[purchase]
A whole book on one song sounds a bit rich, even if the song in question is Like A Rolling Stone. But in Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan At The Crossroads, author Greil Marcus showed it could be done. Easily. Anyway, this post is not about that book, it´s about a ´93 cover version of Dylan´s masterpiece that Marcus mentions quite enthousiastically. About an outfit called the Mystery Tramps and their hiphop-stylee cover version of Like A Rolling Stone. Since I´m both a Bobcat and a sucker for curios, I just had to check it out. And yo, it´s not bad at all.
Funny enough it starts with a sample of the original intro: that masterly organ riff by Al Kooper. The - white - rapper is hamming it up just a bit too much for my liking, but the talking girl ("spare change, anybody?" and "hey! where´s my stuff") cracks me up every time. Plus it´s rather alienating to hear such a familiar song in such a completely different musical setting. "This is a story about a girl who goes from riches to rags, and it´s a drag, so check it ouuuut."
PS: This post appeared in a slightly different form on my own blog when I was just starting out. The possibility to repost it here seemed too good to be true as 1. it´s a Dylan cover you don´t hear everyday and 2. it gives me the opportunity to tell you that - after a long summer break - For The Sake Of The Song is back.
