He Took Us By Storm
The December release of A Complete Unknown staring Timothée Chalamet as young Bob Dylan provides another opportunity to consider the importance of this enigmatic embodiment of American music. Dylan’s influence in the ‘60s crossed oceans and changed the prevailing currents of music. The interest surrounding A Complete Unknown is an excellent backdrop for the release of a quirky, enlightening tribute, He Took Us by Storm.
Most of the material on this compilation was recorded in the ‘60s—with a couple of ‘70s outliers—by performers who either lived in Dylan’s New York folk scene or were influenced by him from afar. The focus is on folk or folk rock. Some listeners will be surprised by the 1965 Lou Reed demo of “Man of Good Fortune.” Scarcely the same song by that title later released on his Berlin album, this one is just Reed on raspy vocals, harmonica and guitar, channeling the medieval British roots of the folk revival in his depiction of a woman’s social vulnerability.
The compilers of He Took Us by Storm deliberately included a couple of clunkers by deservedly forgotten singer-songwriters who copied the “Dylanesque” form with no understanding of his substance. However, most of the compilation is a pleasure to hear, including young David Crosby’s spine-tingling rendition of Hoyt Axton’s “Willie Jean” (later covered by the Blues Magoos) and the sizzling 1970 country rock “Next Year This Time” by one Bubba Fowler, better remembered as a Leonard Cohen sideman.
Get He Took Us by Storm at Amazon here.
Paid link
