The highly versatile vocalist Joan Osborne, who excels as both a songwriter and song interpreter, returns with the live album, Dylanology, eight reimagined, well-known Bob Dylan songs. Her road band and her arrangements add plenty of fire to most of these tunes, and she invited guests Jackie Greene, Robert Randolph, and Amy Helm for additional spice. All of this works pretty well and sets the stage for yet another upcoming tour, also named Dylanology.
If it weren’t for the tour, though, one has to question the necessity of this album. It follows Osborne’s 2017 studio effort, Songs of Bob Dylan, yet only includes two songs that were not on that record. Given Dylan’s vast catalog and the fact that Osborne has been covering Dylan for a decade or more, one would have hoped for more differentiation between the two. In fact, the non-repeaters, “Ballad of Hollis Brown” and “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” are arguably two of the best on this live date.
Osborne fronts a band of twin guitarists Jack Petruzzelli and Andrew Carillo, keyboardist Keith Cotton, bassist Richard Hammond, and drummer Aaron Comess. Greene sings on “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You’ and plays organ on “Ballad of Hollis Brown,” which also features Randolph’s one-of-a-kind lap steel. Amy Helm joins Osborne to harmonize on “Buckets of Rain sweetly.”
The album begins with “Spanish Harlem Incident,” the most bland of any of the eight, and an odd choice as an opener, given that “Highway 61” is a blistering take, with Osborne’s welcome to the evening following the band’s incendiary rendering. “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” offers a clever arrangement that includes a hummable wordless chorus as well as nice interplay between Greene’s organ and Cotton’s piano. Yet I find that both here and in some portions of the following “Ballad Of Hollis Brown,” Osborne’s voice is set too far back in the mix, as she’s fighting to be heard over loud instrumentation. That said, as mentioned, the latter is a highlight due to Randolph’s roof-raising solo that comes at the end.
“Masters Of War” is a song that seems to pop up often in social media these days, with this new administration in power. Osborne’s delivery is straightforward and lacking the snarling defiance that the song calls for. That’s true on some other tracks as well, but we need not dwell on it. On the other hand, she and her band (with Greene on organ) perfectly nail the innocent joy of first-time love in “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You.” The closer, “High Water (For Charley Patton” is by far the most recent of the fare, from Dylan’s 2001 Love and Theft. The band takes this up-tempo into blues-rock territory versus Dylan’s country blues delivery, yet Osborne and her band find a strong, driving groove on this one, a judicious choice for the last track.
Osborne is a joy to witness live. You may not even notice the minor missteps that these ears detect in the audio itself. Don’t let those deter you from attending her show, especially since special guests Nicki Bluhm, Cindy Cashdollar, Gail Ann Dorsey, and Anders Osborne will be joining her on several dates.
One Response
Isn’t it ironic? You’re churning out hack lifestyle pieces about Bob Dylan for a quick buck, while we’re living through the kind of seismic moment only Dylan himself could ever truly capture — something closer to The Times They Are A-Changin’ than anything your editor could dream up. Maybe take a step back and ask yourself which side of history you’re writing for.