Various Artists
I’m Not There Soundtrack
Columbia, 2007
***** out of 5
Imagine the trepidation with which I approached a two-disc soundtrack to Todd Hayne’s Dylan biopic I’m Not There in which only one of its 33 tracks is actually sung by the Zim himself. Tribute albums in thrall to an icon or a time, such as the recently released Across the Universe Soundtrack, often fare poorly because the songs are either slavish fanboy recreations or near-denigrations of the icon in question, with sloppy or otherwise poor performances.
Well, one glance at the track-listing should go a great way to assuaging any fears. Sonic Youth? My Morning Jacket’s Jim James teaming up with Calexico? Stephen Malkmus? Cat Power? Yo La Tengo? Sufjan Stevens, Jeff Tweedy? Yes please! The talent on display is easily the most prodigious collection I have ever seen on one album.
I’m Not There opens with Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder’s version of All Along the Watchtower backed by house-band The Million Dollar Bashers, and I was immediately impressed. The fact that it referenced Dylan’s original without showing influence of Jimi Hendrix’s far more famous cover was a feat I have actually never heard before. Then I saw who makes up The Million Dollar Bashers: Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, keyboardist John Medeski (from Medeski, Martin and Wood), the legendary Television axe-grinder Tom Verlaine, and Wilco’s guitarist Nels Cline. It’s a combination that calls to mind the Steve Stills / Mike Bloomfield / Al Kooper Supersessions albums from the sixties, but this combo leaves the ego at the door and does right by Dylan’s easy, rollicking melodies.
Oh by the way, just because I got excited by all those alt-rock icons doesn’t mean that Woodstock icon Richie Haven’s version of Tombstone Blues isn’t one of the best things on offer. His huge-hand, percussive open strum is immediately recognizable, as is his warm voice which presents Dylan’s obscure lyrics more as a series of small vignettes as opposed to Highway 61’s carnival of confrontation.
As well, Dylan’s Greenwich Village (The Gaslight, Gerde’s Folk City et al) contemporary Ramblin’ Jack Elliott puts in a fine performance picking on Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues. John Doe, late of Los Angeles punks X, brings Dylan’s gospel phase to great effect with Pressing On. Ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn, does One More Cup of Coffee as a Tex-Mex duet with Calexico. Unbelievably, this talent is then outshone by the Mexicali icons Los Lobos take on Billy.
Each artist puts his or her own stamp on Dylan’s words and music without either overpowering its individual identity or denying their own unique contribution. Hence, Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo's bash at
1966's unreleased track Can’t Leave Her Behind sounds as though it could belong on any of the Ess Dog’s own waxings, while maintaining Dylan’s charm.
The amazement in I’m Not There is that the entire album is like this. It’s an incredibly hard balance to strike, and yet each of these artists does it effortlessly and brilliantly. You can throw on any one of the 33 songs and be guaranteed a good, interesting interpretation of an artist with something to say and the means with which to say it.
Oh, and Dylan’s contribution is a Basement Tapes outtake; the legendary I’m Not There. While it does a great job of providing the title of the movie, sometimes mythical lost songs by legendary artists are more suited for remaining mythical lost songs. It’s an okay song, potential greatness hampered by understandably dated production. I think I liked it better in my mind.
Related links: Official I'm Not There site, Amazon.com
Review by Greg Hood-Morris
Agree? Disagree? Email Greg at criticizegreg@gmail.com
You nailed it at last, Hood-Morris. I hope my threats to egg your house if you gave it a bad review had nothing to do with it. ;p
Posted by: barbmia | January 03, 2008 at 10:59 PM