors suck, and while we like Led Zepplin, in the end they aren't as good as everyone seems to think they are. We may have become music snobs, but it was fun. And it helped that we liked different types of music... I'm a sucker for the three cord pop song and power cords, Andrew preferred jam bands and sounds. And what this has to do with Bold As Love... not sure, but Andrew once described the solo at the end as Jimi trying to play underwater... I just think it's the best Jimi track out there.

Listen: