Bad Copy

Hello again.

This time around I’m doing something a little different. Instead of just an original and a cover, I’m going to be writing about the original and two cover versions.

For this one, I am talking about the Bob Dylan song “Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right).” I got the idea for this one yesterday when I watched the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown which recently came out in theaters.

The Original:

The original was written by Bob Dylan. It was released on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in May 1963 by Columbia Records. It was the B-side of his single “Blowin’ in the Wind.” This is the era of Dylan that I prefer personally. I don’t dislike his electric stuff but I tend to prefer his more folksy sounding material.

The Cover (1):

Johnny Cash covered the song in February 1965 on his album Orange Blossom Special. He actually covered 3 Bob Dylan songs on that record. The others were “It Ain’t Me Babe” and “Mama You’ve Been On My Mind.” This version has that familiar and pleasant Cash sound to it.

The Cover (2):

Mike Ness covered this song on his first solo album Cheating at Solitaire. This album was released in April 1999 by Time Bomb Records. This one is quite a departure from the original in that it has a roots rock feel to it and is more, for lack of a better term, upstep than the others. Well, more upstep than the original. Cash’s version does have a bit of an upstep feel.

The Verdict:

This one is difficult. I really like the combination of the guitar and harmonica on the original. I’m not 100% sure of this but I am pretty sure that Dylan is using a finger style of picking while he is playing this and that gives it a certain pleasant sound to it. Then you have the Cash version which, I mean, it’s Johnny Cash. How can you not like it. It’s got that iconic voice and that distinctive Cash beat. While with the Mike Ness version, you get a rock and roll sound that is more modern than the others so that gives it quite an edge.

If you know me, you might think that I’m going to pick the Mike Ness as my preference. I mean, I am a big Social Distortion fan and I like Mike’s voice in general. However, for this one, I really have to go with the original Bob Dylan version. To me, it is more raw and captures a more, I dunno, authentic sound. And it is also really hard to reproduce that passionate and unique vocal delivery that only Bob can do.

Which version of “Don’t Think Twice” do you prefer?

By the way, there are several cover versions of this song. Another one that is really good is the Joan Baez version. Here is her version that she recorded live and ended up on her Joan Baez In Concert album in 1963.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this edition of Cover to Cover and I hope you come back for more.

If you like this, let us know please.