To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Amnesty International released an album of Bob Dylan covers entitled Chimes of Freedom. The album is a massive collection of Dylan’s catalogue performed by over 80 artists with acts that range from folk legend Pete Seeger to teen pop idol Miley Cyrus.
The LA Times referred to it as an album with a “2012 mind-set,” something meant to be downloaded and listened to in pieces rather than consumed as full album. Jeff Ayeroff, who lead the project, told The LA Times that rather than looking at the album as a whole, listeners may find “…several records inside this album: There’s a country record, there’s an all female record of women interpreting Bob Dylan songs, which is probably the most significant part of the album for me. It shows that Bob speaks with many voices for many people.”
Below: Miley Cyrus featuring Johnzo West – ‘You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go’
Reviews of the album have also noted the sprawling feeling of the album. We’ve pulled together a number of these reviews to share:
“In the end, Chimes of Freedom is like one of those carnival songs Dylan used to knock off in a single take of amphetamine-fueled laughter and tears: You’ll lose track of the winners and losers as the flood rolls on, and the next time you take the trip, you’ll notice the scenery has completely changed.”
NPR:
“The Dylan that came to my mind when I heard Chimes of Freedom is the one who writes throwaways. The anthology took me there, because its sheer size has insured the inclusion of all kinds of Dylan songs, from game-changers to deep album cuts. And maybe because they’ve been interpreted less frequently, the “lesser” compositions stand out.”
“…it’s a sprawling vista of inspiration and humanity.”
“This collection is going to delight some, anger others, leave some scratching their heads and others in musical heaven… Purists may hate it, newcomers to Dylan will hear some pretty good songs.”
“Cut half the roster on Chimes and you’ve got an amazing lineup of Dylan’s peers and admirers – with masterful songwriters like Jackson Browne, Sting, Elvis Costello, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams, and old vets like Pete Seeger, Kris Kristofferson and Joan Baez tipping their hat.”
“If ever a release made clear the advantage of purchasing individual tracks (via outlets like iTunes) this is this one. While many artists took interesting runs at the Dylan catalogue, only about one in four took ones you’ll listen to more than once.”
Chimes of Freedom is available on itunes for download ($19.99) as well as in a physical 4 CD collection. Proceeds from the album will go to Amnesty International.
What’s your take on these covers? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter
Chimes Of Freedom
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 26th, 2012 at 1:49 pm and is filed under The News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Loading ...
