Various Artists – Listen To Bob Dylan

It’s funny, as I go to review this new compilation from Drive-Thru Records, all I can think of is Bob Dylan‘s liner notes on one of his recent american tours:

“I know there are groups at the top of the charts that are hailed as the saviors of rock’n’roll and all that, but they are amateurs. They don’t know where the music comes from,… I wouldn’t even think about playing music if I was born in these times… I’d probably turn to something like mathematics. That would interest me.”

Ouch. I wonder what he thinks of all these up and coming bands doing covers of his classics? The answer to that, I have no idea. But I do know why all these bands have decided to cover the man’s songs, and it is a good reason. You see, Bob Dylan changed the face of music. He did, and he is one of the most influential musicians of all time. His songs are timeless classics, and for many, hold a deep and powerful meaning. Stefanie Reines, the co-owner of Drive-Thru Records wanted to share that feeling to a new generation of music lovers, and releasing a tribute CD is the perfect way to do that.

Oddly enough, for being such a huge pop-punk label, they don’t have many pop-punk bands on here. Sure, there’s a lot of the label’s newer roster on here like Steel Train (who supply two songs oddly enough), Socratic, Jenoah, Dave Melillo, I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business, RX Bandits and Something Corporate. But at the same time, they also have emo power house Anberlin andHouse Of Fools alongside mainstream pop artists like Jason Mraz, Cerys Matthews and most surprisingly, James Blunt. So right away the track listing sticks out in most people’s mind, but the question remains: is it good?

Well, it is. It’s not great, but it’s not too bad either. The songs are classics, they aren’t done spectacularly well and sound pretty similar to the originals. It probably would’ve stood out more if the bands had added their own little touch to it a bit more rather than copying the song chord by chord. But still, songs like The Times They Are A-Changin’ by The Stay At Home Joneses, I Want You by James Blunt,Positively 4th Street by I Can Make A Mess… and Mr. Tambourine Man by Roark all receive the playback mark of approval and are soon put on repeat. Then again, at the same time, some songs likeThe Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll by RX Bandits and Boots Of Spanish Leather by Julia Haltigan are just plain boring to listen to.

Really, I don’t know if Reines plan will work. I doubt this will convince many people to go out and Listen To Bob Dylan. But older Dylan fans will probably really enjoy the little tribute CD.