Tune du Jour: “I Want You” – Bob Dylan
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: The Hollies vs. Wolfgang Niedecken vs. Sophie B. Hawkins
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
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The Original
Bob Dylan:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
The Hollies vs. Wolfgang Niedecken vs. Sophie B. Hawkins
The Hollies:
Wolfgang Niedecken:
Sophie B. Hawkins:
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
I love the Hollies. But this is not one of their better efforts. Wolfgang Niedecken’s version is much better. But somehow, Dylan lyrics in German (or any foreign language) don’t have the same impact. “Ich will dich, klar” just doesn’t hit the way “I want you, so bad” does.
On the other hand the Sophie Hawkins rendition is from the 1992 Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert in Madison Square Garden. I absolutely love this version, and think it’s the best version of the song I’ve ever heard, even better than Dylan’s original. The tempo and delivery it the words perfectly. I love how Hawkins starts out soft and ends up bearing her soul. It was one of the highlights of the entire concert, maybe THE highlight. So, I never could figure out why it wasn’t included on the double-album from the concert. There must have been legal or personal reasons, because it was absolutely worthy of inclusion.
I really like what Niedecken did with this number but I LOVE what Sophie Hawkins did with it. She totally transforms it into her own creation, seemingly channeling Janis Joplin to turn it into a blues rocker. Outstanding! Sorry, Kerry, but I have The Hollies as a distant third.
Easy choice today. Weak effort by The Hollies. They were past their prime, Nash had left. They did a whole album of Dylan covers. I hope most were better than this. Wolfgang was consistent and smooth but he mispronounced schnuden gottun. I voted for Sophie or Stevie Midler. She made the song her own. Bruce Springsteen did a nice live version on piano in the mid seventies.
I wasn’t keen on any of today’s covers.
It’s interesting to hear well known songs done in a foreign language, so Wolfgang gets novelty points, but no vote.
I listened to the Sophie B. Hawkins version twice this morning before work, and didn’t care for it. I’m surprised you guys did. I guess I’ll have to listen again.
Once Graham Nash left The Hollies, they were never the same. Kinda like “Bewitched” after the original Darrin left.
Amazingly, they had some of their biggest hits post-Nash, including “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, and “The Air That I Breathe”. Of course I voted Hollies today.
I dunno… I listened to the Sophie B. Hawkins version all the way through, and it just didn’t grab me the way it has grabbed some of the other folks on here. The German version by Niedecken was interesting, but just a little too weird for me to hear it in German.
I like the Hollies. I wasn’t crazy about this version, though. But I think it was the best of the three. I agree about the Hollies not being the same after Nash left. Graham Nash lives in the East Village, not far from where I live, on the Lower East Side. I’ve heard that he likes to eat at the Ukrainian restaurant Velselka. I ate there the other day, but alas, he wasn’t there. How many tasty pierogis will I have to eat before he finally strolls in while I’m munching?
wasn’t crazy about any of these covers , but upon a second helping I found myself visualizing the French Canadian dwarf from Twin Peaks vibing nicely to Wolfgang’s version so that sealed the deal