Bob Dylan’s brutal opinion of Guns N’ Roses’ version of ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’
The writer Graham Greene once proclaimed: “There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.“ For Bob Dylan, the moment that burst his bohemian hereafter into folky existence was when he uncovered his hero Woody Guthrie.
There are many things that Guthrie said that no doubt seeped into the mind of young Dylan, but one of the most notable was surely: “If you play more than two chords, you’re showing off.“ While there are complexities to Dylan’s guitar work, he largely abides by the old country mantra that music should be three chords and the truth.
This simplicity has also led to Dylan trailing all but The Beatles as the most covered artist of all time. In fact, there have been a whopping 375 officially recorded cover versions of his classic ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’. For the most part, Dylan is appreciative of this. As Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose famously recalled during a live concert: “Bob asked me, ‘When you gonna record ‘Heaven’s Door’? And I said, ‘I don’t know, but we really love that song.’ And he said, ‘I don’t give a fuck. I just want the money.’ True story!”
And when they did record it, and the royalties checks arrived, Dylan was equally callous about the whole situation. Speaking about the resultant cover, the original vagabond said: “Guns N’ Roses is okay, Slash is okay, but there’s something about their version of the song that reminds me of the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
For those that might not grasp the context of his quip, the film’s official synopsis should help to reveal what Dylan was truly angling at: “A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.“
In truth, Dylan has never been all that forgiving when it comes to the rather more theatrical brand of rock that Guns N’ Roses play. He figured that Kiss would be rocking all the way to hell for their contributions to music, and he even had a pop at his pal, Mick Jagger, for placing ‘fun’ over feeling when he remarked: “I love Mick Jagger. I mean, I go back a long ways with him, and I always wish him the best,” he said. “But to see him jumping around like he does — I don’t give a shit in what age, from Altamont to RFK Stadium — you don’t have to do that, man.”
Before concluding that the cool stylings of the blues will always prove the most effective way to perform in his revered opinion. “It’s still hipper and cooler to be Ray Charles, sittin’ at the piano, not movin’ shit. And still getting across, you know? Pushing rhythm and soul across. It’s got nothin’ to do with jumping around. I mean, what could it possibly have to do with jumping around?”
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