When Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott called Bob Dylan “crap”
There haven’t been too many artists throughout rock history that have been dissected like Bob Dylan has. As much of the scene progressed into teeny-bopper music, Dylan proved that rock could have something to say beyond the dancefloor, making tracks that spoke to listeners on a visceral level rather than preaching to them. Although Dylan has written an impressive songbook, there are only so many tunes that he can interpret himself.
Throughout the years, every great writer has tried to make a track that could compare to Dylan’s songbook in some way. Throughout their time working, artists like The Byrds have made a career out of interpreting Dylan’s work, taking the folk music he got up to in his early years and putting it through a rock lens with jangling guitars.
Even the Beatles had tried their hand at ripping off Dylan in the past, with John Lennon offering up songs like ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’ in the folk tradition. As much as Dylan had a firm grip on the zeitgeist throughout the 1960s, something else was slowly forming going into the next decade.
With the advent of genres like glam rock, artists like David Bowie and T Rex were expanding on what Dylan had initially started, taking the sounds of rock and roll and turning them on their heads. Joe Elliott grew up in an era that idolised acts like David Bowie, and he didn’t think that Dylan could measure up to the others who have interpreted his work.
When discussing the artists that have done the best covers of Dylan’s music, Elliott didn’t mince words about Dylan’s work, telling NME, “He’s crap. I’d rather listen to Ian Hujnter any day. He does a better Bob Dylan than Bob Dylan ever will. Other people do Bob Dylan songs better than Bob Dylan”.
While Elliot may have gotten a few strange glances from hardened rock fans, it’s safe to say that Dylan’s trademark delivery isn’t for everyone. Throughout history, Dylan’s nasally cadence when singing has been one of the main selling points as well as the leading detractors of his music, while also becoming the focal point of many different parodies of his music.
When coming up, Elliott had also been more interested in the flash of playing music rather than the different lyrical excursions from Dylan’s songbook. Compared to the image of Dylan standing in front of a blank screen to sing one of his songs, an act like Bowie or Marc Bolan would have resonated much better with Elliott, especially considering his fixation with Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople.
Out of all the different artists Def Leppard has covered over the years, they have at least taken the time to highlight other notable names of classic rock. Throughout their covers album, Yeah, the band offers a different look at what made them tick musically, drawing from The Faces to Queen to The Kinks to Blondie throughout the track listing. Elliott may not get the hype behind Bob Dylan, but plenty of his fellow artists have been interpreting the man’s music for years.
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