''Odetta Sings Dylan'' is an
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
singer
Odetta
Odetta Holmes (December 31, 1930 – December 2, 2008), known as Odetta, was an American singer, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and s ...
, issued by
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
in 1965. It consists of
covers of
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
songs.
Background
Odetta was a
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
activist.
Although she grew up in the city, she described black folk music and spirituals as "liberation songs" and used this music to "do my teaching and preaching, my propagandizing." Both Odetta and Bob Dylan sang at the
1963 Civil Rights March in Washington DC.
When this album was recorded, Bob Dylan was only just turning away from his
protest singer phase and had not yet released music done with electric instruments. His songs "Blowin' in the Wind" (which Odetta had recorded earlier) and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" were still anthems of the
civil rights movement, and "With God on Our Side" and "Masters of War" are longer, bitter anti-war songs.
Yet Odetta also made sure to include love songs, and other not obviously political tracks written by Bob Dylan, transformed by her powerful voice. In addition to a number of well-known Dylan compositions, a couple of fairly obscure songs were included, including "Baby, I'm in the Mood for You".
This album was re-released on
CD in the UK by RCA Records in 2000. "Blowin' in the Wind" (which first appeared on ''
Odetta Sings Folk Songs'', 1963) and "Paths of Victory" (''
Odetta Sings of Many Things'', 1964) were added as bonus tracks.
Reception
In his review for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, critic
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...
wrote of the album, "other than an obscure 1964 album by Linda Mason, it was the very first album of Dylan covers. And in part it was because, unlike most of the artists who would take a swing at the concept, Odetta was actually a major folk musician, one who had done much to inspire Dylan himself. But most of all, it was because the arrangements were excellent."
Track listing
*All songs composed by Bob Dylan.
*''Marked ''
' are bonus tracks, on 2000 CD edition''
# "Baby, I'm in the Mood for You" – 2:50
# "Long Ago, Far Away" – 2:50
# "
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released the following year on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' and as the B-side of the single " Blowin' in the Wind". The song has been covered by several ot ...
" – 5:42
# "
Tomorrow Is a Long Time
"Tomorrow Is a Long Time" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. Dylan's version first appeared on the album '' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'' compilation, released in 1971. It was subsequently included in the triple LP compilation ...
" – 6:20
# "
Masters of War
"Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962–63 and released on the album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional " Nottamun Town." Dylan's lyrics a ...
" – 6:18
# "
Walkin' Down the Line" – 4:01
# "
The Times They Are A-Changin'" – 4:39
# "
With God on Our Side" – 5:13
# "Long Time Gone" – 3:44
# "
Mr. Tambourine Man" – 10:44
# "
Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...
" – 4:11
# "Paths of Victory" – 2:24
Personnel
*Odetta –
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
*
Bruce Langhorne
Bruce Langhorne (May 11, 1938 – April 14, 2017) was an American folk musician. He was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, primarily as a session guitarist for folk albums and performances.
Biography
Early life
Langhorn ...
– guitar,
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
*Peter Childs – guitar
*Les Grinage (aka
Raphael Grinage
Raphael Grinage was an American jazz and folk musician and composer.
Early life
Raphael Grinage (aka Les Grinage) was born in Cleveland, Ohio on January 4, 1931, the third of four sons. His father, Jose, was an African-American Methodist Episcop ...
) –
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
;Technical
*Bob Simpson – engineer
See also
*
List of songs written by Bob Dylan
This list contains songs written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, including those where he is credited as co-author. The list omits traditional songs where Dylan has claimed arranger's copyright.
List
See also
*List of Bob Dylan songs ba ...
*
List of artists who have covered Bob Dylan songs
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American singer–songwriter, author, poet, and painter who has been a major figure in popular music for more than five decades. Many major recording artists have covered Dylan's mater ...
References
{{Authority control
Dylan
1965 albums
Bob Dylan tribute albums
RCA Victor albums