It’s a pretty rad idea to cover an entire album, especially if you’re part of a band that already has an established audience so you don’t just need to get people to listen to covers. But to tour behind it? Even Ryan Adams didn’t do that after he covered Taylor Swift’s 1989. And to make it an album that’s half a century old? Well, that’s just ballsy as fuck.
Old Crow Medicine Show have done a phenomenal job at staying true to the brilliant (and lyrically dense) source material on what is arguably Bob Dylan’s greatest album. (I’d go with Blood on the Tracks, but I definitely respect you if Blonde is your personal fave.)
So, yeah, it’s all covers. But many of the songs sound original–while still being instantly recognizable. This isn’t Ryan Adams reworking a pop album through the eyes of a sad-leaning singer songwriter. Old Crow’s covers are a tribute, a celebration, and, I hope, a gift to a new generation who may not have heard the kind of complex beat poetry that Dylan wrote in his hay day.
