The latest project by The Charlie Daniels Band, titled Off The Grid ~ Doin’ It Dylan, puts a Southern Rock/Country twist to an eclectic collection of Bob Dylan-penned tracks that go as far back as 50 years ago. It may seem like an odd choice for the fiddle-playing icon, but more than 40 years ago, Charlie Daniels played electric base for Dylan on three album recordings!
The album kicks off with “Tangled Up in Blue,” a song that Dylan took to #31 on the charts in 1975 and was later named the 68th greatest song of all time by Rolling Stones Magazine. You can tell that this fiddle and piano-filled song had to have been an inspiration to Hootie and the Blowfish for their song “Only Wanna Be With You.” So much so that Dylan sued them over some of the lyrics in 1995!
As you’ll see below, a common theme in these songs is that many of them have been recorded by several artists over the years, which speaks largely of the magnificent song-writing talent Bob Dylan possesses. While it may have been done before, the unique vocals and instrumentation provided by The Charlie Daniels Band makes this a unique collection of recordings.
“Times They Are a Changin'” was an uncharted single for Dylan in 1965 that has been covered by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Phil Collins, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel and more. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” was written in 1967 but never released as a single. It was recorded by Burl Ives, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Norah Jones, Robert Palmer and many more over the years.
“Gotta Serve Somebody” was taken to #24 on the charts in 1979 by Dylan, and has a funky, bluesy gospel sound to it. This is followed up by “I Shall Be Released,” a gospel song that has been recorded by wide variety of artist from Bette Midler and Melissa Etheridge to Sting and Maroon 5! I really dig this song, as it features a harmonica and great vocals by Daniels.
“Country Pie” is a song off Dylan’s 1969 Nashville Skyline album, a project that saw Dylan diving into the country genre. Daniels puts a catchy Southern Rock edge to this fun, upbeat song.
Next up on the album is “Mr. Tambourine Man,” a tune made into a smash hit by The Byrds in 1965 and one of the most recognizable songs in American music history. Daniels’ version puts a bit of a deliberate bluegrass spin to it as he makes it his own by not sounding like the original recording.
The album is rounded out with a rising rendition of a folk song titled “Hard Rain’s A Gonna Fall;” “Just Like a Woman,” a 1966 #33 hit by Dylan that was also covered by The Byrds, Rod Stewart, Counting Crows, and more; and “Quinn the Eskimo (The Might Quinn),” a fiddle-rich upbeat ditty that ends the album with a bang.
Despite the album being full of covers, many of which were big hits at one point in time, I was only familiar with one of these songs (hey, they were all before my time in non-country genres!). That being said, this was a thoroughly enjoyable album to listen to, and it’s great to see Charlie Daniels still rockin’ at the age of 77! I would give it a score of 8 out of 10 and a must buy if you’re a fan of Bob Dylan, Charlie Daniels, Southern Rock, Gospel, or new music in general.