2023-11-16 13:03:08
In 1966, Bob Dylan finished a huge and chaotic world tour in London. At 25, the singer-songwriter had just taken a rock turn that shocked fans of his folk anthems. At the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, he unleashed chaos with his electric instruments: “His performance was very confrontational. He had come to the den of folk music and played some noisy rock’n’roll, which certainly caused some inconvenience.” says one of his musicians, guitarist Al Kooper in Bob Dylan. Mixing Up the Medecine, a beautiful book which has just been published by Éditions Seghers. At the beginning of 1966, the artist confirmed his radical change with the album Blonde on Blonde.
Two angers therefore confronted each other during this 1966 tour, also chaotic at the Olympia in Paris: that of Dylan, who did not hesitate to play rock very loudly, in addition to his acoustic ballads, versus that of a part of the protesting public. « Judas ! », a spectator shouts at him. Half a century later, singer Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, finally responds to the insult made to her idol. “Jesus”, murmurs the American singer-songwriter in response to this cry which arises again during her concert, replaying the previous one identically. This gentle incantation serves as a prelude to launch the most impressive of his covers, the very mysterious Ballad of the Thin Man. In a burning voice, Cat Power gives a haunted version, even more mystical and disconcerting than that of Bob Dylan.
Cat Power responds to the insult made to her idol
The mirror effect between the two concerts is in full effect. Same place, the Royal Albert Hall in London, same playlistfifteen of Dylan’s most famous songs including Mr Tambourine Man or Like A Rolling Stone, same orchestrations. Identical progression, with folk then rock, harmonica and acoustic guitar followed by electric guitars, drums and Hammond organ. Same atmosphere live with the sound, applause and shouts of the 6,000 spectators filling the large oval Victorian building who heard Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Antonin Dvorak, the Beatles, Jacques Brel, Depeche Mode, Charles Aznavour and Francis Cabrel.
More than 56 years separate Dylan’s concert on May 27, 1966 from that of Cat Power on November 5, 2022. He was 25 years old. Thin, pale, irascible, he burned with destructive intensity: two months later, on July 30, 1966, he lost control of his motorcycle, driving too fast near New York, and came very close to death. Chan Marshall, when she plays her part again, is 50 years old, double that. His talent was revealed by an immense album, What Would the Community Think ? (1996), confirmed by the success of The Greatest (2006), sublimated by the poetry and the breath of Wanderer (2018). These three major albums are accompanied by cover discs, including Covers in 2022, which honor the pop culture on which it feeds.
His complete cover of the Dylan concert allows us to once again measure the decisive influence exerted on generations of musicians by the Nobel Prize winner for literature, now 82 years old. Cat Power, following in his footsteps, achieves an exercise wiser, but more harmonious than that of his master, and a performance just as intense. She inhabits with a voice deployed towards the bass of songs that have become classics without having lost their aura, including Desolation Row or It’s All Over Now Baby Blue. With his masterful interpretation, the lyrics retain the strength and mystery of Dylan’s words.
#Cat #Power #fan #splendide #Bob #Dylan