Almanac Music: Dylan Cover Songs – Aussie Style: The Males Take On Dylan

 

This is the eleventh article in my ongoing Dylan covers series and the ninth to shine a light squarely on Australian singers and bands.

 

Scattered within previous articles, I have showcased Dylan covers by the following Aussie male singers: Gary Shearston; Joe Hasham; Reg Livermore; Phil Manning; Shane Howard; Jeff Lang; Mark Seymour; Robert Forster; Shane O’Mara; Chris Wilson; Broderick Smith; Louis Tillett; Ron S. Peno; Damian Leith; Richard Clapton; James Blundell; Merv Benton; Lee Conway; Adam Harvey; Andrew Kidman; Michael Carpenter; Phil Cunneen; Danny Ross; Cyrus; Paul Field; Brendan Gallagher; Christopher Marshall; Henry Wagons; Luke Escombe; Stephen Passfield.

 

In this eleventh article I focus the lens on eleven more Aussie male singers who have recorded a Dylan cover but have not yet featured in any of the previous articles.

 

 

Doug Ashdown

 

Doug was born in Adelaide in July 1942.

 

By 1968, Doug had released three studio albums though CBS Records – each of these albums included a Dylan cover song – ‘Quit Your Low Down Ways’; ‘Baby You’ve Been On My Mind’; ‘She Belongs to Me’.

 

His recording breakthrough was in 1976, when his 1974 ‘Leave Love Enough Alone’ was retitled and reissued as ‘Winter In America’ and peaked at #14 and #30 on Melbourne & Sydney charts respectively.

 

Over his recording career (1965-2001), Doug released 11 studio and 2 live albums and on his final 2001 The Blues…Then Some – Live album he recorded two further Dylan covers – ‘I Shall Be Released’ and ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’.

 

The only YouTube recording of Doug doing a solo Dylan cover comes from his third studio album, Source (1968), where he records ‘She Belongs To Me’ (originally released by Dylan on his March 1965 Bringing It All Back Home album)

 

 

 

 

Note: for those who are interested, YouTube has Robyn Archer and Doug Ashdown doing a live duet of ‘Quit Your Low Down Ways’ from Robyn’s 2022 Rough As Guts album.

 

Trivia: Doug’s 1970, 19 track The Age Of Mouse album (released through Adelaide’s Sweet Peach studio) is credited as the first double LP released by an Australian artist. For the record, Dylan’s 20 June 1966 Blonde On Blonde album is the first recognized double LP of the modern music era, eclipsing The Mothers Of Invention’s debut Freak Out!, which was released one week later (27 June 1966)

 

 

 

Trevor Lucas

 

Trevor was born in Melbourne on Christmas Day 1943.

 

By late 1964, Trevor had released his debut album, See That My Grave Is Kept Clean, which included a rare cover of Dylan’s ‘Talking World War III Blues’.  Shortly after, Trevor found his way to England where he recorded ‘Overlander’.

 

Trevor was briefly a member of UK folk group Fairport Convention – playing triangle on ‘Si Tu Dois Partir’ (a Dylan cover of ‘If You Gotta Go, Go Now’ – sung in French).

 

By 1970, Trevor and Sandy Denny (who he married in 1973) founded Fotheringay and they released one self-titled album, which included a cover of Dylan’s ‘Too Much Of Nothing’.

 

Trevor returned to Australia in 1979 with his 1 year old daughter Georgia Rose after Sandy’s unfortunate death in 1978.

 

In 1982, Trevor performed a concert at The Troubadour in South Melbourne. The recording of the concert was released posthumously in 2010 and includes a cover of ‘I Threw It All Away’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1969 Nashville Skyline album).

 

 

 

 

The final track on this live album is another Dylan cover – ‘Forever Young’ – and well worth a listen.

 

Trevor died in Sydney in 1989 at the relatively young age of 45.

 

Trivia: While Trevor did not record any studio albums after his return to Australia, he produced two acclaimed albums – Goanna’s Spirit Of Place (1982), which includes ‘Solid Rock’; and Redgum’s Caught In The Act (1983), with its iconic ‘I Was Only 19’.

 

 

John Paul Young (aka JPY or Squeak)

 

John was born in Glasgow in June 1950 and he arrived in Sydney with his family in January 1962.

 

By mid-1971, John’s first band, Elm Tree, managed to make it to the Sydney finals of the Hoadleys Battle of the Bands, but no further.

 

John’s luck changed in 1972 when he successfully auditioned for the role of Annas in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar – a record-breaking stage production that ran from May 1972 – February 1974.

 

John’s recording career also began in earnest in early 1972 with the release of the single, ‘Pasadena’, which peaked at #16 on the Australian charts. He subsequently released seven studio albums between 1975 – 1983 and two latter career albums in 1996 and 2006. Singles chart success included ‘Yesterday’s Hero’ (1975); ‘I Hate The Music’ (1976); and the worldwide hit ‘Love Is In The Air’ (1977).

 

It was on John’s sixth studio album, The Singer (1981), that he recorded his one & only Dylan cover – ‘All Along The Watchtower’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1967 John Wesley Harding album).

 

 

 

 

Trivia: In 1978, John was crowned ‘King Of Pop’ in the TV Week Awards and in 2009 he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

 

 

Jimmy Barnes

 

Jimmy was born in Glasgow in April 1956 and he arrived, with his family, in Adelaide in January 1962.

 

Between late 1973 and late 1975, Jimmy dabbled with Adelaide-based bands Fraternity and Cold Chisel, before settling on the latter.  Cold Chisel’s one and only Dylan cover – ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ – is covered in a previous article.

 

As a solo performer, Jimmy has released twenty studio albums since 1984 – of which eighteen have peaked at either #1 or #3 on the Australian album charts. That is some achievement!

 

It was on Jimmy’s third studio album, Freight Train Heart (1987), that he recorded his one & only solo Dylan cover – ‘Seven Days’. This ‘live’ 1988 recording of the song is set in Melbourne and features future brother-in-law Diesel on guitar.

 

 

 

 

At the time of Jimmy’s recording of ‘Seven Days’, there were only 3 commercially available versions of the song – Ron Wood (1979); Rob Stoner (1980); and Joe Cocker (1982). In all likelihood, Jimmy based his cover on Ron’s version. To date there are only fifteen cover versions of ‘Seven Days’ and I would argue that Jimmy’s version is the best – it has a bit more edge, intensity, urgency!

 

Trivia: The story behind ‘Seven Days’ is most interesting.  Dylan wrote the song around early 1976, just after the release of his Desire album and in between the two legs of his USA Rolling Thunder Revue concert tour.  In March 1976, Dylan was hanging out in Malibu with Eric Clapton and Ron Wood during the recording of Clapton’s No Reason To Cry album. That album includes a Dylan cover – ‘Sign Language’ – which Dylan duets on but has never recorded in his own right. At the same time, Dylan offered ‘Seven Days’ to Clapton but he refused and Wood decided to take up the offer.

 

On the first six nights of the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue concert tour (i.e. 18 April – 4 May 1976), Dylan performed ‘Seven Days’. He then cut it from the set list and the song only resurfaced once more some thirty years later – for thirteen consecutive shows between April – June 1996.

 

Meanwhile, Wood takes ‘Seven Days’ and on his next solo studio album – Gimme Some Neck (1979) – he releases the first commercial recording of the song.

 

The only official recording of Dylan performing ‘Seven Days’ is on The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3: Rare & Unreleased 1961-1991 box set, released in March 1991. The recording is taken from Dylan’s performance from the Rolling Thunder Revue concert at Tampa, FL on 21 April 1976.

 

 

Hugo Race

 

Hugo was born in Melbourne in May 1963.

 

His early career c.v. includes: member of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds (1983-85); and founding member of The Wreckery (1984-89).

 

Thereafter, Hugo concentrated his energy on Hugo Race & The True Spirit, Hugo Race & Fatalists and on collaborative and solo work. Between 1989 – 2011, Hugo based himself in Berlin.

 

It was on the third album by Hugo Race & The True Spirit – Second Revelator (1991) – that Hugo turned his attention to his first and only Dylan cover – ‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1965 Bringing It All Back Home album). Released some 26 years after the original, this was only the fifth cover version of the song up to that time and a very commendable version indeed.

 

 

 

 

Trivia: Hugo has released over fifty albums in the past 35 years.  Despite this, he seems to have sailed under the radar.  A comment on his 2024 release – ‘100 Years’ – probably explains why: “100 Years is the new album by Hugo Race and Michelangelo Russo, fusing blues, ambient and electronica, inspired and unclassifiable”.

 

 

Nick Cave

 

Nick was born in Warracknabeal (330kms northwest of Melbourne) in September 1957.

 

By the late 1970’s, Nick along with multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey formed The Boys Next Door in Melbourne. The band morphed into The Birthday Party and relocated to London/Berlin in the early 1980’s, but disbanded in 1983. The band(s) released four studio albums between 1979 – 1982.

 

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds was formed in late 1983. The band has released 18 studio albums between 1984 – 2024, with the eleven albums released since Let Love In (1994) peaking well into the top 10 on the Australian album charts.

 

It was on the ninth studio album, Murder Ballads (1996) that Nick, for the second time in his recording career, laid down a Dylan cover – ‘Death Is Not The End’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1988 Down In The Groove album). The recording includes Kylie Minogue, Anita Lane, Shane McGowan and PJ Harvey on backing vocals and was, at the time, only the second cover version to be released.

 

 

 

 

Trivia: On Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds’ second album – The Firstborn Is Dead (1985) – Nick did a cover of Dylan’s ‘Wanted Man’. Nick was granted permission to alter the lyrics by including references to his friends. The first cover of ‘Wanted Man’ was by Johnny Cash on his At San Quentin (1969) live album. The only release of the song featuring Dylan is a 1969 duet with Cash that was eventually included on the 2019 The Bootleg Series Vol. 15: Travelin’ Thru, 1967-69 CD.

 

 

Pete Wells

 

Pete was born in Brisbane in December 1946.

 

After a stint in a few local bands and following a shift to Sydney, Pete co-founded hard rock band Buffalo in mid-1971.  The band released five studio albums between 1972-77, including ‘Volcanic Rock’, which peaked at #33 on the Australian album charts.

 

Moving from bass to slide guitar, Pete then co-founded Rose Tattoo in 1976 and remained with the band until 1983, during which time the band released three studio albums that all made decent headway on the Australian charts.

 

From 1990 onwards, Pete focused on solo work and a few side projects. It is on his fifth studio album Go Ahead, Call The Cops (1996) that we find Pete dipping his toe into the Dylan anthology with a cover of ‘From A Buick 6’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1965 Highway 61 Revisited album). At the time (30 years after the original) this was only the ninth cover version and followed two other cover versions by Aussie bands – Died Pretty in 1988 and Crashland in 1990.

 

 

 

 

Trivia: Pete died of prostate cancer on 27 March 2006, some 5 months before being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame as a member of Rose Tattoo.

 

 

Russell Morris

 

Russell was born in Melbourne in July 1948.

 

By 1966, Russell had formed his first band – Somebody’s Image. The band, and Russell in particular, had come to the notice of Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum and by early 1969, Russell was recording his debut solo single, ‘The Real Thing’ – a song that reached #1 on the Australian charts. Singles chart success followed with ‘Mr America’ #8 1970; ‘Sweet Sweet Love’ #7 1971; and ‘Wings Of An Eagle’ #9 1972.

 

Between 1971 – 2023, Russell has released sixteen solo albums and a further nine collaborative albums with the likes of Darren Cotton, Jim Keays & Ronnie Burns (1996-2008), Brian Cadd (2011), and Rick Springfield (2021).  For those who have not heard of The Morris Springfield Project or the resulting 2021 album Jack Chrome And The Darkness Waltz, then (as Molly would say) do yourself a favour.

 

Russell’s ‘live’ sets over the years have shown a profound and sincere love for one particular Dylan song – ‘Its All Over Now Baby Blue’ – and there are numerous YouTube clips of varying quality that capture Russell’s performances.

 

Russell’s eighth solo studio album, 2007’s Fundamentalist, is essentially an ‘unplugged’ showcase of Russell’s career; and it is on this album that we find his simplest, heartfelt cover of ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1965 Bringing It All Back Home album).

 

 

 

 

Trivia: Russell’s first band Somebody’s Image released two singles in 1967– both produced by Ian Meldrum. The second single featured a cover of Joe South’s ‘Hush’ on the ‘A’ side and reached #14 on the Australian charts. The ‘B’ side has a cover of Dylan’s ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’, although it is simply titled ‘Baby Blue’.

 

Interestingly, the song title ‘Baby Blue’, music and melody used by Somebody’s Image is almost identical to that used by another contemporary Melbourne-based (and Ian Meldrum supported) band The Groop on the opening track on their 1967 Woman You’re Breaking Me album. In both cases, the music and melody is a straight rip-off of the Motown-influenced Four Tops ‘It’s The Same Old Song’ released in July 1965.

 

It is good to know that sometime after 1967, Russell’s connection to ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’ (aka ‘Baby Blue’) led him to revert back to the song’s folk-rock origins.

 

 

Andy Cowan

 

Andy was born in Melbourne in 1952.

 

Between 1973 – 74, Andy was a member of Melbourne-based progressive rock band Madder Lake. He contributed a range of keyboard instruments and support vocals on the band’s second studio album – 1974’s Butterfly Farm.

 

By 1978, Andy was invited to join the Melbourne-based band Ayers Rock, which had already established its reputation with the release of two charting albums: Big Red Rock (1974) and Beyond (1976). Andy contributed to the band’s third studio album – 1980’s Hotspell, although it failed to impact the charts and the band disbanded in 1981.

 

For the rest of the 1980’s and into the mid 1990’s, Andy showcased his talent in a number of well credentialled touring bands – Kevin Borich Express, Ian Moss Band, and Renee Geyer Band.

 

Between 1996 – 2014, Andy released six solo studio albums.  On three of those albums, Andy found his way into the Dylan songbook – namely:

 

2001’s 10.30am Thursday – Track 2: ‘Well Well Well’ (co-write Danny O’Keefe/Bob Dylan)

 

2006’s Troubadour Nights – Track 7: ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’

 

2014’s After The Rain – Track 2: ‘What Good Am I?’ and Track 5: ‘Make You Feel My Love’

 

The Dylan cover to be featured in this article is ‘What Good Am I?’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1989 Oh Mercy album). This is a rare cover – one of only eight cover versions of the song.

 

 

 

 

Trivia: The Danny O’Keefe/Bob Dylan co-write of ‘Well Well Well’ is a most interesting tale – one that Danny unpacks in the spoken introduction to a live YouTube recording of the song. The best known cover of ‘Well Well Well’ is by Ben Harper and the Blind Boys Of Alabama.

 

 

Diesel (aka Mark Lizotte)

 

Diesel was born in Massachusetts, USA in May 1966.  He arrived, with his family, in Sydney in November 1971 and shortly thereafter the family drove across the continent and settled in Perth.

 

Despite the success of the debut 1989 Johnny Diesel & The Injectors album – peaking at #2 on the album charts and three top 10 singles, Diesel decided to go solo and disbanded the band in early 1991.

 

Between 1992 – 2023, Diesel released 15 solo studio albums and two live albums. The first two releases – Hepfidelity (1992) and The Lobbyist (1993) – both peaked at #1 on the album charts and respectively spawned the hit singles ‘Tip Of My Tongue’ and ‘Never Miss Your Water’. Diesel won ‘Best Male Artist’ in the ARIA Awards for three consecutive years – 1993/94/95.

 

It wasn’t until Diesel’s 13^th studio album – 2016’s Americana that Diesel finally recorded his one and only Dylan cover, along with covers from the songbooks of Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson, James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, John Prine, John Fogarty. The chosen Dylan cover was ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ (originally released by Dylan on his 1965 Highway 61 Revisited album).  

 

 

 

 

Trivia: Diesel is Jimmy Barnes’ brother-in law, after he married Jep – the sister of Jimmy’s wife Jane – in 1989.  There have been countless musical collaborations between Diesel and Jimmy over the years, beginning with Diesel’s guitar contribution on Jimmy’s 1987 Freight Train Heart album – which was featured earlier in this article.

 

 

Mick Thomas

 

Mick was born in Yallourn, Victoria in 1960 but by his mid-teens had moved, with his family, to Geelong.

 

After refining his skills and talent with a few local bands, Mick shifted to Melbourne where he formed Weddings Parties Anything – a band that released seven studio album between 1984–1998 and was previewed in my ninth Dylan covers article.

 

After the demise of WPA, Mick pursued a solo career.  He has released 20 albums between 1999-2023, comprising a mix of studio, live & retrospective compilation albums with the support of The Sure Thing (1999-2009) and The Roving Commission (2013-2023).

 

It was on his 2017 These Are The Songs (A Mick Thomas Retrospective) double album, that Mick reveals a cover of ‘Most Of The Time’ featuring a most joyful duet with Ruby Boots (originally released by Dylan on his 1989 Oh Mercy album) and I couldn’t think of a sweeter video to bring this article to an end.

 

 

 

 

Trivia: On Mick’s fourth solo album – 2003’s Something To Fight For – there is a Dylan cover hidden among the tracks. At the time of Mick’s cover, it was a relatively unknown Dylan song, released on his 1997 Time Out Of Mind album, titled ‘Make You Feel My Love’. Mick’s cover, in fact, was only the ninth cover to date – following covers by Billy Joel, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Joan Osborne, Luka Bloom.

 

 

Final comment:

 

When I began this project in January, my aim was to showcase as many Dylan covers by Aussie artists as I could work into a series of unique themes. After nine dedicated Aussie based articles I have linked over 90 singers/bands to one or more Dylan covers.  I remain committed to giving those Aussie artists on my database who have not featured in a previous article the opportunity to be showcased – and in that spirit, the ‘Dylan Covers: Aussie Style’ series will return in 2025 for a final two articles.  After that, I will turn my Dylan covers microscopic and telescopic lenses beyond the seas that girt this great southern land.

 

For those who have journeyed with me via this Dylan covers series during 2024 – thank you. As Dylan once wrote: “I’ve got nothin’ but affection for all those who’ve sailed with me.”

 

 

More from Karl Dubravs can be read Here.

 

 

 

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