Frontier Archaeology, vol. 3: No Direction Home

[FP's weekly column on music before 1990 appears on Sundays]

On this day 45 years ago, the great Robert Allen Zimmeran, a.k.a. Bob Dylan, played the first of two legendary shows at London's Royal Albert Hall.  In the audience that night were numerous mid-60s cultural luminaries, including the poet Allen Ginsberg and all four members of The Beatles (the first time the legendary Liverpudlians had seen BD live).  This was, of course, a transitional period for Dylan; while the set-list for the concert included such folk standards as "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and "Mr. Tambourine Man," Dylan was two months away from unleashing "Like a Rolling Stone" on the world and forever changing popular music.   Since this time, few figures have had the singular influence of Dylan, an influence that continues into the present.  By way of proof, we provide you with a few covers of Dylan songs by modern indie figures, as well as one cover more properly considered archaeological:

Andrew Bird - Oh, Sister (Bob Dylan Cover)


Yo La Tengo - I Threw It All Away (Bob Dylan Cover)


Antony and the Johnsons - Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan Cover)


Jimi Hendrix - Like a Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan Cover)

Frontier Archaeology, vol. 3: No Direction Home