Is it Rolling Bob?: A Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 10, 2004)
• Original Release Date: August 10, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B0002JP3A6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,221 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Bob Dylan's songs have been covered by everyone from the Byrds to Muzak. But performers from other traditions, unhampered by the original historic and social contexts and subsequent decades of awe-struck veneration, can just relax and sing their hearts out. Producer Dr. Dread has picked material from Dylan's Woody Guthrie-influenced early career ("Lonesome Death of Hattie Carrol"), his anarchistic yet tender middle period ("Just Like A Woman"), and even his brief foray into born-again Christianity ("Gotta Serve Somebody"). Each selection is rhythmically revamped while the lyrics are sometimes reinterpreted via the Word according to Jah. But if the straightforward arrangements tend to mitigate Dylan's sly sophistication, his melodies, which so often took a back-seat to his poems, emerge in all their glory. Other than a rare, Dylan-sanctioned remix of a tune he recorded with Sly & Robbie, there are few earth-shaking revelations, but this engaging album is well worth owning. --Christina Roden

www.npr.org
The music inside is all Dylan, but it's performed by reggae artists. It's a tribute CD to Dylan.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bob meets Bob, August 10, 2004

By	A. B Hawley "cowboyal" (Mid-south, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jah is within I! Are you kidding me? A disc that combines my love of Bob Dylan's music with my love of reggae?! Lovefest. And just when it couldn't get any better, the second disc is version/dub! A lot of great reggae artist pitch in on this disc (Toots, Isaacs, Black Uhuru, Hammond) and do a great job. A bought this disc almost as a "novelty," but that really underrates it - it's a seriously good vibration. Enjoy!

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, It Is Rolling, Mon, September 29, 2004

By	Larry White (AdultPop.com) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is yet another contradiction to our earlier assertion (in other places on this site) that tribute albums, as a rule, suck (we are flip-flopping once again). This is, in fact, another terrific one. Of course, in choosing to pay tribute to the greatest songwriter of our time, producer Dr. Dread has pretty much guaranteed the quality of the material. All that's left, then, is the quality of the performances and these are, at their worst, solid and, at their best (and we're thinking of the bitingly soulful version of Maggie's Farm by Toots Hibbert), transcendant. Although we were not familiar with more than half the reggae artists who perform on this cd, we probably should be. The vocal prowess of these performers is consistently amazing. Evidently,there are an awful lot of soul men in Jamaica, mon. It is also apparent how adaptable Dylan's music is to the spirit and rhythms of reggae. The song choices from Dylan's seemingly infinite catalogue are, for the most part, those one might expect to be performed by such artists-the popular (The Times They Are A-Changing, Just Like a Woman, Mr. Tambourine Man) and the spiritual (Gotta Serve Somebody, Knockin' on Heaven's Door). However, it is those choices that veer the farthest from the predictable we've most enjoyed. The same studio musicians (including reggae stalwarts Sly Dunbar and Earl `Chinna' Smith) were employed on most of the tracks, thus providing a coherence that tribute albums generally lack. However, that also results in a certain sameness to the arrangements, which detracts slightly from the music's kick. Once again, it is those songs that deviate from the relaxed reggae groove which have appealed to us most. The album concludes with Dylan himself and an all star band performing an electrifying remix of his own `I and I'-a perfect capper to an excellent cd.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One Fantastic Track, October 5, 2004

By	Kenneth M. Goodman (Cleveland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First of all, whatever you do, don't buy the "single CD" version.
Make sure you get the double CD.
The first CD has some lovely tracks, the first song especially,
The Times They Are A Changing, is immediately addicting.
Lay Lay Lay is nice, as is Blowing In The Wind and Serve
Somebody. I would have liked the "dub" CD so much better IF
it had been clean of vocals (as essential dub must be) but as
I feared, all the "dub" tracks have too many vocals for my
taste. However, the saving grace is the final track on the
second CD, the "dub" of "I and I." This track is fantastic and
the reason I'm hanging onto "Is It Rolling Bob." If Bob Dylan were to have a dub song, this is the perfect selection, because of
the title. This track is magical and powerful, and Bob's vocals
don't bother me here...it's one of those singles that you program
to hear when you're in the mood. Really great. So is this
single track worth getting the entire double CD? Over the
long run, I'd have to say yes. I'm sure many people keep CDs
for single songs...and this is definitely among the best of them.