The five best covers of Bob Dylan song ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’
Any discussion of the most iconic albums of all time will invariably involve The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, the 1963 sophomore effort from everyone’s favourite warbling wordsmith that catapulted him from being New York’s new kid straight to the beating heart of its musical scene. What initially began as a first showcase of Dylan’s raw musical talent quickly transformed into a world-altering songbook, with his tuneful reflections on the civil rights movement soon powering the period in American history through its most pivotal moment.
Among a slew of defining tunes like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘Girl from the North Country’, ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ stands as a seminal reckoning to love, loss, and yearning that despite his tender years at the time, Dylan managed to capture with a ringing sincerity. Never once trying to put musical embellishments above the true swell of emotion, the song embodies the exact essence of what made this folk revolution so magical and revered for the rest of time.
Naturally, for a tune so universally cherished, ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ has been lovingly recreated countless times through the medium of cover versions – some of them faithful and classic, others not so much. Taken on by everyone from Peter, Paul and Mary to Post Malone – yes, really – this is a Dylan hallmark that you can be sure the man himself has more than a few opinions on, and notoriously, it’s fair to assume that not all of them will be glowing.
Nevertheless, over the years, some true gems have emerged in cover forms of ‘Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right’ that it’s worth charting the upper class of that effort on the scale of the most faithful renditions to complete reinventions. Here, we explore five of the best, beating out tough competition to revel in this Dylan-worthy league.
Five top covers of ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’
Joan Baez
Of course, the most obvious place to begin is with one of Dylan’s own closest confidants, who captured the intimacy of ‘Don’t Think Twice’ with a fervid passion that, in many ways, only the two could truly understand through their secret connection. Baez and Dylan’s relationship was – still is – one of rushing highs and lows, so the song seemed a perfect vehicle of redemption by the contemporary folk goddess when their romantic hopes fizzled out.
Although Dylan really penned the tune with a previous girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, in mind, its tender nuances do take on a certain universal heartbreak, which Baez managed to encapsulate from presumably personal experience in her prolific 1963 cover. After all, she knows the inner workings of the mind that spawned those fateful words more than most.
Baez’s version channels a soft, tuneful soul and country twang that transforms the song into a soothing lullaby as much as it is still a painful reckoning. Despite being a fairly faithful rendition, she also strikes a certain note of dissonance between herself and Dylan even though, in literal terms, they are singing from the same hymn sheet—she is all at once creating her own fresh vision of the tune while reflecting her friend back on himself, causing the introspection to burrow down ever-deepening layers of self-thought.
The Allman Brothers Band
Flying into the future, a newer outfit of The Allman Brothers Band also took on ‘Don’t Think Twice’ at a gig in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2003, giving it a whole new lease of life but also harkening back to a crossroads in Dylan’s own evolution. Combining the classic comfort of the folkish tones with a gentle hint of electric guitar laced in between, symbolically, this represents the extremes of its maker’s career as paying homage to his roots alongside what he would later become.
Drawing the tune out into a gloriously elongated cover spanning almost seven minutes in length, a stunning, soulful vocal is produced by Susan Tedeschi and accompanied on the electric guitar by Warren Haynes. Together, they masterfully maintain a tightrope juxtaposition between the heart of Dylan’s original while reinventing it within their own rock style, with the intricate guitar break halfway through providing their version a vibrant burst of energy.
Lineups may have come and gone for The Allman Brothers Band, but their one constant is the use of the slide guitar, taking on as much of a personification in itself as real members of the band. As such, it’s easy to see how this was the essential ingredient to transforming their Dylan cover into something for the ages – because while they’re paying tribute, they’re still quintessentially themselves.
Eric Clapton
But if The Allman Brothers Band were simply bridging the gap between folk and rock, Eric Clapton picked up the genesis of the song and launched it fully into the guitar-blazing realm. Set apace by an enchanting yet swinging easy beat, Clapton rasps and growls his way through the tune, which, apart from the basic hallmarks of melody and lyrics, practically renders the Dylan classic into an unrecognisable and commanding entity.
Also, with six-string naturally in hand, Clapton’s multiple sprawling solos go a long way in cementing his shot at the song as one of the finest, even though it’s clear that the original blueprint has been more or less thrown out the window. For Clapton’s part as one of the world’s best guitarists in combination with Dylan’s status as one of the greatest lyricists, it’s certainly a potent force.
To that end, although it must be said that Dylan won’t be a raving fan of every cover bestowed upon, his appreciation for Clapton’s effort is a pretty safe bet. This is especially true considering the pair’s friendship – even performing the very same song together on stage in New York in 1999. In this context, Clapton’s original cover from seven years prior definitely had the seal of approval, pinning it to the top of the tree in doing so as a Dylan vote of confidence is no easy feat to come by.
Albert Hammond Jr
However, when talking about Clapton leaving the blueprint to the breeze, that notion relatively pales in comparison when you then turn your attention to the 2015 effort of ‘Don’t Think Twice’ by Albert Hammond Jr. Admittedly, this is quite a marmite take – either you’ll lap it up as a whole new sonic reimagining or think it’s single-handedly sacrilege – but in many ways, is it not in Dylan’s very own spirit to open up to something new?
An innovative indie sound is probably inevitable when the guitarist of the Strokes takes a comb back through some classic hits of days gone by – a notion that will likely have the higher folk echelons turning up their noses. But ultimately, the power of a seminal tune is that it can take on whole new lifeblood even decades later, even if it sounds totally opposite to the original.
The other point worth mentioning here is that although Hammond’s approach is pretty unconventional, by simply covering ‘Don’t Think Twice’ Hammond opened the Dylan songbook to a whole new legion of indie rock diehards who would not have been around to witness the original revolution take place. Whether you agree with the execution or not, the sentiment is undeniable. For what it’s worth, he makes a pretty good job of it, too.
Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard
Lastly, displaying the song’s range in youthful sleazy charm to ageing misty-eyed reminiscence, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard scoop the final prized spot on this list of top-notch Dylan covers with their 2015 version of ‘Don’t Think Twice’, merging a country yarn with a dose of sentimental nostalgia to unveil a whole unsaid dimension to the tune that only time could produce.
Offset by the pluckiness of rousing banjo sound and the hearty drawl of harmonica, Nelson and Haggard wrestle the tune from the grip of the city and free it out into the wild west of the country, sending it off with a resounding soul that only a hard-fought process of ageing can evoke. In doing so, this presents a far more profound meaning than what Dylan initially intended all those years ago with regard to letting go of love and lust, instead revealing something real at the root of the circle of life.
This all comes into focus much more sharply when you consider that Haggard sadly passed away only a year after this version of the song’s release, speaking to the fact that the true meaning of ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right’ is about being free from life’s regrets, irrespective of failed romances and no matter the context. Granted, talk about the inspiration of Dylan’s soured relationships all you want, but the crux of his power as a writer is his ability to pen tunes that transcend their origins and take on new stories by whoever sings them. Ultimately, this is a song that not only encapsulates the downbeats of love but opens that out as a call to the world in letting go of the weight of all things lost.
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