‘All Along The Watchtower’: The moment Bob Dylan became “overwhelmed” by his own song
It is difficult to imagine Bob Dylan ever becoming overwhelmed by anything; ever since the early days of his career, the folk devotee has fostered a cool and collected persona, unbothered by expectations or apparent problems. Still, one thing that has always been certain to get Dylan’s emotions up is good music, so it is lucky that the songwriter has spent over five decades creating an unparalleled discography of groundbreaking tracks that have resonated with audiences and fellow musicians alike.
When Dylan first emerged from the folk clubs of New York City during the early 1960s, the American music scene had never encountered anything quite so revolutionary. Using the age-old conventions of folk music, the young songwriter was able to expertly reflect the politically turbulent period of the 1960s, incorporating elements of blues, rock, and R&B in the process. Triumphant records like Bringing It All Back Home and John Wesley Harding made Dylan a musical hero for the masses, and he played an essential role in inspiring the next generation of artists.
Even during those early days, Dylan’s work was already being covered and reinterpreted by a wealth of different artists, from the gentle folk tones of Joan Baez to the pioneering psychedelia of The Byrds. After all, Dylan’s work seemed to have a kind of universal quality to it, making it endlessly adaptable to a wide range of different styles and genres. Over the years, Dylan himself has highlighted some of his favourite Bob Dylan covers, with Johnny Rivers’ version of ‘Positively 4th Street’ being a notable example.
It is impossible to discuss Bob Dylan cover songs without mentioning Jimi Hendrix, who recorded Dylan’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ in 1968, shortly after Dylan’s original version was recorded. In typical Hendrix fashion, the guitarist completely reimagined the folk-rock original, which was based on biblical passages. Pretty quickly, Hendrix’s version became the definitive recording of the song, as Dylan himself admitted to.
Hendrix was often famed for his unique ability to record transformative cover versions very quickly, a prominent instance being when he performed ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ in front of The Beatles only two days after the release of the original. However, ‘All Along The Watchtower’ remains one of the guitarist’s defining recordings, and perhaps the greatest cover song ever recorded.
“It overwhelmed me, really,” Dylan once said about hearing Hendrix’s take on ‘All Along The Watchtower’. “He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there.”
The songwriter even admitted that Hendrix’s version might triumph over his own. Adding, “He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day.”
Dylan has often stated that, in the wake of Hendrix’s cover version, every performance of the song feels like a tribute to the guitarist, rather than a rendition of his own composition. The sheer genius of Hendrix’s version cannot be disputed, and it appears to be one of the very few things that could overwhelm Bob Dylan.
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