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THIRSTY BOOTS

Here's its composer, Eric Andersen, performing Thirsty Boots', assisted by Roger McGuinn:



Eric's harmonica playing here makes his version sound more of a Bob song than Dylan's own (albeit charming) version. And a note to Bob Dylan's record company: it's Andersen, not Anderson.

6 comments:

  1. Elmer Gantry03 May, 2013

    Michael

    Would add here that I prefer the late version by Eric Andersen himself included on the complilation cd 'So Much on My Mind' to either this one or Dylan's.

    A sample of that version can be heard here:
    http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/page/0,,3892761-10239658,00.html

    I am a big fan of Andersen's later work (from about the time of 'Ghosts on the Road'onwards). His voice especially has taken on an added grit with age which gives a new edge to his work.

    To my mind at least, his last two live albums ('Blue rain' & 'The Cologne Concert') are among the best work he has ever done - and both feature musicians whose alertness and responsiveness put Bob's current band to shame...

    Striking really as 'Blue Rain' features a virtually unknown young Norwegian Blus band.

    Here is their superb version of 'Runaway' where Andersen does a great Lou Reed impression:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzuTPGytHaM

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  2. Thank you. Not sure I share your enthusiasm but I quite liked the band and bits of the song, and I liked the whole thing more on a second play. For some reason I was struck here by the lines "When you're lookin' at what you're missing / You' ain't lookin' at what you've got" - though had the song been written by Joe South I think he'd have made it "When you're lookin' at what you're missing / You're missing what you got." I digress...

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  3. Elmer Gantry04 May, 2013

    Michael

    Would recommend that you give the entire album - 'Blue Rain- a go. One of the great enjoyments listening to it is hearing how Andersen feeds off the freshness and effervescence of the band. For them, it must have been like a Grimsby player getting a game with United..

    By the same token, one of the reasons why the 'Cologne Concert' is such a fine record is because it sounds so little like 'Blue Rain.' Here is a taster:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR06NxGK0Eg

    Will finish up with Rick Danko's great version of what is probably Andersen's best song, 'Blue River' (the original features a great background vocal by Joni Mitchell):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OSpytQWaus

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  4. Elmer Gantry14 May, 2013

    Michael

    by the way, there is a documentary about Andersen currently in production - it is due to be released in 2014.

    You can see some details about it here.

    https://www.facebook.com/TheSongpoet?fref=ts

    I think there is a suggestion about that Bob may make an appearance on it.

    Speaking of new releases, here is a trailer for the new Coen brothers movie, which apparently is based on Dave Van Ronk's autbiography:
    http://gawker.com/5978698/heres-the-first-trailer-for-the-upcoming-coen-brothers-love-letter-to-new-yorks-1960s-folk-music-scene-inside-llewyn-davis

    As an admirer of Bruce Cockburn's work, will also plug the new documentary about him, which I have ordered but not yet received - unfortunately if features Bono, but doesn't every documentary these days?:
    brucecockburn.com/


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  5. Elmer Gantry02 July, 2013

    Michael

    A trailer for the Eric Andersen documentary which is due to be released next year:

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=198800423608405&set=vb.119618884859893&type=2&theater

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  6. these are not exactly *outtakes* of the 1966 version everyone knows w jsebastian's incredible harp

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