As reported by Brooklyn Vegan, American psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips recently made available their addition to Uncut Magazine’s tribute to Bob Dylan’s turning 80 years old. Their new rendition of Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay” will be on cover’s record that is releasing in tandem with the June edition of the magazine. Dylan will be the focus of the month, and the compilation album will feature big names like Low, Weyes Blood, Cowboy Junkies, Thurston Moore, The Weather Station, Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle and more. Check below for the full tracklist. The June edition of Uncut Magazine is on sale now.
“Lay Lady Lay” was originally released on Dylan’s 1969 album Nashville Skyline. The song has become an all time classic and has been covered by numerous bands and artists over the years, including the Byrds, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Guy and Anthony Hamilton. With it being Flaming Lip’s turn, they did not shy away from implementing their own musical identity into the cover. Their version forfeits Dylan’s low crooning in exchange for an effect-driven vocal performance. The instrumentation didn’t make too many leaps, but the acoustic guitar too involves subtle modern touches the likes of which The Flaming Lips frequently employ to generate their signature psychedelia.
“I think every songwriter loves this type of ‘romantic’ Bob Dylan song – he really can be very charming,” Wayne Coyne, the lead vocalist of The Flaming Lips, told Uncut. “That line ‘Whatever colours you have in your mind/I show them to you and you see them shine…’ It’s the type of wordplay, though it seems kind of like jumbled surrealism, that actually gets to an unspeakable awkward truth.”
For more on the Flaming Lips, check out our interview with Coyne that finds him riffing on bubble concerts and creativity during the pandemic. For more on Bob Dylan, check out our review for his latest album, Rough and Rowdy Ways.
photo credit: Mauricio Alvarado
Uncut presents Dylan Revisited Tracklist:
Bob Dylan – Too Late (Acoustic Version)
Richard Thompson – This Wheel’s On Fire
Courtney Marie Andrews – To Ramona
The Flaming Lips – Lay Lady Lay
The Weather Station – Precious Angel
Cowboy Junkies – I’ve Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You
Thurston Moore – Buckets Of Rain
Fatoumata Diawara – Blowin’ In The Wind
Brigid Mae Power – One More Cup Of Coffee
Low – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Joan Shelley & Nathan Salsburg – Dark Eyes
Patterson Hood & Jay Gonzalez of Drive-By Truckers – Blind Willie McTell
Frazey Ford – The Times They Are a-Changin’
Jason Lytle – Most Of The Time
Weyes Blood – Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
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