I first heard this version of "I Want You" five years ago when a friend of mine (who thought Dylan was crap) began raving about this Sophie B Hawkins track which he said was the most unbelievable song he'd ever heard. When he played it I laughed and showed him the sleeve notes. "Track 8 written by Bob Dylan". It was not the last time I watched a Dylan basher wiping egg off their face.

Anyway, here's her performance of this song at the Dylan tribute concert in 1992. That's Sheryl Crow on backing vocals three years before she became a star in her own right. Bob asked that this be left off the official album and video release. He doesn't approve of girl singers who flaunt themselves, but she gives a good show I think. Any comments?

Damn, this thread done bombed. I'm gonna have to put Paris Hilton's name in the thread title, then I'll have a blockbuster on my hands. I thought putting the phrase "Dylan being sexed up" in the title would attract some interest, but it seems the org is getting wise to my tricks.
[Edited 7/12/08 15:18pm]

midnightmover said:

Dude, don't worry, a lot of topics concerning musical performances of someone other than the usual suspects don't get as much thread coverage.

Timmy84 said:

lol, I'm not worried, bro. I was joking. I think I used the wrong emoticon there. I should have used this one. Sarcasm can get lost sometimes if you choose the wrong emoticon.

Okay, emoticon correction has now been performed. Now let this thread die with some dignity. Everybody be real quiet until it's safely buried. Thank you.

midnightmover said:

Oh OK.

I'd never seen this before. Much appreciated.

I know nothing of this cutting issue. Perhaps there was a lot of stuff that had to be trimmed?

midnightmover said:

All of your threads bomb....what else is new? The only time you have successful threads is when you're discussing Madonna.Kinda ironic,huh?

Brendan said:

Well, Bob has very puritanical views on the way women should conduct themselves. When he was asked about female singers in the industry he complained that "they all tart themselves up, and I can't stand to watch it", or something like that. So even though most of us wouldn't think anything of a performance like this, it's likely that Bob would be unimpressed. I think it starts to get really good around half way through though when she starts to sing in the higher register.

btw, this live version sounds quite different to the official recording my friend had which was much more keyboard oriented. I think it was better that way, although the band here are pretty tight. That's Steve Cropper on guitar, the guy who played on all the Stax recordings ("In The Midnight Hour", "Soul Man", etc).

SoulAlive said:

And the nominations for Pettiest Post of the Year are.....