Tambourine Man: Dylan vs. Byrds- Who does it better?

[SPKrazy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tWAMOnmAv8
Byrds



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49A1F3Vr39w
Bob Dylan


It's Dylan's song, it was made popular by the Byrds on the top 100 billboard charts.

Who does it better?

:shrug:

[jpgray]

1. I'm a sucker for jangly twelve string Rickenbackers

Thus I like both that cover and "My Back Pages," despite the over-harmonized chorus. Roger McGuinn has a good Dylanish voice, as opposed to Mouse & the Traps.

[SPKrazy]

4. Whoa! That's A Mouthful!

:thumbsup: :hi:

[Crabby Appleton]

7. I love the Ric sound

I have a FireGlo 360/12.

[Lyric]

2. The Byrds. Goodness knows I love Dylan, but

the man just can't sing. He's like Leonard Cohen and Jim Steinman--all the songwriting and composing talent in the world, but lacking the voice to sing his compositions himself.

[SPKrazy]

3. ROFL!

he is so talented, but his voice is a little different

[speedoo]

24. It's easy to criticize his singing.

Especially now that his voice is only a shadow of what it once was. (shit happens to one's voice when one abuses it by singing nearly constantly for 50+ years, ya know?)

Anyway, he's far more than a singer. He used to call himself an artist, maybe still does, but that's a gross understatement, IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcAsg4PQX6U

So, you want to say he can't sing? Okay, but is there anybody who's done as much as what he has done in the last hundred, maybe two hundred years?

[sundog]

5. the byrds

just a personal preference

[jpgray]

6. You probably like the beach boys too

:eyes:

[SPKrazy]

12. Hey Hey

no fighting

:spank:

just a poll

[jpgray]

13. Ours is a lovers' quarrel--no worries

:D

[SPKrazy]

16. Okay

no worries

:shrug:

[evlbstrd]

8. Dylan.

I heard his first. I like the Byrds, but there's something about Dylan singing his own songs that works for me. The phrasing on "Tambourine Man" is so unique. Not the pop sound the Byrds gave it.

[graywarrior]

9. Dylan. He wrote it. No contest.

[SPKrazy]

15. But His Voice

wahhh wahhh wahh

I don't know, I really like them both

[graywarrior]

18. If you listen to his early stuff, his voice is not an issue.

If you really listen to the lyrics, his voice is not an issue.

[SPKrazy]

19. Yeah, okay

I do love Dylan

I also like the byrds

and on that song, I'm iffy,

but Dylan is cool, and he is my myspace buddy now, so...

:dilemma:

[graywarrior]

20. There. So let let him down. He's sensitive.

[SPKrazy]

21. Okay Bob, I Lurve you

[graywarrior]

22. He's still upset.

[SPKrazy]

23. Well I'm Not going down on him!

so he'll have to get over it

[martymar64]

10. William Shatner

It rocks

[pokerfan]

36. Once the Shat sings a song, it beomes his own

[speedoo]

11. BOTH!!! Here's the winner, right here.

Magical stuff, right here, just posted on youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUjWWHHkbg0

Gray, can you imagine being there? I would have freaked out completely.

Supposedly, this is from a 1989 or 1990 Byrds Reunion Concert that was also a Roy Orbison tribute.

Seems like everyday, I find something amazing on youtube.

[SPKrazy]

14. Pretty Cool!

that rocks

[swag]

17. It's one of Dylan's worst songs, but he still beats the Byrds.

Lordy, the Byrds wank.

Thanks for asking.

[argyl]

25. IIRC, Noel Harrison,son of Rex, covered it not too long after the

Byrd's version hit big. That bit of trivia tossed out, I'll go with the Byrd's version. The twelve string Rickenbacker seals the deal for me also.

[fishwax]

26. Moby Dick: Who did it better--Melville, or Reader's Digest?

I voted for Dylan. (I think the Byrd's version is also great, actually, but they leave out some great verses.)

[struggle4progress]

27. Almost anybody can sing better than Dylan, so I vote for the Byrds.

Though generally if I'm votin for who does Dylan songs well, I'd vote for Baez.

[speedoo]

28. Actually, Joan Baez wouldn't even attempt to do most Dylan songs.

Examples: Maggie's Farm, Highway 61, Isis, Subterranean Homesick Blues, etc.

Not her style at all. She has a beautiful voice, but she's really limited to ballads. She can't do blues or rock at all.

[struggle4progress]

29. I'll admit I can't imagine anybody but Dylan doing a really great job with

some of his pieces (Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues comes to mind, say). But much as I personally like pieces such as Maggie's Farm or Highway 61, I have doubts about their endurance.

Most (I do not say all) of Dylan's long-term impact will be in songs of his that someoner else performed better than he did. There are a number of such songs, which possess a haunting beauty when handled by someone with superior performance skills. I say this as someone who really enjoys Dylan's work and idiosyncratic vocal style.

[speedoo]

30. I disagree.

I believe strongly that his long term impact will come from his own performance of his songs. Even for "soft" songs like "Girl From The North Country" and "Visions of Johanna", nobody can do them as well as Dylan did. (I say "did" because I don't think he has the voice anymore to do them as well today.)

I think covers of his songs, by The Byrds or anybody else are very rarely played even today. Whenever I hear a Dylan song on the radio, 99% of the time, he's performing it.

And getting back to your initial statement that anyone can sing better than he can, I would challenge you to name someone who can actually sing those two songs ("Girl From The North Country" and "Visions of Johanna") better than he did. Actually, I can't even think of any covers. And both are great songs, IMO.... maybe singers are smart enough to realize nobody else can come close to the way he did them.

As for the endurance of Maggie's Farm and Highway 61, I won't speculate as far as what will happen after he stops touring. But I will point out that he does Highway 61 at every concert these days. Maggie's Farm, not as often. So they have endurance for him, and for his fans.

[struggle4progress]

31. Why, how dare you disagree with me! And after I speak so convincingly!

[speedoo]

33. Yeah, Silly me.

I should just accept that he can't sing. Must be some other reason he does about 150 sold out concerts every year and he's still making platinum albums.

[struggle4progress]

34. I can't figure out why I listen to him. But I do. I think he's brilliant.

[speedoo]

35. I'm currently trying to get a better handle on my Dylan obsession.

Part of it is that he's a contemporary, age-wise. The fact that we both survived the 60's as young adults means we think alike on many, many issues. And having been aware of him from the beginning and an early fan means I lived through all his changes, so it's more important to me than to most to try to understand his changes and his songs.

And of course his ability to not only survive, but to remain at the top for nearly 50 years, almost continuously, means I have to pay attention.

[pokerfan]

39. Subterranean Homesick Blues is great

http://www.youtube.com/v/9xc2Z9M81Ww

[KitchenWitch]

32. Dylan n/t

[last_texas_dem]

37. The Byrds

I love the guitar work, the harmonies, the arrangement in general; I think it just improved upon the Dylan original all around. Byrds versions of Dylan songs tend to improve upon the originals most of the time IMHO. That said, the slow, rambling style of Dylan's original may actually suit the subject of the song more (the folk-pop singer Melanie did a decent cover with the Dylan-style arrangement that I recall) but I love the Byrds and I think their arrangement really reinvented the song.

[Pretty Go Pale]

38. I always thought . . .

. . . Davey Jones was a keen Tambourine Man, Monkee, something.