Almanac Music: Not Quite Bob – Danny and Dusty and a long bow

Not Quite Bob – Danny and Dusty and a long bow

 

 

 

 

This week I was going to talk about another fairly obvious Bob clone but I’ve also been looking at another story that I couldn’t dismiss .  A Bob adventure of sorts, with a long bow being drawn as to Bobness via some very NQB connections through the music.  Still.  Once upon many a moon ago my mate Geoff introduced me to an album by Danny and Dusty called The Lost Weekend. Now old mate Geoff’s recommendations are worth listening to as over the years he’s proffered albums by many and varied acts like The The, Scritti Politti and the Raah Project none of which would fit into a NQB piece but good nonetheless.  The Lost Weekend is here and you should give it a listen.  Originally 8 tracks but another one thrown in here.  Thanks Spotify.

 

 

It was recorded in 1985 and it gets it’s Bob nod via a great version of ‘Knockin’ On Heavens Door’.  However Danny and Dusty clips are thin on the ground on YouTube so here they are much later with ‘Baby, We All Gotta Go Down’.

 

 

Danny is Dan Stuart of Green On Red and Dusty is Steve Wynn who was one of the leading lights in The Dream Syndicate.

Green On Red’s earliest iteration was in 1979 and they released a brace of fine albums from then until 1992.  The one I’ve got is called This Time Around.  Give it a whirl here.

 

 

Green On Red vids are also scarce but here they are at Farm Aid in 1986 with Clarksville.

 

 

Now the skinny blonde guitarist in that lineup was Chuck Prophet who has an extensive catalogue all of his own.  Chuck joined Green On Red in 1985 around the time of probably their most famous album in Gas Food Lodging and was there through the rest of their albums and tours including a brief return in 2005.  Dig into the world of Chuck and you’ll find many treasures including this in 1997 called Homemade Blood.  Here.

 

 

<The title track has strong Bob overtones repeated throughout his earliest albums including this from 2002’s No Other Love.

 

 

Not really a video per se but the live clips of the song are crummy sound wise.  Chuck is still recording albums today with his wife Stephanie Finch on keys and voice in a band called the Mission Express.  Plenty of good records with funny titles, lots of Jesus references and good tunes.  You could easily spend half a day (I just did) in Chuck world.

 

Meanwhile back at the ranch … Steve Wynn (Dusty) forms The Dream Syndicate in 1982 and they are soon label mates on Slash with Green On Red.  They are described on Wiki as belonging to the neo-psychedelia and/or the Paisley Underground movement (wtf?) but they get their Bob on magnificently on this.

 

 

Now the Bob scholars could write many words on Blind Willie McTell including albums Bob didn’t include it on, versions, performances etc.  My Bob mates revere it and it’s not hard to hear why.  This Dream Syndicate performance was fairly recent but in their heyday they too recorded some crackers including the one I have called Ghost Stories.

 

 

In 2014 there is this short set amongst many great Dream Syndicate bits on the Tube.

 

 

A track from which leads me to the long bow.

 

In 1927 Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded ‘See That My Grave Is Kept Clean’ a melancholy song of deep regret and sadness with a harsh admonition to a lost love (that’s the Blues folks).

 

 

 

 

Which Bob covered in his self titled debut in 1962.

 

 

 

 

And so did the Dream Syndicate in this live performance accompanied by a batshit crazy vid that appears to have nothing to do with the song.  Fun though.

 

 

 

 

Danny And Dusty.  Dan Stuart and Steve Wynn.  Green On Red. Chuck Prophet.  Dream Syndicate.  Bob.  Not quite, but not far off either.

 

More from Trevor Blainey Here.

 

 

Read more stories from Almanac Music  HERE

 

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