Tune du Jour: “Old Man” – Neil Young
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Bob Dylan vs. Beck vs. Michael Stipe
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
CoverMeImpressed.blog CoverMeImpressed.blog CoverMeImpressed.blog
Simply timeless …
The Original
Neil Young:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Almost sacrilege to cover this song. But a few luminaries have taken it on …
Bob Dylan vs. Beck vs. Michael Stipe
Bob Dylan:
Beck:
Michael Stipe:
Michael Stipe opening for Patti Smith … nice lineup …
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 
The Dylan clip suffered from poor sound quality. And while we’re at it, live Dylan in the twenty-first century is like a box of chocolates. I’ve seen him live several times in the past twenty-five years, and it’s still a thrill to see him standing in front of me performing. But I’ve often had to admit to myself, if I didn’t know who he is, and just wandered in off the street, I’d be scratching my head instead of applauding.
The Beck cover was very similar to the original, but I voted Beck nonetheless.
I was never into R.E.M. That admission might ruffle some feathers on this site. In the first incarnation of CMI, they were very frequent guests. It’s not that I thought they were bad, maybe it was partly because I felt they were overexposed in the eighties between radio, music videos and such. I’ll admit I was intrigued by his segue into “Venus In Furs” toward the end of the piece.
Wow, what a lineup for these cover versions.
The Dylan version… what can I say. Most of the time, when Dylan performs these days, I’m more in awe of the man than the music. This version was enjoyable, but didn’t knock my socks off. The really low fidelity didn’t help.
Ten years ago, I was at the Beacon Theater to see Patti Smith perform Horses in its entirety, for the 40thanniversary. I got there early, and with the theater about a third full, the lights unexpectedly went down, and out comes Michael Stipe, with a few supporting musicians. He performed a short solo set of about seven songs, and then was gone. Over the next 45 minutes, the theater filled up, with the majority of those folks having no idea what they missed. Seeing him in the video here, it was just like that night at the Beacon. I love REM, and love Stipe’s voice, and tossing in a bit of Venus in Furs was classic Stipe; they’ve covered their fair share of Velvets songs.
But I gave this one to Beck. I’ve always liked the guy; I have about 12 of his albums. I like his voice. It’s simple but effective. His version is how I always think of the song – a guy and his acoustic guitar, getting the point across. The stark black and white video is terrific. Beck it is.
The most lasting impression I got from watching the Dylan clip was that I forgave myself for all the times at one of his shows when he spoke to the audience and I understood little to none of what he said. Beck did a terrific copy, changing nothing but very true to the original and demonstrating his versatility but I opted for Michael Stipe’s performance. His attention to detail, his movements and the inspired idea to segue into the chorus of Venus In Furs.
I loved Becks guitar work, and Stripes cover was really interesting and well executed… and what was that song that he followed it up with? Really dug it, colors made of tears?? first time hearing it, outstanding
had to go with Dylan though, he’s got that old man gravitas that’s hard to beat!
So fitting of Bob to pay homage to Neil picking the perfect song to cover.
I thought that Beck did an outstanding job with his rendition.
Stipe’s version suffers from poor sound quality. Would have loved to hear him do a studio version. Yet, still very good.
Beck probably deserves the vote but had to go with Bob for sentimental reasons. Those guys go back so far and they both obviously have such enormous respect for each other.