Definitely Dylan Podcast Trailer

Definitely Dylan is now also a podcast!

Definitely Dylan Live - 15 March 2020

This week we’re bringing you Definitely Dylan’s belated International Women’s Day episode (after all, every day is Women’s Day)!

On this occasion we’re dedicating the hour to the many women that have sung Bob Dylan’s songs over the years by playing a small selection of songs from the Spotify playlist I’ve put together! Join us in celebrating these artists and the contributions they have made to our understanding of Dylan’s work, by reframing the songs and often showing us a different and new dimension to the song’s meaning.

If you’re interested in checking out the IWD episodes from previous years, here’s the “Women & Dylan” episode from 2018, where I make a case for importance of female perspectives in the discussion of Dylan’s songs, especially in their treatment of women. And here’s the one from last year, with requests from female Dylan fans.

If you’d like to check out the episode in which I analyse the song She Belongs To Me, you can listen to that here.

One version that we didn’t have time for and that I couldn’t include in the playlist because it’s not on Spotify, is Ren Harvieu’s gorgeous Just Like A Woman, which she recorded for Definitely Dylan the other week. If you haven’t heard that yet, I urge you to check it out!

Below you can find the Spotify playlist that I’ve put together of some fantastic Dylan covers sung by women. I hope you’ll enjoy it and maybe discover some new favourites. I’d love to know your thoughts!

Let me know what your favourite version of a Dylan song interpreted by a female artist is by leaving a comment below - I’m always up for discovering more!

Correction: the Jackie DeShannon version of Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right) that we played in this episode id not the one that appeared on her 1965 album, but rather one that she recorded in 1973 (this version remained unrelased until 2015, when it appeared on the compilation All the Love: The Lost Atlantic Recordings). The actual 1965 version has a much more mid-60s folk pop accompaniment, and you can listen to it here.

Playlist:

1. Like A Rolling Stone - Maxine Weldon

2. Clothes Line Saga - Suzzy & Maggie Roche

3. Ain’t Talkin’ - Bettye LaVette

4. Covenant Woman - Hannah Cohen

5. Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right) - Jackie DeShannon

6. She Belongs To Me - Ane Brun

7. Gotta Serve Somebody Etta James

Definitely Dylan Live - 1 March 2020

On this week’s Definitely Dylan Live, we are discussing some very fine live performances from different points of Bob Dylan’s career, ranging from the confident folk troubadour to the Never Ending Tour.

I’d love to know - when did you last listen to Live at Budokan? Do you agree with us that it’s better or at least more interesting than people give it credit for? And what do you think of the year 1994 in terms of Dylan’s live performances? If you have some shows in mind that we should check out, please leave us a comment.

Lastly, I mentioned that I uploaded Ren Harvieu’s performance of Just Like A Woman to youtube, so if you’d like to listen to that again, you can do that here, while Romeo’s Dylan anecdote can be found here. I’ll be uploading Romeo’s video of Most Of The Time as well, I just haven’t finished it yet.

Playlist:

1. Wade In The Water (Minnesota Hotel Tape)

2. She Belongs to Me (Live at the Savoy Hotel, London, UK, 8 May, 1965)

3. To Ramona (Live at the Isle of Wight Festival, 31 August, 1969)

4. Oh Sister (Live at Budokan)

5. Shelter From The Storm (Live at the Roseland Ballroom, NYC, Oct 19, 1994)

6. Cocaine Blues (Live, August 24, 1997, Vienna, VA)

Definitely Dylan Live - 16 February 2020

This week on Definitely Dylan Live, Laura and Robert are joined in the studio by two very special guests, Salford-born singer and songwriter Ren Harvieu, and Romeo Stodart of The Magic Numbers. The two tell us what got them into Bob Dylan, how he has influenced their music, and recount one of the best Bob Dylan anecdotes you’ve never heard. They also grace us with breathtaking cover versions of two Dylan songs, and frankly, those are perhaps our favourite Definitely Dylan moments ever, so we’re so so pleased that we get to share this with you!

You can order Ren Harvieu’s upcoming album Revel In The Drama here, and you should also check out the singles Curves and Swerves, Yes Please, and Teenage Mascara! Find out more info and tickets to Ren’s upcoming tour dates, including at London’s Moth Club, here.

If you’d like to catch Romeo Stodart on his solo dates (with support from Definitely Dylan’s very own Robert Chaney and Felix Holt), he’s playing the following concerts:

16.02. - Sheffield, The Greystones
17.02. - York, The Basement
18.02. - Guildford, The Boileroom
11.03. - Worthing, The Factory Live
14.03. - Durham, Old Cinema Launderette
15.03. - Liverpool, Philharmonic Music Room
17.03. - Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms
18.03. - Birmingham, Hare & Hounds
19.03. - Edinburgh, The Old Dr Bells Baths

Ren and Romeo also have their own radio show on Boogaloo radio. Check out the R+R show on mixcloud.

Playlist:

1. What’ll I Do

2. Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

3. Just Like A Woman - Ren Harvieu with Romeo Stodart (live in the studio)

4. What Can I Do For You (Live April, 1980, Massey Hall, Toronto)

5. Most Of The Time - Romeo Stodart (live in the studio)

6. Rock Salt & Nails - Bob Dylan and the Band

One last note: this is a slightly longer version of this episode, a version that’s been trimmed down to one hour is airing on Resonance FM, and can be found on the Resonance mixcloud.

Definitely Dylan Live - 9 February 2020

This week on Definitely Dylan Live, Laura and Robert listen to and discuss another handpicked selection of classic Dylan performances. We talk Dylan’s early mastery of the blues and John Lee Hooker, Buddy Cage’s hilarious-yet-tense experience doing pedal steel overdubs on Blood On The Tracks (RIP Buddy), and how quickly things were changing in the late 70s, after the second leg of the Rolling Thunder tour, a period which brought us Budokan, Street Legal, and the start of Dylan’s gospel period.

Please let us know in the comments if you’d be interested in attending a Definitely Dylan event in London, featuring some special musical guests! You might also want to sign up for the newsletter to make sure you’re in the loop with further details!

Playlist:

1. In My Time Of Dyin’

2. I Want You - Live at Budokan

3. Meet Me In The Morning

4. Nettie Moore

5. Tears Of Rage (Take 3)