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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
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| 1. Raphael Saadiq - Leopard | |||
| 2. Patti Smith - Drifter's Escape | |||
| 3. Rise Against - Ballad of Hollis Brown | |||
| 4. Tom Morello The Nightwatchman - Blind Willie McTell | |||
| 5. Pete Townshend - Corrina, Corrina | |||
See all 17 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Lenny Kravitz - Rainy Day Woman # 12 & 35 | |||
| 2. Steve Earle and Lucia Micarelli - One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below) | |||
| 3. Blake Mills - Heart Of Mine | |||
| 4. Miley Cyrus - You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go | |||
| 5. Billy Bragg - Lay Down Your Weary Tune | |||
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See all 16 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 3 | |||
| 1. Ximena Sariñana - I Want You | |||
| 2. Neil Finn with Pajama Club - She Belongs to Me | |||
| 3. Bryan Ferry - Bob Dylan's Dream | |||
| 4. Zee Avi - Tomorrow Is A Long Time | |||
| 5. Carly Simon - Just Like a Woman | |||
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See all 18 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 4 | |||
| 1. Maroon 5 - I Shall Be Released | |||
| 2. Carolina Chocolate Drops - Political World | |||
| 3. Seal & Jeff Beck - Like A Rolling Stone | |||
| 4. Taj Mahal - Bob Dylan's 115th Dream | |||
| 5. Dierks Bentley - Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) (Live) | |||
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See all 18 tracks on this disc
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Product Description
Review
Yes, yes, all for a good cause and that, but only the most saintly apologist would deny that some heinous musical crimes have been committed in the name of charity over the years. And while this epic collection of Dylan covers isn't the worst offender, it's still a largely redundant – and frequently downright woeful – endeavour.
Released to celebrate 50 years of Amnesty International, it ransacks the Dylan canon presumably in deference to his symbolic status as the finger-pointin' bard of the oppressed. Rather than, say, because of all those bile-dripping songs he wrote in the 60s while off his head on drugs. Or because he's an ornery contrarian who, if you put it to him, would probably deny that he'd ever written a protest song in his life.
Either way, it's undeniable that the stirring title-track – Dylan's original recording of which closes this collection – with its odes to "each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail" is virtually the Amnesty manifesto in musical form. And if any songbook is rich and vast enough to withstand a whopping 72 covers over four CDs, it's Dylan's.
But the sheer volume of material is its biggest problem. Simultaneously overwhelming and underwhelming, it buckles under the weight of its own significance, like a ghastly all-star charity concert which refuses to end.
Although there are a few highlights – Bettye LaVette's soulful reading of Most of the Time, and Taj Mahal's Stax-blues rumble through Bob Dylan's 115th Dream – there is absolutely no excuse for the likes of Natasha Bedingfield turning Ring Them Bells into an MOR drive-time anthem, Sting busking Girl From the North Country in the manner of a deranged Sting impersonator, or Lenny Kravitz being let anywhere near Rainy Day Woman # 12 & 35. Still, Mick Hucknall's uncannily accurate Dylan take-off on One of Us Must Know suggests that, if nothing else, he's got it in the bag if they ever revive Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes.
Ultimately, if this sprawling folly raises some money for Amnesty and introduces Miley Cyrus fans to Dylan's music, then no harm done. As for the man himself, he probably couldn't care less either way. So he's probably the real winner in all of this.
--Paul Whitelaw
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CD Description
Amnesty International commemorates its 50th anniversary with the release of an album featuring the cream of the world’s music talent covering Bob Dylan songs, with contributions from a huge variety of artists including Adele, Patti Smith, Pete Townshend, Ke$ha, The Gaslight Anthem, Sting, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Sinéad O’Connor, Kris Kristofferson, Bad Religion, Marianne Faithfull, My Chemical Romance, Bryan Ferry, Pete Seeger and many more. Entitled Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan the album features 73 tracks on four CDs.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better than I thought,
By
This review is from: Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, Honouring 50 Years of Amnesty International (Audio CD)
I was in two minds to write a review or not as the one review already up here seems to cover most of what I would want to say. Forgetting the good cause and concentrating on the music I would say 75% of the artists I have not heard of and of the remaining 25% I probably not buy music from 15% of them. However this album opens up those artists to me using the universal music of Bob Dylan. This isn't a covers album but an album of interpretations of Dylan's music. You need to come to it with an open mind especially if you are a hard core Dylan fan.Overall I believe it is a good album for a good cause and while there were some low points I would say they were more than made up for by some really great interpretations.
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dylan covers for a very good cause...,
By
This review is from: Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, Honouring 50 Years of Amnesty International (Audio CD)
Profits from this 4-disc CD go towards human rights organisation Amnesty International, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011, also the year that Dylan played his first gig. To paraphrase Bill Bryson writing about his recent book `African diary', think of this as a donation to a very worthy cause, with a free CD! Most people in this country would have first been aware of Dylan in the early 60s as a songwriter rather than a performer, with his songs being performed by artists such as Peter, Paul and Mary, the Byrds and Joan Baez.This is an interesting collection of artists, with 60s veterans like Joan Baez, Kris Kristofferson and Pete Townsend; people who came to prominence in the 70s - Sting, Elvis Costello, Patti Smith and newer acts like My Morning Jacket, Queens of the Stone Age and the Dave Mathews Band. There are also many acts who are completely off my radar - Cage the Elephant, The Belle Brigade and Zee Avi?? Also, some people have suggested that the pop performers featured here -such as Miley Cyrus, Natasha Bedingfield and Kesha - are out of their depth but Dylan doesn't only write difficult wordy political and surreal allegories but also songs of whimsy and straightforward love songs and ballads which anybody can sing. We get the full gamut of Bob's oeuvre here from the early classics like "Blowing in the wind" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" to mid-period songs like "Most of the time" and "Gotta serve somebody", more recent songs like "Love sick" and obscurities such as "Seven curses". There is a lot of music here, lots of variety - folk, rock, jazz, blues - some of it works fine, others don't work so well - with the main fault being too respectful to the original version of the songs. Everyone will have their own ideas what works and what doesn't, I don't intend to criticise any of the acts, who have all contributed to a worthy cause. My own personal highlights were Mark Knopfler's Celtic take on "Restless farewell", Elvis Costello's very individual version of "License to kill", Sinead O'Connor's "Property of Jesus" and Maroon 5's "I shall be released". I particularly liked the one-off special combinations like Paul Rogers and Nils Lofgren's "Abandoned love" and Seal and Jeff Beck's "Like a rolling stone" and Steve Earl and Lucia Micarelli's "One more cup of coffee". I also really enjoyed performances by two artists I hadn't heard of before, Charlie Winston's "This wheel's on fire" and Blake Mills "Heart of mine" - with its marvelous slide guitar. We also get two serial Bob-botherers - Bryan Ferry and Mick Hucknell, as well as Taj Mahall who the law decrees has to appear on every tribute album. It was also good to hear the great Pete Seeger, the excellent Bettye Lavette, 60s survivors Marianne Faithfull and Eric Burden and even Adele's recent hit with ""Make you feel my love". It was also a nice touch to finish with Bob's own version of "Chimes of Freedom".
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Honouring Bob and Amnesty,
By
This review is from: Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, Honouring 50 Years of Amnesty International (Audio CD)
I am not a huge Bob Dylan fan! (all the Dylanites open their mouths in shock!) There, I've got that out of the way so Dylan fans you can now breathe again! This album might not be a lot of people's cup of tea but I was actually impressed in quite a few places by these covers from Bob's extensive songbook. I like how the collection brings together artists old and new in an attempt to do his songs justice and raise the spotlight on Amnesty International in the process.There were a few surprises for me, I loved Eric Burdon's take on 'Gotta Serve Somebody'. Was blown away by Flogging Molly committing crimes against Bob's music with their Punky take on 'The Times They Are A Changin', and even My Chemical Romance trashing the life out of 'Desolation Row' was brilliant. No matter how much people may dislike Adele I have to say her version of 'Make You Feel My Love' is much better than some of the versions I've seen and heard Bob playing live! I heard his version in a store one day and some kids were mortified saying, "I can't believe that man is ruining an Adele song like that!" Well it made me laugh! Some people I'm sure are going to look at the artists included in this collection and shake their heads in dismay, Miley Cyrus? Really? But you have to know that no matter how much people are going to speak against it she actually does a fine job on 'Your Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go', and I will understand those who will go crazy against Ke$sha murdering 'Don't Think Twice It's Alright' (probably the least pleasant track on the album for me). I could mention a lot more songs, but then I'd have to go on a bit too long. The only question that needs to be asked is, "Should I buy it?" If you are like me you'll go ahead and take a chance. It's a great price for 4CD's. I hope Bob is happy with this. I do tend to disagree with the BBC review that has been posted, Paul Whitelaw should be embarrassed a little that his "sprawling folly" of a review is liable to put people off buying it, but it's a good thing we don't always listen to reviewers isn't it!
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