Nobody Sings Dylan Like The Boss

"Hey, I hear you're the new me."

Bob Dylan upon being introduced to Bruce Springsteen.

Much ink has been spilled over Bruce Springsteen's debt to Bob Dylan, which is sizable, but over-stated. Springsteen seems to want to be a struttin', singin' textbook of rock n' roll with as big sections on Elvis, Sam Cooke or Van Morrison as on Dylan. However, like Dylan, Springsteen changes a lot between albums, so much so that when people say "This sounds like Springsteen" you almost want to say "Which one?".

Whatever their similarities and differences, Springsteen has always been vocal about his debt to Dylan, covering songs by his Bobness numerous times throughout his nigh-on forty year career. The covers presented here, all taken from non-commercial sources*, are simply meant to show the power of the Dylan-Springsteen dynamism. This collection's title (I personally avoid use of the term "The Boss" for reasons of hokiness) comes from the from the bootleg pictured above but the final product has been significantly altered and expanded by the obsessive labour of yours truly.

* If my research has failed to uncover an official release herein, I would ask the vigilant Springteen-ians out there to please let me know about that or any other errors in this post.

(hyperlinks are to YouTube versions)

1. Chimes of Freedom (a "live" version was released as a single in 1988, but this one's from '78.)
2. Blowin' in the Wind (Solo acoustic)
3. I Want You (Very find-sounding seventies version from an FM Broadcast)
4. A Satisfied Mind (An old country standard that made it onto the original version of this boot likely due to Dylan's partial cover of it on Saved)
5. Highway 61 (Acoustic version with Jackson Browne and Bonnie Raitt)
6. It's All Over Now Baby Blue (A version by The Bruce Springsteen Band from the very early seventies)
7. One of Must Know (A sound-check version that made it onto the original bootleg despite its limitations)
8. Like A Rolling Stone (not the Hall of Fame version from '88 on which Springsteen is barely audible but a more recent band version)
9. The Times They-Are-A-Changin' (A solo acoustic tribute from 1997.)
10. Knockin on Heaven's Door (1995 duet with Wolfganf Niedecken)
11. All Along the Watchtower (full-band version with Bob himself as a guest.)
12. Forever Young (Duet with Dylan)
13. Springsteen's Hall of Fame induction speech for Bob Dylan

Suggestions, corrections and clarification by those in the know will be added if a "re-issue" is warranted.

(Photo property of Kevin Mazur)

No One Sings Dylan Like The Boss Link is in the comments

Speaking of comments, support your local blogger and tell us what you think of the connection between Dylan and Springsteen - this one is at risk of getting pulled for indifference.

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Happy 4th of July, to all readers, American or otherwise.

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