Videos by American Songwriter
The best Dylan covers can come out of nowhere. 2007’s I’m Not There soundtrack was full of them, but this scaled-down, gorgeous take on the Blonde on Blonde closer “Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands” by acclaimed French electro-rockers Phoenix might be even better.
While it’s been paired down to 5 minutes instead of 11, this live acoustic recording, made for the Germany’s Musikexpress magazine, perfectly captures the wistful melancholy of the original.
Listen to the cover here.
Phoenix’s latest album, 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, topped many critics Best Of lists.
Okay, I’m happy that young people are discovering the genius of Dylan. At the same time, Dylan wrote and performed the song, and these folks are reprising it in a way that honors but doesn’t approach the intensity of the original. Any third year painting student can paint a Picasso like painting; but that doesn’t make them Picasso. it just means that if the painter has a tattoo and all the right “look” etc. that someone might be inclined to have a look at Picasso. Dylan changed the last half of the twentieth century; you have to go to the source; you have to get over the narcissism built into pop culture to appreciate it. Dylan made it new, made it over; these guys make it palatable to people who would like to overlook Dylan, to a subculture dedicated to it, even.
“perfectly captures?’
Actually the first version captured wistfulness perfectly, so any deviation from such wouldn’t be perfect. But not bad as covers go…
i just threw up in my mouth a little.