Best Bob Dylan covers

When I was a kid, I walked downstairs one night to find half my family gathered around my dad, playing "I Shall Be Free" on the phonograph. It was the funniest song I'd ever heard. Over the following years, I pawed through my dad's records, looking for the funny Bob Dylan songs. It seemed I had to listen to 10 songs I didn't like to find one that I did, but I found the funny ones. I also found his sad songs, his deep songs and songs that didn't make any sense. I found songs that were all those things at once.

The same goes for Dylan covers — most don't seem very special, but if you listen to 10, one might change your life.

Hard Rain by Leon Russel

I heard this cover for the first time in my dad's record collection, then freaked out when I heard it on "Remember the Titans." Remember? It's the part where they're running through the woods of Gettysburg. You don't remember? Well, you've done it now. You've gone and forgotten the Titans.

If You Gotta Go, Go Now by Cowboy Junkies

Dylan was a great songwriter, no question. So great, in fact, that he didn't need to be an even half-decent vocalist. Some of the best Dylan covers just put a smoother voice in front of the mic.

Buckets of Rain by Fistful of Mercy

Without the growling guitars, this cover would be too sweet. A few guitars like these would go a long way in the Byrds' Dylan covers. If someone mixes them in, I'll add a Byrds track to the list.

I'll Be Your Baby Tonight by Norah Jones

See the notes for "If You Gotta Go, Go Now"

Oh, Sister by Andrew Bird

This song has a wacky intro. The first time I really listened to it, I accidentally left a recording of a crowded room playing on my computer. I think it made the track better. As it stands now, it's a great track. Bird brings his trademark string sections and ghost whistling but doesn't chuck a jazzy freak-out into the middle of the song. If I couldn't hear him breathing or double-check on Wikipedia, I'd swear he's playing a saw instead of whistling.

Goin to Acapulco by Jim James and Calexico

Just before the listless guitars and deep-throat-high-vibrato vocals* let you slide into boredom, who comes to the rescue? Trumpets! Martial drumrolls! A glockenspeil? Ah, whatever. Go and have some fun, Calexico.

With God on Our Side by K'naan

Out of all the songs attempting to update or remix Dylan's work, this is the most successful I've heard. The synthetic beats and the words are new, but the song stays true to Dylan's message. The piano echoing through the background and the swelling strings lift the track to a light, airy mood. Dylan's song looked backward — this one feels like it's looking forward.

All Along the Watchtower Like a Rolling Stone by Jimi Hendrix

Yes, "All Along the Watchtower" is probably the greatest Dylan cover of all time, but how many times have you heard it? This live cover is more fresh, more raw (Jimi says, "Yes, I know I missed a verse, don't worry,"at about 5:13).

Outlaw Blues by Queens of the Stone Age

What could possibly improve on Dylan's original, stomping electric-guitar rhythm? More guitars, maybe. Josh Homme is even a little easier to understand than Dylan on this one.

Desolation Row by My Chemical Romance

With this song, the playlist gets a little more weird. My Chemical Romance took an eight-minute dirge, added a couple of guitar solos and finished it in three minutes. No complaints here.

Leopard-Skin-Pillbox Hat by Beck

This cover ditches the swagger of the original but adds a guitar vamped up to monstrous proportions. It keeps the messy, irreverent blues feel, though.

Not Dark Yet by Silversun Pickups

If I ever go on a spacewalk, my suit's music player will have this song. It creates such a huge, lonely soundscape that I zone out when it's playing. The Silversun Pickups have a vocal style you almost can't help but hate on first listen. It sinks in after a couple of verses, though.

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol by Cage the Elephant

If I ever go to space, I'm leaving this song at home because it would scare the bejeebies out of me. Cage the Elephant instills a kind of shuddering energy to their songs, like the glow you feel once you're done crying. They're definitely one of the strangest and most wonderful bands to hit mainstream success. It's fascinating to hear them perform lyrics much deeper than their usual stuff — and their  unique style lends a spooky, Tim Buton-esque atmosphere to Dylan's tragic tale of a servant's murder at the hands of a plantation owner.

I Shall Be Released by Jack Johnson

Yes, it sounds like pretty much every other song Jack Johnson ever sang. It puts the playlist down on a nice note, though.

*I like My Morning Jacket, but I think it should be named My Christmas Sweater because Jim James has a thick, warm, thoroughly uncool voice.