Fans who’ve followed Bob Dylan over his five decade (and counting) recording career, as well as non-fans who I’ve subjected to six months (and counting) of Dylan Weekends, know to expect the unexpected. But even the die-hards were likely thrown by Dylan’s most recent release, 2009’s Christmas in the Heart, an album of Christmas standards.
Was this a throwback to his Christian phase? A joke? Another acoustic covers collection along the lines of Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong? It was none of the above, or maybe all of the above and something else besides.
Taking a closer look, this album isn’t really a shock coming from Dylan. He has always been a big fan and promoter of old-timey music, Americana, traditional ballads. He also has the heart and soul, if not the voice, of a real crooner. It’s no shock at all that he would be a big fan of these songs. The surprise comes from the fact that he chose to perform them.
I probably threaten to reveal myself as a hopeless Dylan zombie by saying I really enjoy this album. But I’m not one of those fans who believes the man has never taken a wrong step. He has, though few and far between. But Christmas In the Heart is not one of them.
Certainly it’s not on par with his recent original output, but neither is it asking to be measured up against those albums. It’s an earnest and light-hearted tribute to a heartwarming genre (and to top things off, the proceeds go to charity). Hard to find any fault in that.
And the album contains some wonderful renditions of these classic Christmas tunes, my favorite of which is today’s SOTD, ‘Little Drummer Boy.’ Dylan performs this one majestically, with the voice of a guy who sounds like he was around to witness the events.
Our newborn King to see, pa rum pa pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pa pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pa pum pum,
Rum pa pum pum, rum pa pum pum,
And so to honor Him, pa rum pa pum pum,
When we come…
Little Baby, pa rum pa pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pa pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pa pum pum
That’s fit to give a king, pa rum pa pum pum,
Rum pa pum pum, rum pa pum pum,
Shall I play for you, pa rum pa pum pum,
On my drum?…
Mary nodded, pa rum pa pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pa pum pum
I played my drum for Him, pa rum pa pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pa pum pum
Rum pa pum pum, rum pa pum pum
Then He smiled at me, pa rum pa pum pum
Me and my drum…
Meet Me In Montauk 
You PROBABLY threaten to reveal yourself as a hopeless Dylan zombie? No sir, buying this album, listening to it more than once, then arguing that it is actually good, raises that threat level to DEFCON 1!
The man has barely any voice left and yet he chooses to croak out Christmas standards, and fans like yourself claim it has worth? Puh-leze! What’s next? Dylan will put out an album of children songs….singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and you will applaud his bold new direction and unpredictability in lock step, while rationalizing that his decision is really consistent with his career because these children songs are so Americana and traditional? Come on!’
Let me ask you this….if you had no idea that this was Dylan and somebody played these songs to you, would you really feel they were good?
This reminds me of something a popular comedian once said….something to the effect that, when you perform live as a famous comedian, you will get the audience to laugh for the first 20 minutes no matter what you do, because that is the goodwill you have brought with you to the audience based on your reputation and the assumption that what you are presently doing must be good because what you did in the past was so great. But after the grace period ends, the laughs will dry up for the famous comedian if the jokes aren’t funny.
So too with Dylan, I think, with this type of schlock album…..He has clearly built up so much goodwill with fans like you (and to the extent that goodwill was drained in the 80’s, it was certainly restored since Time Out of Mind), that you will find yourself enjoying this album, even though, truth be told, it really isn’t very good. To carry the comedy analogy forward, let’s see if the goodwill wears off if Dylan were to make another album or two like this (Dylan Sings the Standards, Dylan Hums Tibetan Hymns, Dylan Gargles Gregorian Chants, Dylan Yelps the Yiddish Hits).
Of course, hopefully, like the famous comedian who became famous because he IS good, Dylan will return to form with the excellence of his songwriting,
I don’t begrudge recording artists their foray into the ubiquitous Christmas album territory, as it seems, especially in the last several years, almost a requirement.
To build on Dana’s comedian analogy, the singer’s Christmas album reminds me of the “comedian’s package” that Paul Reiser (I think) joked about years ago. He said that once you reach a certain level of fame you get the HBO special, the book deal, the television show built around a character you create.
Maybe Bob Dylan looked at the list of artists who have recorded such albums and figured that if Chris Isaak, Hanson, and The Beach Boys have added their voices to a choir already containing Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, and Amy Grant, then why the hell shouldn’t he record one?
Still, I’m with Dana. Unless you can add something to these songs with your rendition, why bother? And, at this point, and maybe at any point, what is Dylan really adding to any song he sings that he hasn’t written? We hardly need this singer to be a cover artist. If he wants to write a new Christmas song – great! Maybe it will become the next standard. Otherwise, save the Christmas crooning for family gatherings around the fireplace. If I want to hear “Little Drummer Boy” butchered in this manner, I’ll just sing it myself 🙂
Wow, such vitriol over something so harmless!
I have no argument with the suggestion that Dylan has had to earn the right to take a strange detour like this, and that absent his mystique and history it would just be a collection of Christmas songs croaked out by an old man with a very limited voice.
But you can’t separate the music from the man, and anything a legend such as Dylan creates has to be experienced (whether its enjoyed or not) in the context of that legend). I happen to enjoy Christmas In the Heart quite a bit, though, way more than I ever expected I would.
And Amy’s suggestion that Dylan doesn’t add anything to a song he hasn’t written is patently absurd. He’s one of the finest interpreters of standards to ever strap on a guitar and harmonica, even as his voice has become more limited.
I think your last comment basically proves my point. You are incapable of separating your general passion for Dylan from anything he does, even if what he creates is universally derided by critics and eschewed by the general public.. If Dylan does it, no matter what it is, you are going to like it (or certainly try really hard to like it) even if it is, well, crap on a cracker. In that sense, you place yourself in the slim majority of Dylan zombies who will basically defend everything Dylan has done or will ever do.
Your weekend blogs over the past 6 months are a testament to that relatively blind loyalty. Oh yeah, sure, you recognize that Dylan’s 80’s albums and this Christmas collection are “lesser” works than his legendary output or his 90’s/00’s renaissance.. You would lose all credibility as a music lover if you didn’t at least acknowledge that much. But yet, most if not all of the time, you have found yourself being “surprised” at how good these albums were and how happy you have been to have finally heard/bought them notwithstanding the fact that they were critically panned and publicly ignored.
The thing is, for the rest of us more casual Dylan fans, we hear nothing pleasing or good about Dylan croaking out Christmas standards. And contrary to what you suggest, .most of us non-zombies do not regard Dylan as “one of the finest interpreters of standards to ever strap on a guitar.” I mean, seriously dude, the man isn’t Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Santana or Jeff Buckley for god’;s sake! Those are the artists (and probably a couple of dozen others) who are generally considered amongst the finest interpreters of music they didn’t write. NOBODY outside of zealot Dylan fans would think of Dylan as one of our “finest interpreters.” Can he do a competent or good cover? Sure, but it ain’t what he is known for and it ain’t what those beyond the Dylan obsessed fans really want to hear from him.
My God! It’s just a sweet little Christmas song, I think I will buy it and play it next Christmas in our condo when you all come over to visit us. 🙂
Along with Sinatra’s Jingle Bells 🙂
Nooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(though, truth be told, I would listen to Dylan sing this song over that insipid J-I-N-G-L-E Bells disaster any day and twice on Christmas Sunday 🙂
OK, where to begin?
First of all, my choice of the word “standards” was a poor one — it calls to mind “Dylan sings the ‘Theme from Cats’.” I’m talking about his covers of traditional folk and blues songs, not Johnny Mathis territory.
Before he ever wrote a note of music, Dylan made his name performing other people’s songs with a depth and nuance that people couldn’t fathom in somebody of his age. He is a gifted performer and interpreter of music and lyrics whether they’re his own or not. Have you ever heard his ‘House of the Rising Sun’ or ‘Man of Constant Sorrow,’ to name a couple?
His two recent 90s albums are brilliant (and extremely well-reviewed, contrary to your suggestion above), limited voice and all. I think you’re equating “good cover performer” with “good voice.” There’s far more to it than that.
Now, regarding your point about “casual Dylan fans”… I absolutely agree that an album like this Christmas one is not for casual fans. Just as The Juliet Letters is not for casual Elvis Costello fans (a group I wouldn’t put you in, though I know you’re no fan of that album).
But it’s condescending to dismiss anybody who might find some value or enjoyment in this album as a zombie (and I know I’m the one who used that phrase first, anticipating just such a criticism).
A die-hard fan digs deeper, looks past the crap (yes, Dylan is responsible for his fair share of crap) and finds the moments of greatness. Does that mean everybody would agree those moments are great? Of course not… opinions and taste are entirely subjective. But it also doesn’t mean the die-hard fan is wrong, or a zombie, for thinking them so.
Clay, you are seriously lost in a Dylan induced zombie coma.
“Dylan made his name performing other people’s songs with a depth and nuance that people couldn’t fathom in somebody of his age?” Er….no….Dylan made his name with the release of a little known ditty called friggin’ “Blowin in The Wind” off the popular and well received 2nd album, Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. His first album of covers went largely unnoticed by critics or the public and only become more celebrated after the explosion of HIS compositions from his second album. And, by the way, the most celebrated songs from even the first album are the few he wrote including “Song to Woody” The covers were even discarded by Dylan himself as he rarely played them in concert after the 60’s.
As for his art of interpretation–again, he is NOT known or celebrated for this, not now and not in the 60’s. Were his cover albums in the 90’s well received? Sure, Does this mean he is viewed by anyone other than your zombie crowd ( 🙂 ) as the “finest interpreter of (any music) to ever strap on a guitar?” Hell to the croaky no.
Your last paragraph hits it on the money–a die hard fan (which of course you are) enjoys work from his or her favorite artist that the rest of the world dismisses as mediocre or crap. Maybe that doesn’t really make you a mindless zombie:) But it does mean that you are far too biased to really give a more balanced perspective on Dylan’s work and admit that an album like this one just isn’t all that good. As a tongue in cheek joke album (which most critics toyed with labeling it), it is the type of novelty you listen to once. But nobody other than a die hard (zombie) Dylan fan would return to this album…as in, “Man I am really in the mood to hear a great interpretation of “Little Drummer Boy” Fetch me that Dylan cover as he is the finest interpreter to ever strap on a guitar.”
Looks like somebody’s been trolling Wikipedia. 🙂
Dylan got that first record deal on the strength of his club performances, which were of other people’s songs. And that’s what he continued to play throughout his early years.
Look, I’m not arguing that Dylan isn’t who he is because of his songwriting — that’s obvious — but it’s silly to dismiss his talents as a song interpreter, whether of his own songs or others’. Could an artist with as limited a voice as Dylan have made it so big if he wasn’t a fantastic performer? He’s done a tremendous lot with very little since he started out.
It’s amusing that you can dismiss this album as “not all that good” having never heard more than 3 minutes of it. If I’m biased in one direction, you appear to be biased in the other. If you had continued your Wikipedia surfing and read the entry on Christmas in the Heart, you’d see that it was actually well-received critically. But then you’ll just dismiss all the critics as mindless zombies as well, right?
Granted, I’m sure that if you did hear the full album, you wouldn’t be a fan. However, you recently commented on a SOTD about another Dylan cover that you were expecting to hate it but wound up “kind of loving it” and that you were intrigued enough to consider seeking out the album.
I know you’re not a big fan of Christmas music in general, though, so the double whammy of cheesy songs performed by a limited raspy voice would likely make this one a non-starter.
In general, weird albums like this one appeal only to the die-hards. And even us die-hards don’t dedicate a lot of time to them. I like The Juliet Letters quite a bit but I can’t tell you the last time I played it in the car. Same goes for Christmas in the Heart.
But I’ve always found that the oddball detours help me really gain insight into the artists I love. Blood on the Tracks and Imperial Bedroom are unqualified masterpieces. But stopping there, for them and for the most involved fans, does these artists a disservice.
Why did Elvis Costello feel the need to record an album of country covers, an album backed by a chamber orchestra or an album with Burt Bacharach? Why did Dylan go gospel, or country, or put out a Christmas album? Fans who find these artists fascinating and rewarding as artists will follow them down those paths.
While they are far from perfect, Elvis Costello and Bob Dylan are musical geniuses, two of the greatest popular songwriters and performers alive. Do they ever just turn that off? I don’t think so.
Gotta love the Wiki 🙂 though, honestly, the only thing I didn’t already know was that Dylan stopped playing the covers from the first album at some point.
And, yes, he may have been signed based on the covers he was doing in clubs, but the patrons of those clubs numbered in the dozens, hundreds at best. That’s a far cry from “making his name” by doing covers. Had he stuck with doing covers on album 2 (or sucked as a songwriter), I’m fairly sure he never would have made it to album 3, let alone become the iconic legend he is today.
And, yes, I generally agree with your comment that it is difficult if not impossible for truly great genius songwriters to make bad music, even if they go in a musical direction that isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (like Costello with Juliet Letters). That doesn’t mean, however, that these same artists can’t make bad, mediocre or uninteresting covers. I love Lyle Lovett’s songwriting and the guy does competent covers, but, honestly, I could care less about most of the covers. It’s just not why I listen to Lovett and I don’t think covers are his forte. Now, I’m sure there is a die hard Lovett fan out there who would make the silly statement that Lyle is the “finest interpreter…who ever strapped on a guitar.” Perhaps you and that Lovett fanatic could go toe to toe on that debate, but the rest of the non-die hard Dylan and Lovett fans would just have puzzled looks on their faces listening to that debate since the fact is that neither Dylan nor Lovett are more broadly considered the finest interpreters out there–not by a long shot.
Again, this doesn’t mean that Dylan (or Lovett) can’t do covers quite well. They can, and so, yes, I did appreciate some of the Dylan covers you featured. But there’s a big gulf between liking the way someone does a cover and dubbing them the “finest interpreter… who ever strapped on a guitar.”
As for Christmas albums, yes I generally dislike them, but I have heard a few of the tracks from the Dylan offering and wasn’t that impressed. Besides, you featured this song as one of the better ones, so what is the chance I would like others better? And, yes, critics tend to fawn over even Dylan’s lesser work because he is Dylan. Indeed, even his arguably worst records from the 80’s had many music critics praising them Rolling Stone gave a positive review to Saved and other weak efforts from that era.
.
Oh, and finally, while I agree that both Dylan and Costello are songwriting geniuses and two of the greatest songwriters alive, I would not say that either ranks as the greatest “performer” alive And while every songwriting turn these artists take may be interesting or revealing, that doesn’t mean every song they bother to perform live or commit to a record is equally interesting or revealing.
Just had to get that out of my system.
Good call, Amy. THAT’S the way to interpret a Christmas song.
And I need to correct something I said earlier– I don’t hate all Christmas albums or Christmas music. Harry Connick’s “Winter Wonderland” is a gem, James Taylor’s recent foray into the obligatory theme album was very good as well, particularly his duet with Natale Cole on “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” Hard to argue with how great Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” or Nat King Cole’s “Christmas Song” are. And as much as I can’t stand Sinatra’s take on “Jingle Bells,’ the man knocked “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” out of the ballpark.
All of those people brought a master interpretation to these classics…Dylan’s “Little Drummer Boy?” Not so much.
While I agree with Dana that I don’t ever reach for an album of Lyle Lovett cover songs, I do think there is a distinction between an artist covering lesser known songs by lesser known artists, in an attempt to bring some attention to those songs the artist deems particularly worthy, and an artist choosing to cover a very popular or well-known song.
I’d rather not listen to either, but I admire the rationale behind the latter choice.
I love Christmas in the Heart, as a collection of songs as well as a damn nice thing to do, in terms of the charity donations.
I absolutely love his version of “Must Be Santa” and have listened to it all year. It is one of my favorite things he’s done in the last couple of decades. If I was in charge of Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol.4: 1995-2010, I’d have no hesitation over putting MBS on there.
The level of vitriol aimed at this album since its release is completely baffling to me. Even if you think its total crap, why bash an album that is going towards feeding hungry people? Why not just ignore it, and let the rest of us enjoy it? How Positively 4th Street.
Right on, Rob. A fellow zombie, I presume. 🙂
I tend to avoid covers albums as well. I certainly don’t listen to Lyle Lovett’s covers very often, though they’re well done. The exception for me would be Dylan’s three albums of covers (his debut and his two in the 90s). I adore those albums and listen to them as frequently as many of his originals.
Good point, rob! Sorry for being such a Scrooge.
Have yourself a merry little Bob Dylan Christmas album 🙂
Sorry rob! for seeming so hostile toward Christmas. Of course the gesture of donating proceeds to charity is noble. But this blog is about the music, or so I thought. If Clay were to post ‘We are The World” as the SOTD (either version), I would point out how lame the song really is, even though the intentions behind the song were wonderful.