‘Jack-Ass’: The Beck song that samples Bob Dylan
Beck is a true music connoisseur known for his versatile collaborations across a wide spectrum of artists. His openness to musical exploration has led him to work with an array of talents, spanning from Childish Gambino to even venturing into the comedic realm alongside Will Ferrell. This unique diversity in his collaborations reflects his unbridled passion for the art of music.
Beck’s talent and creative approach have earned him a diverse fan base, and while his impact on the music industry goes beyond his own discography, he’s received recognition and admiration from some of the most iconic figures in the world of music. The fusion of enduring elements with innovative flair has been a consistent thread in Beck’s ever-evolving musical odyssey, and he has received endorsements from many esteemed figures.
Early in his career, Beck received a glowing endorsement from none other than the iconic Bob Dylan, who referred to him as a “young man with an incredible future”. Both artists share a common spirit of defying categorisation, and Beck underlined this connection through his song ‘Jack-Ass’, taken from the album Odelay. The song is actually based on a sample of Them’s cover of ‘It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue’, a song originally written and performed by Dylan for his album Bringing It All Back Home.
Dylan released the song in 1965, but it was reimagined by Northern Irish rock band Them in 1966 for their album Them Again. This version influenced many garage bands during the mid-1960s, and Beck later borrowed a sample from the cover for ‘Jack-Ass’. Dylan’s original version, however, is sparsely arranged, with the singer accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica, with William E. Lee playing bass guitar. Them‘s version, though adopting their own unique spin, has since become one of music’s best and most respected Dylan covers.
Beck also paid tribute to Dylan with his rendition of ‘Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat’ for a War Child charity cover, a performance which served as a testament to Beck’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of music and aligning himself with the great tradition of genre-defying musicians. In the song, Dylan sings: “It balances on your head just like a mattress balances on a bottle of wine”, in perhaps one of the most poignant similes of all time.
Beck might seem a little laid-back in his rendition, but even he can’t escape the cutting appeal of some of its lyrics. Beck takes the song on a psychedelic escapade, infusing it with bluesy guitar riffs that carry an intentionally wild sonic imprint that soars as a spirited reimagining of a timeless classic. ‘Jack-Ass’ similarly adopts a relaxed, hazy, and somewhat dreamy quality, yet the lyrics are somewhat abstract and open to interpretation, with Beck’s surreal and poetic style shining through.
With echoes of both Dylan and Them’s influence, ‘Jack-Ass’ is frequently regarded as one of the standout tracks from the Odelay album, a record that has gained renown for its pioneering fusion of diverse genres, such as folk, rock, hip-hop, and electronic components.
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