Review by Steve McGowan from Zub RecordsDue to the last show being a bit of a debacle, Robyn and Emma sent me an invitation to a ‘Secret Show’ for Bob Dylan’s birthday. This one was a present from Robyn and Em via the infamous Zoom platform, the unofficial meeting place of this quarantine period. Logging in it took a few minutes to get everyone sorted, muted, and ready to go. Quite laughable. Robyn was at their kitchen table in their East Nashville home and false started three times before he was able to properly launch ‘She Belongs To Me.’ I’ve mentioned numerous times how Robyn Hitchcock brings a gravitas and sense of melody to what seems to be thrown-off songs and lyrics of Dylan. Robyn makes these songs fantastic; it’s like he is singing the Old Testament of rock.
During ‘Desolation Row’ (from Highway 61 Revisited) there was some glitchiness with the feed, slowing down and speeding up, a bit unsettling but not too bad. The video and audio on Zoom was much better than StageIt (the platform they usually use) so that was a real plus. I was having technical problems of my own though, my computer conveniently cutting off at critical moments. When I returned, Reg did ‘Tryin’ To Get To Heaven’ from Time Out Of Mind, and introducing ‘Clothes Line Saga’ from The Basement Tapes, he posited that Bob “had been listening to Bobby Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billy Joe.’” At this point, Emma Swift appeared, plugging her forthcoming new record, Blonde On The Tracks, a collection of Dylan covers.
They then played ‘The Man In Me’ from New Morning but probably known to most of us as the Dylan song in The Big Lebowski. Emma sang lead, and she was wonderful as usual. Then...Tubby appeared! Tubby, the one-eyed member of the Swiftcock Scottish Fold cat duo, was docile and so very cute and hung around for a few minutes. Reg and Em did ‘Just Like A Woman,’ a lighter, more fingerpicked version that their first Bob Dylan covers show when they played it, and their voices sounded great together. Then my computer quit, again.
Returning to the show, Robyn discussed how Dylan’s songs explore “The comfort of doom,” and proceeded to play ‘Shelter From The Storm’ from Blood On The Tracks. Robyn’s highlight of the night was his amazing performance of ‘Not Dark Yet’ from Time Out Of Mind,'' a rendition truly raising goosebumps, picked beautifully on an acoustic. Emma brought him a cup of tea and he remarked “who thought the apocalypse would be such a constant.” Robyn then did ‘Visions Of Johanna,’ a Dylan song he seems to almost inhabit better than Dylan himself. Reg owns this song, and remarked that he’d been “working on it since 1968.”
There was some talk about Lou Reed, and Reg played the intro to ‘Sweet Jane,’ but quickly changed for a last song request of ‘The Times They Are A Changin,’ which in his version was much more power-pop than folk protest. We were able to watch as Reg and Em figured out how to sign off Zoom, and again they brought us a wonderful show and a special treat. I immediately ordered Emma’s new LP!
Happy birthday, Bob.
Online review by Mark My WordsOn Sunday, Bob Dylan’s 79th birthday, Robyn Hitchcock performed a special show for his Patreon subscribers. It was on Zoom, and, like everything on Zoom, it took a few minutes to get fully sorted out. But once it started, it was a great show. The setlist had some similarities with the all-Dylan show that Robyn and Emma performed as part of their weekly “Sweet Home Quarantine” concerts, but it was by no means a repeat of that show.
Robyn opened the show with solo versions of “She Belongs to Me,” “Desolation Row,” “Born in Time,” “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven,” and “Clothes Line Saga.” It was fun to hear “Clothes Line Saga,” as I’ve never heard Robyn sing that song before. Apparently “Clothes Line Saga” was Bob’s answer to/parody of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” Robyn’s guitar work was sparkling, as usual, and I was really mesmerized by it on “Desolation Row” in particular.
Emma Swift then joined Robyn and sang a lovely version of “The Man in Me.” It was also announced on Sunday that Emma will be releasing an album of Dylan cover songs titled Blonde on the Tracks. It comes out in August and will be released on a variety of formats. It should be a treat, as I’ve been looking forward to hearing more of Emma.
Robyn and Emma duetted on lovely versions of “Just Like a Woman,” and “Lay, Lady, Lay.” In the chat, someone asked if Robyn had ever met Dylan. Robyn said that he almost met Dylan on a kibbutz in Israel in 1971. At first, I thought Robyn was joking, but he told the whole story about how he went to take a shower, came back, and his friends told him that Bob Dylan had just been there. Dylan did indeed visit Israel in 1971, so there you have it.
Emma sang a very cool version of one of Dylan’s newest songs, “I Contain Multitudes.” Robyn praised Emma for not sounding like Dylan at all and went on to explain that he always hears Dylan’s vocal inflections in his own versions of Dylan’s songs. Robyn and Emma sang “Shelter from the Storm” together, then Robyn did a solo version of “Not Dark Yet” with a great guitar solo. Next, Robyn sang what he usually says is his favorite song ever, “Visions of Johanna,” which he always does a great job of performing.
Emma returned to duet with Robyn on “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and “Tiny Montgomery,” and Robyn closed out the show with a great version of “The Times They Are a-Changing,” done more up-tempo than the original. It was a great show, and a nice thank you from Robyn to his fans.