This probably came to me via one of those "People who bought… also bought…" Amazon recommendations, when I was virtual window-shopping for other Dylan cover albums. It was the title and the cover that appealed to me. They're probably the best thing about the album.
It's not a complete waste of time: Gregory Isaacs' Mr Tambourine Man is, as you'd expect, very fine. The one discovery is Nasio, who takes Gotta Serve Somebody and makes it his own. Aside from that, the versions are far, far too respectful, conservative and safe. Gotta Serve Somebody is one of only three post-1966 songs of Bob's included, the other being the less-than-inspired choices of Lay, Lady, Lay and Knockin' on Heaven's Door. I can't help feeling that there would be much richer opportunities covering '79-'82 Bob, as well as stuff like Dignity, Things Have Changed or even something from Oh Mercy.
At the end of the CD there's a "reggae remix" of Bob's original I and I. Again it's hardly radical, just turning up Sly and Robbie's rhythm section and adding a bit of that delay echo (I don't know the proper term) to the snare. But, coming after the meek blandness of the rest of the album, you really notice how the singer takes the words and wrings every last bit out of them.
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