Web Performance Matters

Great Performances

I was searching YouTube for a 1972 performance of Bob Dylan's It's All Over Now, Baby Blue by Grateful Dead. As often happens when browsing online, something else caught my attention. I ran across some recordings of Dylan's Desolation Row, the last track on his 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited.

According to Wikipedia, the recording captured on the album was just the second time Dylan had sung the song, which he claimed to have composed while riding in a NY taxi. Must have been an expensive cab ride!

Here's an artistic video slide-show, backed by almost all of the original recording -- it ran 11:21, but YouTube has a 10-minute limit. Enjoy! Or, as one commenter on the Wikipedia discussion page recommended: Just listen to the song, shut your eyes, and watch the pictures in your mind.

Cover versions

Many more recordings are available as YouTube videos. Here's a competent amateur cover, by Michael Walker, a college student from Liverpool, UK. This song is not as easy to perform as it may sound, and Michael does a solid job. He has a good voice, and hits some tricky notes on key.

I hope Michael finds ways to perform live. I'd bet that if he just memorized the words he would loosen up a lot, which would add some power to his delivery. We've all seen the difference between someone reading a speech, and someone speaking without notes. In another amateur video, JohnnyBazooka from Germany sounds a bit more confident, although his performance is not as faithful to the original melody.

Execution Row

While browsing on YouTube, I found this popular protest video by Jan Lewis. It employs Dylan's melody, but adapts his original words to address the burning issue of the moment:

I had no intent to write political commentary. But when I played this video, it hit me that no matter what subject I focus on today, I can't go for long without being reminded about the Iraq debacle. Have you noticed the same thing?

Reference material

There's no shortage of material on the Web about Dylan's songs, so these links are just starting points:

• The song lyrics for Desolation Row
• A February 2005 commentary on the lyrics by David Tuffley, Redland Bay, Australia.
• The Dylan Covers Database

Tags: music, Bob Dylan, YouTube, Desolation Row, Michael Walker, JohnnyBazooka, Execution Row, Jan Lewis, Web Performances