Between eight Oscar nominations for A Complete Unknown and announcing a 20-date tour with Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan is having something of a(nother) renaissance. So what better time to release an album of Dylan covers? That is exactly what Jemmy Joe has done with Song and Dance Man. But like Jemmy Joe’s hometown of Olympia, Washington, he does things a little differently from the norm.
Before even listening to the album when you glance at the track list, you might not immediately recognize the songs as Dylan’s. There is no cover of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” or “Like a Rolling Stone” or even “Lay, Lady, Lay.” Instead the album kicks off with “Dark Eyes,” the closing track from 1985’s Empire Burlesque. The original track is just vocals, acoustic guitar, and harmonica. Jemmy Joe hums the harmonica line while utilizes some trebly drums and an off-kilter lead electric guitar line. It sounds more like There’s Nothing Wrong with Love-era Built To Spill than it does to Bob Dylan.
“She Belongs to Me” takes the opposite approach. The original from 1965’s Bringing It All Back Home features drums, electric guitar, and a full band. Jemmy Joe’s version is more stripped down with layers of acoustic instruments but he keeps the same vocal melody.
As a matter of fact, Jemmy Joe actually stays pretty true to the original of many of the songs. Although the instruments used are different, they generally keep the same vocal and instrumental melodies. Jemmy Joe’s version of 2001’s “Mississippi,” turns the medium-tempo country-rock into a lo-fi synth pop jam. The timing of the vocals being delivered feels a bit wonky over the Casio keyboard drums but poppiness of Dylan’s original melody stays intact.
But just because much of Dylan’s original work is evident in the covers doesn’t mean they are all successful. “Beyond the Horizon” from 2006’s Modern Times gets a little too slow and spacey. Jemmy Joe’s voice can’t hold up to the scrutiny of having to hold out notes much like Dylan himself. The cover of 1989’s “What Good Am I?” sees Jemmy Joe try a Black Moth Super Rainbow-style electro-psychedelic experimentation; it ends up feeling too far afield from the original.
The album closes out fittingly with “Death Is Not the End” from 1988’s Down in the Groove. It might the most obscure song covered on the album but it actually sounds more traditionally Dylan than Dylan’s version does. Down in the Groove, largely thought of as Dylan’s worst album, saw him succumb to many of the studio tricks of the time that sound incredibly outdated now. It leaves the original sounding like a scene shot through soft-lighting. Jemmy Joe’s cover is more raw and traditionally folky with finger-picked guitar and dirge-like drums. It shows Jemmy Joe’s reverence for Dylan as a songwriter and not just as a recording artist and his ability to see the best in even the worst Dylan.
Rating: 6.9/10
