Bryan Ferry – “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”
From These Foolish Things (1973)
Original version from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I’d be remiss if I overlooked the many, many Dylan compositions covered by other artists, especially since many are better known than the originals. Dylan’s never managed a US number-one single on his own*, but The Byrds took “Mr. Tambourine Man” to the top of the charts in 1965. “All Along the Watchtower,” Jimi Hendrix’s biggest hit and lone top 10 single, has become indelibly associated with the guitarist. Dylan’s since modeled his live performances of the song on Hendrix’s electric version, rather than the folky original from John Wesley Harding (1968). Even Time Out of Mind’s “Make You Feel My Love” (1997), far from a “classic era” single, has become the go-to song for anyone aiming for a hit on the adult contemporary charts (most successfully, Billy Joel, Garth Brooks and Adele). “Blowin’ in the Wind,” “The Mighty Quinn,” “It Ain’t Me Babe,” “My Back Pages,” “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” “Too Much of Nothing” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” have all been US Top 40 hits for other artists, which is strange when you think about how few Beatles or Rolling Stones covers become commercial successes.** Then again, Dylan’s always had a bit of a sideline as a professional songwriter – the Basement Tapes originally circulated as demos for other artists to record.
But my favorite Dylan cover isn’t by any of the usual suspects: not The Byrds or The Band***, Joan Baez or Jimi Hendrix. Bryan Ferry’s persona could not be further from Dylan’s, apart from a shared taste for irony, so it follows that his take on “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” would diverge wildly from the bare folk of the original. A cover’s a difficult thing to get right: either it hews too close to original (which, what’s the point), or the artist self-consciously tries to reinvent the song (which, at its worst, leads to the dread “comedy” cover). But Ferry’s version sounds like a Roxy Music song, a natural fit for the singer, which in turn casts a new light on the lyrics. Dylan’s version is a streetcorner rant, an areligious call to repent or die, which he stubbornly refuses to vary over the seven minute running time lest you get miss one of the signs of the end times approaching. Ferry, in contrast, greets the apocalypse as the excuse for the greatest party ever. His version has synths, female backing singers, even sound effects (“I heard the sound of thunder that roared out a warning” is followed by a thunderclap; “the song of a poet who died in the gutter” gets a semi-sincere “aw”). It’s a production worthy of the world ending, and a sly rejoinder to Dylan’s street preacher: if the choice is between going straight or dying, let the hard rain fall.
*“Like a Rolling Stone” (1965) and “Rainy Day Women #12 &35” (1966) both stalled at #2, behind The Beatles’ “Help!” and The Mamas and the Papas’ “Monday Monday,” respectively. Dylan’s only managed two other top 10 hits: “Positively 4th Street” (1965) and “Lay Lady Lay” (1969), both of which peaked at #7.
**At least part of the reason has got to be Dylan’s voice, still a deal breaker for many sorry souls.
***Here I should point out that “This Wheel’s on Fire” and “Tears of Rage” aren’t technically covers. Rick Danko co-wrote the former and Richard Manuel the latter, so they’re as much The Band’s as they are Dylan’s. If I didn’t make that distinction, Ferry would not be at the top of this entry!
(This is Day 4 of a week-long series. Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3)
