It’s natural for people during the pandemic to return to what comforts them and for Chrissie Hynde that was the music of Bob Dylan. Hynde partnered with her Pretenders bandmate, James Walbourne to craft an intimate nine-song cover album titled Standing In The Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan.
The record started over text messages before Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer/mixer Tchad Blake came on board to finalize the tracks. The results are a stripped-down mix of guitar, organ/piano, chimes, and restrained vocals, exploring a range of Dylan songs with a pleasant focus on his early 80’s output as five tunes are originally from the Shot of Love or Infidels recording sessions
Opening up with “In The Summertime” the duo casually roll into a lesser-known gem with a light-hearted laugh while others like “Sweetheart Like You” and the buzzing “Blind Willie McTell” stick close to the originals, the latter being one of Dylan’s best ever. The biggest cover surprise from this era of originals is the elevation of “Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight” with yearning vocal work from Hynde, an excellent guitar solo, and a bright tempo.
The flowing “You’re A Big Girl Now” is a dynamite rendition focusing on acoustic strumming, flourishing piano fills, and Hynde’s gorgeous vocals while breezy flamenco flair is sprinkled into “Love Minus Zero/No Limit”. “Standing In The Doorway”, the title track of this collection, breaks out the pomp and circumstance giving Hynde and Walbourne room for the most dramatic interpretation.
For Hynde the music of Bob Dylan lifted her out of her pandemic morose last spring, this collection is a testament to its power, which is a fount for inspiration as well as boundlessly open for interpretation.
