The Ten Best Bob Dylan Cover Songs

Everyone knows who Bob Dylan is. Whether you love his work or hate it (and who could really hate anything about him but his voice?) you can't ignore him. The man has been covered by bands since his first recording, and here are af ew that rise to the top of the pile:

1. "Just Like a Woman" (Richie Havens, Mixed Bag, 1967). I first heard this song on a record player in my house, about twelve years ago. I'd just learned to use a turntable and was averaging about two hours a day there, in the rec room in our basement, much of it devouring my dad's collection of Richie Havens' albums. His version of this song-a stripped-down, raspy-mellow croon that feels more like a lullaby than a lament-has stuck with me since the first time I heard it. In fact, when I heard Dylan's original (on Blonde on Blonde released the year before,) I was struck by just how differently the Master's work could change in another folksy timbre.

2. "All Along the Watchtower" (Jimi Hendrix, Electric Ladyland, 1968) No list of Dylan covers would be complete without including this song. In fact, it was after having Hendrix' recent cover of "Watchtower" mentioned ina press interview with Bob that he said wryly, "Oh, I write great songs for Jimi to play!" I'd even considered Hendrix's cover of "Like A Rolling Stone" for this list, but the immediacy behind this recording of "Watchtower" has been aped every other time it's been covered. Lenny Kravitz has done it live a number of times. In each, I can't help but hear a purist grumble in the back "That ain't bad; but it ain't Jimi!"

3. "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (Guns N' Roses, Use Your Illusion II, 1991) I struggled over this choice. The truth is that I knew that someone's version had to be included. I listened to both G n' R's version of the song and Clapton's several times, and had to go with G n' R. In the end, Axel's screeching won over Clapton's crooning and, besides, it reminded me of the way Dylan would have sung it if he'd had the pipes to begin with.

4. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Them, feat. Van Morrison, ?) Llike most people who know no better, I first heard this cover during the credits of a movie-specifically, Julian Schnabel's Basquiat, an homage biopic for the late graffitti artist. I'd heard the original version of "It's All Over Now" before, along with several live recordings by Joan Baez. But Baez's versions lilt and wave the song into a kind of impassioned lullaby. Van Morrison seems to understand lines like "Leave Your stepping Stones behind, something calls for you/Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you" with an urgency that the operatic Baez never seemed to catch. Joan reminds us of all the great songs we've heard. Morrison warns us of war.

5. "Maggie's Farm" (Rage Against the Machine, Renegade, 2000) Again, I had to balance my choices on this song. On the one hand, Richie Havens' version, recorded in 1968 and often done live to riveting effect, takes the song to a rich, sonorous lament. But Rage-with Zack De La Rocha's voice popping through the studio mikes and Tim Cummerford's thumping out one of the most memorable baselines of the decade-showed a whole new generation that the '63 protest song still held sway for the new Millenium.

6. "Tangled Up in Blue" (Indigo Girls, 1200 Curfews, 1995). I was initially hesitant to listen to this cover, originally released as the first track on Bob's near-perfect Blood on the Tracks. Honestly, I didn't think a girl group could do it justice: after all, everyone knows that the song was originally about his divorce, right? How could they change the song like that? No!

Luckily, I was wrong. It's a brilliant recording - as personal, bluesy, and gutsy as any I could've imagined.

7. "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (Norah Jones, unreleased in record form). I always heard a young man begging for sex in Dylan's version. It was if Bob had been up late one night with a woman, he'd run out of ideas after all of the booze and the weed had run out and he'd simply gotten on his knees and pleaded with her to stay. I got the answer in her version of the song. Norah's answer to Dylan: "Come on! I've been waiting for you to shut up and kiss me already!"

8. "Shelter from the Storm" (Cassandra Wilson, Belly of the Sun, 2002) I first heard this version of the song (again, from Blood on the Tracks,) in the spring of 2002. I'd never heard of Cassandra Wilson then; it took me less than a year, after hearing this song, to find her work. "Shelter" is one of those songs that I'd always hoped would be revisitred, but seems not to have been too extensively.

9. "Blowin' in the Wind" (Peter, Paul, and Mary, In the Wind, 1963). Actually, I think this is one of the cheapest, cheesiest, most saccharine versions of the song ever performed. It's pretty, but shallow. Easily hummable, but ultimately just another 60's studio trying to make money off of one genius by sending it to audiences to whom they can pander. But seeing that Peter, Paul, and Mary's version of "Blowin' in the Wind" made it possible for all of these other gems, I had to add it in here.

10. "One More Cup of Coffee" (White Stripes, The White Stripes, 1999). This song isn't done often, and I don't know why. Maybe that's the ultimate reason for a cover of this magnitude on the White Stripes' debut CD? In any case, listening to these two handle this song-originally released on 1976's Desire LP-is a must-listen for anyone with a taste for that little man they used to call Robert Zimmerman.

Happy listening.