In 1973, Bryan Ferry recorded an outrageously up-tempo version of Bob Dylan’s 1963 folk epic “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” Dylan’s version warned of impending apocalypse, and Ferry danced right over it, locating absurdist comedy in the song’s lyrics while reinforcing the song’s underlying scariness. Since then, Ferry has recorded other Dylan covers, but with somewhat less success—mainly because he eschewed the comedy. Dylan covers can be a bitch that way; artists tend to revere the songs rather than simply play with them.
Such reverence might explain why Dylanesque, an entire set of Bob classics, is so flat-sounding. The album starts off promisingly enough, with Ferry shivering uncontrollably through “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” and “Simple Twist of Fate,” while his band belts out a tight new-wave groove. From there, however, it’s curiously downhill. Ferry, in undeniably strong vocal form, unfortunately honors the material with a tone that borders on piousness.
This problem is compounded by the choice of material itself. Don’t get me wrong, I yield to no one in my love for the Dylan canon, but is there any justification for new versions of “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” “All Along the Watchtower,” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”? Can’t we just leave these warhorses alone already?