Watching the Wheels - John Lennon
One Too Many Mornings - Bob Dylan
America - Simon & Garfunkel
Wot's... Uh the Deal? - Pink Floyd
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
Burn Your Life Down - Tegan and Sara
Comes a Time - Neil Young
Electric Avenue - Eddy Grant
Don't Dream It's Over - Crowded House

empress, have you heard the electrified 1966 live performance of that song on The Bootleg Series? Bob with The Hawks (The Band) sans Levon; and I really like Robbie Robertson's guitar solo on this.



Great choice! This was always my favorite track on Double Fantasy. Here's the "stripped" version (which I prefer slightly to the official release).

Always been my favorite version of the song, love the way he sings it. Bob alway Sounded best with The Band.

I was trying to think of a Neil young song for my list. Comes a time is a good candidate.

I agree -- The Band just seemed to bring out the best in him. I also love how this performance begins with the click-clack of heels on the floorboards.

They were just a hell of a band. I love the piano intro in his version of like a rolling stone with The Band.

Another song I'd put in my top 10 would probably be knockin on heavens door. It's kind of questionable, though. But when I think back to when I hadn't heard the song a million times, it definitely has to be on there. It was like magic the first several times I heard. So simple, the chord progression is as basic as it can get, but it's so moving. The lyrics, the feeling he puts into it, just the atmosphere of the song.

He's far from being a great singer on a technical level, but I don't measure vocal ability like that. To me, it's all about the soul and the feeling and the sincerity a singer puts into his performance, and in my opinion, there aren't many who do that as well as Dylan. Such conviction in his words and voice.

ah yeah i've heard it! i just listened to it again and it's great, really anything him and The Band did was great, but i don't think it really compares with the acoustic version... there's something gloomy/melancholic about the original version that gets to me. thanks for posting that again though!

the stripped version of it is obviously good too as it doesn't stray too far from the other version, but it's missing that little piano riff that i love! hahaha it's a perfect song though isn't it? i can't even point out exactly what's so great about it but it just is. :P

I really like the atmosphere and textures of the Pat Garrett soundtrack in general. My favorite albums for Dylan's vocals are the '67 basement tapes (for their playfulness), Nashville Skyline (the smooth country crooning), New Morning (singing with a cold! which somehow went well with his skewed piano playing), through '74's Planet Waves -- throughout that period he toned down the nasality and his vocals became more supple and emotive.

It's almost as though the studio version and the live 1966 version of "One Too Many Mornings" are two entirely different songs, so they are almost like apples and oranges, I think. I know what you mean about the stark, melancholic beauty of the original. The live version I've always found sexy for some reason!

I agree with you about missing that rolling piano riff on the official "Watching the Wheels". Now that you've mentioned it, I realize it's that riff which renders something special instrumentally -- it rolls circularly, like the "wheels" John is watching. What I prefer about the other version is the clarity of John's vocals, the fact that they are not double-tracked. One YouTube commenter stated the song would have been even better musically had McCartney and Starr played on it, and I agree. Paul's melodic bass stylings and Ringo's very musical drumming would have suited this track perfectly.

The pat garret album just has this epic feel about the whole thing. The instrumental version of "knockin on heavens door"with the flute is so awesome.

Two of those albums you mentioned, "new morning" and "planet waves" are two of my favorite albums. I agree with what you say about his voice through that time period. He definitely moved away from that signature "speaking" vocal style he used on albums like 'highway 61' and 'blonde on blonde'. He started showin that he could really sing on 'nashville skyline'. And then there's 'desire', which featured great vocal performances, especially In the song 'one more cup of coffee'.

Hmnz, lets see what I come up with, as there's many a tune out there close to my heart.

I'd explain why I picked each of these, but I'd need a thread's worth of description to do any of 'em justice. :/

1. Gino Vannelli - Brother To Brother
2. Hawkwind - Images
3. Pat Metheny Group - To The End Of The World
4. Queensryche - Eyes Of A Stranger
5. Comus - The Herald
6. Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage
7. Pet Shop Boys - Being Boring
8. Devin Townsend - Funeral
9. Frank Zappa - I'm The Slime
10. Wang Chung - To Live And Die In L.A.